By Jess Rollins This exercise will teach your dog to remain still and wait for a reward when you need to handle him for grooming or medical reasons and also to accept accidental inappropriate handling. It is an extremely important behavior for your dog to learn to keep him calm and to prevent aggression. Tips:
Teaching your dog to accept handling of different areas: Collar: Find a quiet place to practice and get your clicker, treats and dog.
Paws: Many dogs are very sensitive about their paws. It is important to proceed slowly with this exercise so that the dog is enjoying it and to continue handling his paws throughout his lifetime. Do not trim your dogs nails unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are doing as it is easy to make a mistake and cause pain. In all of these exercises, if he does not try to pull away, C/T, if he wiggles, "stick" to him and C/T and release when he stops resisting. Each step in this exercise should take several days to complete with dozens of repetitions. Complete each step before proceeding the the next one. Practice with all 4 paws.
Ears:
Mouth:
Tail: This is considered a "private" area and many dogs are sensitive about having their tails handled.
Touching by children: Prepare your dog with the strange sorts of touches that children may give him (always supervise and keep everyone safe when dogs and kids are together!) Practice by C/Ting him for accepting odd touches from you such as ear tugs, tail tugs, head pats and hugs. As with all exercises proceed slowly. Lifting: In an emergency you may have to lift up even a large dog. Practice doing this by first putting your arms around him using clicks and treats for the briefest of touches and then proceed to being able to lift him off of the ground while he remains calm. For dogs that require professional grooming, practice picking him up and putting him on a table and practicing other handling exercises Brushing: Get your dog's brush and lightly touch him with it and C/T. Repeat until he is comfortable with a normal level of brushing and remains still. Jess Rollins and Pet Expertise's Mission is to Help You to Maximize Your Dog's Potential! We've all had the experience of walking into a large store and being confused by the huge selection, perhaps wanting someone with the background knowledge who can help us make a wise choice. The Pet Expertise Experts personally select and test the items available for purchase on the site to find those that are as safe and effective as possible. The right products can make a big difference!...Read More
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If your pooch loves being cuddled but acts annoyed every time you touch his front paws, then he's certainly not alone in his behavior. A lot of dogs get extremely touchy when it comes to the idea of their feet being in another individual's hands, literally. This often is fine and dandy -- until nail trimming time inevitably comes around. Of course, if it's a new problem, make sure your furbuddy hasn't injured his paws. By getting upset when you touch his front paws, your dog might be interpreting your behavior as being an "alpha" one. Whether you're attempting just to pet his paws or to trim his too-long nails, your pet might perceive your paw-touching action as a display of social status, and in turn might make a big show of expressing to you that he objects to it and won't stand for it. He might even think of it as being an attack -- definitely not your intention. Your dog might be irritable about contact with his feet because of all of the sensory components that are contained within them. Dogs' paw pads consist of nerves that communicate with oscillations. These are useful for enabling canines to figure out the firmness of terrain for traveling over it, often for running. The spots in the middle of their paw pads feature uber-delicate nerve tips that also might contribute to their deep dislike of their feet being handled by others. In short, dogs often feel uncomfortable -- and awkward -- when people go near their paws, either front or back. If your dog gets a little testy when you touch his front paws, it could be because you do so abruptly and out of nowhere. Canines are naturally protective about their paws. After all, dogs in the wild often don't stand much of a chance once their paws are wounded -- and this apprehension transfers to lots of modern dogs, as well. By putting your hand's on your dog's quickly, you might just be startling the poor thing -- and creating a negative, frightening association with the action as a result. Dogs tend to be highly tactile in their interactions with fellow canines, whether they're playing together or simply greeting one another. Although they might do a lot of touching, you might also notice that they usually keep away from feet. Not only do they generally abstain from touching others' feet, they also usually abstain from smelling them, too. Disliking having their paws touched might just be an instinctive doggie characteristic. Don't take your pet's dislike of it personally. |