07/06/2026
How To Get Your Dog Used To Grooming 🐾
One of the biggest mistakes owners make is treating grooming as something that only happens every few weeks. Grooming skills should be taught just like sit, stay, or recall!
If your dog struggles with grooming, don’t look at the whole process and think “my dog hates grooming”. Instead, break it down into smaller pieces and work out exactly what they’re struggling with.
🔍 Is it:
💨 The hair dryer?
🚿 Water?
✂️ Nail clipping?
✋ Being touched?
🦶 Paw handling?
🛁 Standing still?
Once you’ve identified the issue, start working on it in tiny, manageable steps.
🐕 Always use a lead when practising grooming exercises to help keep everyone safe and prevent your dog from simply walking away before they’ve had a chance to learn. The lead should never be used to force your dog to stay.
✨ Remember, grooming training should become part of your dog’s everyday routine.
A few examples:
✋ Touch a paw → reward
✋ Hold a paw briefly → reward
✂️ Touch a nail with clippers → reward
💨 Turn the dryer on across the room → reward
🚿 Let water touch a paw → reward
Small wins build confidence.
🎁 Rewards don’t have to be food!
Different dogs value different things:
🍖 Treats
🧀 High-value food
🎾 Toys
🪢 Tug games
⚽ Ball play
🐾 Sniffing opportunities
😴 Breaks
🌳 Space
❤️ Praise and affection
For some dogs, simply being allowed a break from the exercise is the best reward of all.
🚦 Learn to read your dog’s boundaries
Watch for signs that your dog is becoming uncomfortable:
👀 Looking away
👅 Lip licking
🥱 Yawning
🐾 Paw lifting
😰 Tension in the body
👁 Whale eye
🚶 Moving away
🧍 Freezing
These signs aren’t your dog being naughty. They’re communication.
If you see them, slow down, make the exercise easier, or give your dog a break.
💡 Good grooming isn’t about forcing a dog to tolerate something they hate.
It’s about building trust, understanding their boundaries, setting clear expectations, and helping them learn that grooming is safe.
The more you break things down into small achievable steps, the more successful you’ll be.
🐾 Grooming is a skill.
🐾 Cooperation is a skill.
🐾 Confidence is a skill.
And like all skills, they take time, patience, and practice. ❤️
🐶🌶️
