Prepare your puppy for grooming and toothbrushing

Hopefully, your puppy has come from a breeder who has spent a lot of time getting them used to being handled.

For your puppy to be calm and confident about future grooming, claw clipping, teeth brushing or even veterinary examinations, there are some specific things you should think about getting them comfortable with. I’m sure you’re handling your puppy a lot but there are things you may not be doing unless you focus on the following. 

Find times — maybe while you’re watching TV with the puppy on your lap — to gently handle them all over. Your aim is for your puppy to be quite happy if you calmly do any of the following: 

• Run a hand over the top of your puppy’s head 
• Look in their ears 
• Lift their lips 
• Hold each paw and look between the toes
• Lift their tail
• Run a hand underneath them

Take it slowly and be guided by your puppy’s comfort at every stage. For example, it may take some time to get to the stage of holding a paw and examining between the toes. 

So, with a calm, relaxed puppy on your lap, the floor, or held safely on a table (good practice for groomers and the vet) and a small pot or pouch of tasty treats handy, gently touch one of your puppy's ears for a second. Remove your hand and give a treat. Gradually, if your puppy is keeping still for the second or two of a touch, prolong the contact. This is the process you’ll use for all parts of their body.

If your puppy is particularly wriggly or seems very nervous, you could even begin the process by holding a treat between your fingers for your puppy to nibble on. But as soon as possible, progress to rewarding after you’ve touched them.

At the start, you’ll need to reward often but as your puppy gets more comfortable with this type of handling and will remain still for longer, you can gradually reduce the frequency with which you reward.

Build this up over a number of sessions — puppies will vary in how they take to it, so be patient, just do a few seconds now and try again later when they’re calmer (or maybe sleepier). Repeat this process often over the coming weeks.

Don’t tell them off for play biting or fidgeting. Just go back a step and continue to praise and reward any calm behaviour. 

Most puppies won’t need much grooming so you can take your time getting them accustomed to just the feel of a brush on their coat. If you need to brush them while they’re still unsure, a useful trick is to spread something tasty like soft cheese or peanut butter on a (washable) wall at the height of your pup’s head so they’re happily licking it while you get on with the job! To save your walls, you can buy ‘licky mats’ with suction caps to stick on any hard, smooth surface – just smear the tasty soft food on them. 

It’s also a good idea to get them used to having their teeth brushed. There are different types of toothbrushes for dogs. Some are like our own, some are rubber and go over one of your fingers. As before, you want to teach your puppy to be comfortable with the process. Don’t force it on them. Once you’ve got them used to have their lips lifted, you can move on to the next step of letting them lick the toothpaste off the brush; it’s designed to have taste appeal if you’re a dog. Then, as before, take it slowly and to start just brush lightly across the top front teeth. Gradually, over a number of sessions, move on to the rest until you can do them all in one go. And don’t forget to reward each step. Even though your pup may like the toothpaste taste, the odd sensation is likely to need a higher value reward than that!

Most pet dogs put up with a lot of handling, but some may not enjoy it as much as people may think they do. And some dogs become actively unhappy about it, which could lead to more aggressive behaviour as they get older. So, although your furry bundle of fun seems totally ok whatever you do with them when very young, please continue acclimatising them to be being handled. You’re preparing them to be a grown-up dog who doesn’t just put up with it but really enjoys it, and is much easier to handle at the vet or groomer.

For more training advice, please visit our dog coach Vicky Carne's website.