Flying Poodles

Clicking and grooming…

Apparently, I am an idiot. Actually, scratch the “apparently.” We have proof.

I have been working on learning to groom the girls since the beginning of 2008, when I started feeling the pinch of the cost of grooming two dogs. I took a lesson from my groomer. I bought good supplies. And did I think of training the dogs to enjoy being groomed? No, I did not. There you have it. I am definitely an idiot.

Nor did it occur to me as I struggled through wiggling paws and squirmy noses. Not until I went to the Clicker Expo last month and saw a BOOK on clicking your way to successful grooming did it occur to me that I could train the dogs to enjoy being groomed. (Note that I didn’t buy the book. I skimmed it on the spot and noticed that it was the usual step-by-tiny-step approach of any clicker trainer.)

So for the last few weeks I’ve been working on tiny step by tiny step in the grooming process. Put the dog on the table. Click her for standing calmly. Brush a bit, click her for standing calmly. Hold the paw, click her for not jerking it away. Hold the paw and turn on the dremel, click her for letting me hold the paw without pulling it away. (At this point, I had the clicker under my foot, just in case you’re wondering how I had enough hands to pull that off.)

Today I dremeled Dancer’s toenails, clipped her paws neatly, clipped the hair around her tail, and gave her a light brushing, all while she stood pretty calmly. It certainly wasn’t a struggle. She even jumped on the grooming table voluntarily. I dremeled Elly’s front toenails and trimmed her face whiskers with a pair of scissors, and gave her a thorough brushing. She likes brushing more than Dancer. She let me clip a little extra hair from her feet. No struggle.

I really wish I’d thought of clicker training it earlier. (Note that we have a lot of steps to go to get to calm face shaving. But I feel sure we’ll get there.)