By: Kelly Marshall
Submitted: 2009-04-28 15:33:29 | Word Count: 570
When you bring a puppy home for the first time, you may be thinking of a million and a half different things. You may be concerned about the housebreaking, where it is going to sleep, the food your want to feed it, and the tricks you want to teach it. Something that a lot of people forget to think about in the beginning is the grooming of the puppy. It is extremely important to begin grooming the puppy right away instead of waiting for it to become older.
Even though some people might think that grooming a small puppy can scare it away from the entire process, it actually works in the opposite way. When you introduce the puppy to the grooming process in the beginning, it begins to view it as a natural part of life and thinks nothing about it. Most of the time, you will quickly begin to see that the puppy even enjoys the time it gets to spend with you while being groomed. Not only does the process feel good but also it is a little extra one on one time that the puppy gets to spend with you.
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Bath Time
Allow your dog is play in the water in the tub. Fill the tub only an inch or two and throw a couple of the puppy s favorite plastic or rubber toys in there. Make it a fun experience for the puppy and nothing more. Do this every day for about a week or until you see that the puppy no longer associates the tub with anything that is scary to it. Once you reach that step, go ahead and introduce using the sprayer or a cup of water and pour it onto the dog, still with the toys in the tub. Once your puppy has become used to that you can add the dog shampoo and begin washing the puppy as normal.
Brushing
Allow the puppy to sniff and look over the brush all it wants. By making sure that the puppy gets to check the brush out, it will see that it is nothing to be alarmed about. The puppy will see that it is not an object that is going to hurt it and therefore will not be afraid. Start by brushing the dog slowly while making sure that the puppy is comfortable. The whole idea is to make it an enjoyable bonding experience between the two of you that also allows the puppy to be groomed.
Oral Care
Make sure that you have yourself a nice doggie toothbrush and flavored toothpaste for dogs. Start by placing a little bit of the toothpaste on your finger and allow the dog to lick it. If it will not lick the toothpaste, gently reach your finger into the mouth of the dog and rub the toothpaste along the teeth and the gum lines. This will allow the dog to become used to the taste of it. Then break out the toothbrush and allow the puppy to sniff it, lick it, and play with it. Just like the grooming brush, you want the puppy to see that it is nothing to be afraid of.
In due time you will see that grooming your puppy is easier then you thought. As long as you follow the tips you will have no problems and your puppy will grow into a dog that enjoys its grooming sessions.
