Do each of the following activities with your puppy every day at the same time:
Week One:
- Pick up each of your puppy’s paws. Wiggle nails and press on paw pads. Give your puppy lots of praise and a small dog treat or piece of kibble after each paw.
- Handle each ear and look in the ear. Praise and treat.
- Touch your puppy’s muzzle. Praise and treat.
- Look at each eye, stroking face with your hands. Praise and treat.
- Lift up and handle tail, checking anal area or cleanliness.
- Stroke his coat with your hand and praise him.
- Finish with a treat. Wasn’t that fun? (Your puppy surely thought so!)
Week Two:
- Continue Week One items.
- Gently take your puppy’s muzzle in one hand and insert your fingers in the corners of his mouth. Gently touch a couple of teeth with your finger. Praise and treat!
- Let your puppy sniff and explore a soft natural bristle brush. Put a treat on the bristles for your puppy to find.
- Let your puppy sniff and explore a nail clipper appropriately sized for your puppy. Praise and offer a treat.
Week Three:
- Continue Week One items.
- Open your puppy’s mouth and rub teeth briefly with a soft cloth. Examine teeth and gums. Try to stop before your puppy begins to resist.
- Gently brush puppy’s coat for a few seconds, then praise and treat.
- Touch the nail clippers against your puppy’s paw. If he reacts positively, clip off just the very tip of just one or two nails. Praise and dog treat!
Week Four:
- Continue Week One items.
- Let your puppy explore a toothbrush, sniffing and even chewing it a bit. Praise and treat.
- Put a little toothpaste made for dogs on your finger and allow your puppy to lick it off. (Don’t force it. If he doesn’t like it, that’s fine. The point is to get him used to the taste, not necessarily to want to gobble it up.)
- Brush the coat more thoroughly, praising as you go.
- Clip off any toenail tips you didn’t clip last week—just one or two per day.
Week Five:
- Continue Week One items.
- Touch the toothbrush against your puppy’s teeth, scrubbing just a little if your puppy responds well. Praise and treat!
- Brush coat, then introduce your puppy to a comb. Let puppy sniff it, and touch it on your puppy’s coat, combing a little if he responds well.
- Keep handling paws, monitoring daily and snipping off nail tips when necessary. Don’t forget to keep the praise flowing!
Week Six:
- Continue Week One items.
- Brush your puppy’s teeth, briefly. Praise!
- Brush and comb coat.
- Continue to handle paws, ears, eyes, tail, and teeth.
- Enjoy your well-behaved and well-groomed puppy!
Excerpted from The Simple Guide to Grooming Your Dog, published by TFH Publications. Used with permission.
