When Astrid joined the Outsmarting Dogs board-and-train program, she was a 4 months old. She came into the program to learn basic puppy manners. One day, she needed a bath. That’s when I discovered that she was “allergic” to water. She fought the bath and me every step of the way.
The owners would have a big problem giving her a bath over the next 10-plus. Pitties are mostly muscle and very strong, and fighting one at bath time is like wrestling a gator!
I had enough wriggle room in Astid’s training program for bath work, so I contacted the owners and asked if they’d like me to work on Astrid’s puppy bathing manners. Their answer was an absolute YES! They had gone through the wrestling process with Astrid when they gave her a bath prior to bringing her to board-and-train. It took two of them to get it done then!
I worked on Astrid’s bath manners in my <a href=”https://amzn.to/34yZiVx” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>outdoor doggy bathtub</a>. I set up everything I can to save my back from strain, and this is a great product to do that.
Puppy training takes patience. Changing a dog’s behavior is an incremental process, and Astrid’s puppy bath training went very well.
Pittie Astrid got used to jumping into the tub herself. And as the days progressed I was able to give her an entire bath, complete with ear cleaning, as her regular routine. No more gator wrestling involved and she cooperated completely from start to finish. Her favorite part was the finish. She loved being towel dried.
When bringing a puppy into your home, grooming should be a basic of the training process. Working with a small puppy is a lot more manageable than an adult who has no bathing manners.
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Helen Verte Schwarzmann
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Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
AKC STAR Puppy, CGC, and Trick Dog Trainer and Evaluator
Your Board-and-Train Dog Trainer for southwest Florida, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Collier county, Lee county
