Astrid was a 4-month-old Pittie who joined the Love Wags A Tail board-and-train program to learn basic puppy manners. At one point, she needed a bath, and I quickly found out that she was “allergic” to water. She fought me every step of the way during the bathing process.
I couldn’t imagine what the next 10-plus years would be like for the owners of this precious pup every time they wanted to bathe her. As many people know, 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 a resounding YES! They had given her a bath prior to bringing her to board-and-train, and it took two of them to get it done. No surprise there!
I worked on Astrid’s bath manners in my outdoor doggy bathtub. I do everything I can to save my back from strain, and this is a great product to do just that.
The training went very well, day-by-day. Puppy training takes patience. Changing a dog’s behavior is an incremental process.
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 an integral part 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 south and southwest Florida, Coral Springs, Southwest Ranches, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Davie, and Broward, Collier, Lee counties, cities near me
