The most surprising things can cause your dog to stumble during a groom session. A dog who is used to a flat collar being buckled around their neck for walks may have never had anything actually pass over their head.
This causes problems when a groomer attempts to put a groom lead over their head, with the dog wildly ducking and jerking to avoid this strange thing. Although it’s usually on after a minute or two of struggle, that struggle is just one more unnecessary stress for your dog and groomer.
If your dog wears a harness and eagerly thrusts their head into the collar portion of the harness to go for their walks, you can skip this part of your dog’s grooming education. They already know how to put their head through something and have already been positively reinforced (by the walk) for doing so.
If your dog wears a harness and it’s a full-on rodeo to get it on each time, you’ll likely find this training section as good for you as it is for your dog and your groomer.
You will need a loop big enough for your dog to feel comfortable putting their head through. This could be a rope folded into a loop, the head piece of your dog’s harness, or an actual grooming lead if you have one. (This really isn’t something I’d go out and buy just for practice, but if you’re planning to groom the dog at home and want one anyway, then go ahead and use the actual lead.)
Step one: Present the lead
Hold the loop up so your dog can see it is a loop, and let them sniff it. (Or if it is a harness, hold it so that the ring of the dog’s head piece is visible.) Reward your dog for showing any interest in the loop. If your dog is uncomfortable with the lead, it’s okay to present it on the ground first and let the dog sniff it.
If your dog has had unpleasant experiences with having a loop forced over their head, you may have to do several introduction sections until your dog isn’t quite so suspicious of it.
Step two: Lure the pup
With one hand, hold the loop so it is as open as possible. With the other, offer a treat so the dog has to bring their face near the loop. If the dog doesn’t care at all and eagerly puts their face near the loop to get the treat, you can safely skip to step three.
If the dog is nervous or hesitant to take the treat, move the treat farther away from the lead (so your pups face approaches the lead but not as close) and try again. Try to find the edge of where the dog is comfortable, and work there until your pup is confident eating treats near the loop.
Gradually bring the treats closer to the loop until your dog is comfortable eating treats with their head very close to the loop.
Step three: A little closer
With one hand hold the loop open as wide as possible. With the other, put your hand through the loop with the treat and see if your dog will take it. This mimics the correct approach to getting their head through the loop, without the scary part of it passing over their eyes.
Repeat this until the dog is comfortable taking treats this way.
Step four: Closer…
With one hand hold the loop open as wide as possible. With the other, hold the treat just behind the loop. Your dog should be able to reach the treat with only just the tip of his muzzle going through the loop. Repeat at this level until your dog is comfortable.
Step five: Closer!
With one hand hold the loop open as wide as possible, lure your dog’s head through the loop until all of his muzzle, but not his eyes are through. For flat faced dogs, this will probably be about the same as step four, so just keep repeating step four if that’s the case.
Step Six: Yay, and through!
Now attempt to lure your dog’s head all the way through. If your dog accepts this, fantastic! Praise your dog a lot. Do not tighten the lead on the other side just yet if you’re using a loop! You don’t want your dog to finally be brave and trust you with their head, only to be “trapped” the second they do.
Step Seven: Securing the dog
Once your dog is comfortable putting their head through the loop, you can practice tightening a lead if it’s a grooming lead or rope loop. If it’s a harness, strap on the rest of it and go for a walk! Your dog will soon associate how wonderful it is to put their head through a loop, because that means it’s walkies time!!
Homework time!
Dogs have a range of comfort levels when it comes to a grooming lead. You already know if the dog happily stuffs their face through as it is, training isn’t necessary. Use the quiz below to determine where your dog’s comfort level is, and then use the appropriate homework sheet recommended by the quiz if you want a step-by-step guide.
You can only get Bronze or Silver, “Gold” is a skip in this case.
Homework Pages:
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