Being comfortable with handling will be important throughout your dog's life. We want our dogs to be comfortable visiting the vet and the groomer and with procedures you will do at home such as brushing, nail filing, bathing, and toothbrushing.
The best time to start handling exercises is when your dog is a puppy. Build a positive association with handling by using counterconditioning. This means pairing handling with high value treats so your puppy's emotional response to being touched changes from feeling stressed to feeling relaxed and comfortable. It’s important to use high value treats so that you create a strong emotional response rather than a weak one.
How to condition handling:
Never trap your dog or puppy while doing this exercise. If your dog ever backs away from the handling, simply do not reward the dog and see if he will come back on his own. He's telling you that what you were doing is too much for him and that you need to go back a step and move more slowly.
Here is a video of counterconditioning handling with Bug shortly after she came to live with me. You can see that she needs grooming but she's not comfortable with that yet so I need to go slowly. I just reach for her face and will work my way up to actual touch in subsequent sessions. Sometimes I say "yes" and other times I click. You can decide which works best for you and your pup. This is how I fed Bug her breakfast! Make food work for you!
The best time to start handling exercises is when your dog is a puppy. Build a positive association with handling by using counterconditioning. This means pairing handling with high value treats so your puppy's emotional response to being touched changes from feeling stressed to feeling relaxed and comfortable. It’s important to use high value treats so that you create a strong emotional response rather than a weak one.
How to condition handling:
- Start by just reaching for your dog and saying “yes” and feeding a high value treat like a piece of meat. Especially if you have a shy dog, don't look directly at your dog and blink often so your puppy doesn't experience it as intimidating. When your pup is relaxed and comfortable with handling, you can then start to look at her as you handle her.
- When your puppy seems comfortable with you reaching toward him, reach and touch your dog softly. Then say “yes” and feed a treat.
- Every dog is different but for many dogs, under the chin and the chest may be the least stressful places to be handled. Start where it's easiest for your dog and progress to places that are harder. Eventually work on all body parts including the sides of the face, neck, shoulders, sides, top of the head, back, ears, legs, feet, tail, and rear.
- If your dog is very shy or fearful, you can initiate the handling exercise by feeding your dog AS you pet at the same time. No conditioning will be taking place, but you will show your dog what you are going to be doing without it being a surprise. This also helps with working on handling with a mouthy puppy. If you try to touch him for the first time, the puppy might try to nibble your hand as you reach toward him. So for the first few repetitions, simply touch the puppy AS the puppy is eating the treat to get rid of the puppy’s habit of opening his mouth.
- Once you have done a couple of training sessions, reinforcing reaches and touches, and your dog looks comfortable, you can move on. Touch your dog and hold your hand still for 3 seconds on your dog before saying “yes” and rewarding. Then touch your dog and hold the hand still for 5 seconds, say “yes” and feed a treat. If your dog looks relaxed and calm, try slow circles or strokes with your hand after touching your dog. Say “yes”, after you have done a few seconds of stroking, and reinforce. Remember, for your dog to build a positive association with handling, the handling has to happen BEFORE you say “yes” and feed the treat.
Never trap your dog or puppy while doing this exercise. If your dog ever backs away from the handling, simply do not reward the dog and see if he will come back on his own. He's telling you that what you were doing is too much for him and that you need to go back a step and move more slowly.
Here is a video of counterconditioning handling with Bug shortly after she came to live with me. You can see that she needs grooming but she's not comfortable with that yet so I need to go slowly. I just reach for her face and will work my way up to actual touch in subsequent sessions. Sometimes I say "yes" and other times I click. You can decide which works best for you and your pup. This is how I fed Bug her breakfast! Make food work for you!