Training for good behavior during grooming. The Buddy
Method
By Rich Marsh
This article was originally
written for a posting on the WHEATEN-L, an email list for owners of soft-coated
wheaten terriers. However, the
principles outlined will benefit all dog owners, who have to regularly brush or
comb their dogs.
You got a soft-coated wheaten
terrier probably in part because of its beautiful coat. Here is one way to prevent that coat
from becoming your worst nightmare.
The following is based on my
experiences with Buddy, now 2 years old.
The suggestions are offered in hopes that they may be of some help to
some of you and perhaps especially to those with new puppies who want to get
off on the right foot.
First, of all you should know that
I am a first-time wheaten owner so all I have to go on is how Buddy has faired
with my techniques. I use positive
reinforcement ("clicker") techniques exclusively. Buddy is 2 years
old. His current reactions to grooming are as follows. When I get out the comb
for his daily sessions he will interrupt whatever he is doing and on command
lie on his side in front of me.
When I lead him into the bathroom he will hop into the tub and stand,
waiting for his bath. When I trim
him (every 4 weeks or so) he is well behaved on the grooming table. Lately he
has progressed to jumping on the table on my command. After he was a year old I was able to stop using the
grooming noose to hold his head while he is on the table. Buddy is not a wonder
dog; he has his share of "willful wheaten" behaviors. His reactions
to grooming situations are the result of consistent training.
(For convenience and because I
have a male dog I use male pronouns below).
All of this is best if started as
soon as you get your young puppy.
These are my suggestions.
1. Learn the basics of "clicker" training. Clicker
is in quotes because you don't really need a clicker. The basic idea is as follows:
a. Dog does a desirable behavior, e.g., doesn't pull his paw
away.
b. You immediately give the "click" or its
equivalent, lets call it the "bridge." I use a clicker a lot, but for grooming, bathing etc., my
hands are too full. Instead I use
the word "goood." As the
spelling suggests I use a particular pronunciation of the word "good"
only in these training situations.
(You can also attach the clicker to your wrist so it always at hand, but
it still can be awkward with a squiggling puppy.)
c. You give the dog a treat. So in summary, the bridge means "you got it right, a
treat is coming." A treat ALWAYS follows the bridge. You can give lots of other praise,
"atta boy, nice dog, pretty, boy," or whatever, without treating, but
the bridge signal always means a treat is coming. I explain how I used this technique for training "good
grooming behavior", but I would suggest every wheaten owner do some
reading on this subject (SEE BELOW FOR CLICKER-TRAINING RESOURCES). Wheatens learn very quickly using this
technique. Step one of this
technique is to teach the dog that bridge = treat. This is easy.
Just click (or say the bridge-word) and then treat. A couple of 5 - minute sessions should
have your puppy looking for the treat as soon as the bridge is heard.
2. Handle your dog every day, trying to touch every part of
its body. This step is
particularly important for puppies.
Handle every toe, look at its teeth, feel its ears, tummy, rump, etc. Exercise gentle insistence and don't let
the dog win. Your dog will
probably pull his foot away when you try to feel between his toes. When this happens, pick up the foot and
try again. You have to win at this
game. (Puppies will likely try to
nip your hand during this process.
You will have to use your anti-mouthing training methods here, e.g.,
yelling "oow," distracting, etc.) When he allows you to touch an area without pulling away or
trying to mouth you, bridge and treat.
When your dog is good at this massage and touching session, you are
ready to move on to doing other things like brushing teeth, combing fur,
trimming nails, etc.
3. In preparation for brushing and combing, you need to teach
your dog to lie on its side with his HEAD ON THE FLOOR (or grooming table).
(See below for a brief description of how to comb). I use the floor for combing
because I then can be in the family room with the family, watching TV or
chatting.) If his head is down, he
can't mouth you, or get up. In the
words of clicker trainers, you have to shape this behavior. At first just try getting your dog to
lie on his side quietly while you stroke him with the pin brush. Initially you will need to bridge and
treat whenever the head is on the floor. If he lifts his head you may gently
guide it back. Follow a simple
rule--THE BRIDGE IS GIVEN ONLY WHEN THE HEAD IS DOWN. (Herein lies the
essential advantage of "clicker" techniques over just treating the
dog. The dog will have to lift his
head to get the treat, but he will know that it was the bridge that marked the
correct behavior.) KEEP THE TREATS
SMALL, e.g., for a puppy you can use pieces of hard cheese less than 1/4 of an
inch cubed. You will need to treat
lots to get through your initial grooming sessions and large treats will fill
up the dog.
4. As the dog learns to keep his head down, you will be able
to comb more and more before bridging and treating. As you proceed to lengthen the time between treats be
prepared to back off if the failure rate (lifting his head or squirming) gets
too high. DO NOT set a goal of a
treat-free session. After all, the
dog has to work hard at this and deserves some pay!
5. Eventually you may be able to dispense with the formalities
of the "bridge and treat."
At this point Buddy and I have a gentlemen's agreement. He will keep his head down as long as I
treat him occasionally. If I go
too long between treats he will lift his head to get my attention and then put
it down very quickly, as if to say, "Hey you, my head is down!" I am sure I could eliminate this
behavior, but I think it so cute that of course I often treat him shortly after
his head is back down (never when it is up). If he tries to pull the trick too often I just ignore him
and go on. If he leaves his head
up I just look at him and wait, when he puts it down I continue the
combing. When I am done with one
side, I pat him twice on his side.
This has become his cue to get up and sit for a treat before lying down
for me to do the other side.
6. Initially, when I trained this behavior I had trouble
getting to the insides of the legs.
I would lift the leg part way and do the inside of the other leg. Now the head down behavior is so
ingrained that I can lift the leg vertically and put him almost onto his back
and he will try to keep his head firmly on the floor. I lift his head off-the floor to do under his chin and he
will press it firmly to the floor as soon as I release it.
7. I finish up with him standing for a final combing. He has
been clicker trained the "stand" command. I won't describe the
training here, but for any behavior just decide on your goal and shape the
desired behavior with the bridge (click) and treat technique.
Similar techniques work for
behavior in the bath, and for trimming. (See: The problem with trimming is that the sessions are
spaced quite widely so progress is slower than with daily combing sessions.
Hope this helps some of you.
For suggestions on trimming see: http://www.dac.neu.edu/biology/r.marsh/TheBuddyTrim.htm
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COMBING INSTRUCTIONS:
Suggestions for combing are found
in many wheaten resources. Here is
my method.
BASIC RULE: To keep your wheaten
mat free you must comb to the skin on every square inch of his body.
OBVIOUS BUT IMPORTANT RULE: You
should try not to hurt your dog during combing. The discomfort will be an
aversive signal that will make your training harder. Hold the fur just in front
of where you put the comb in. With
tangles hold the base of the fur that is tangled so that you are not pulling on
the skin as you pull the comb through.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU COMB? I try
to comb every day. I don't really achieve this goal, but it is hardly ever more
than two days, and never more than three.
The problem with setting a goal of every 2 days is that it is too easy
for it to become 4 days and then have a matted dog on your hands.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? Assuming
that you have trained your dog for good grooming behavior and you comb every
day or two, the session should take you between 15 and 30 minutes, not counting
those times that your dog comes home with hundreds of
“stick-tights” all over his fur.. If you have succeeded in your training, this will be a
pleasant and rewarding time with your dog. (I get an enormous satisfaction from watching the comb go
though Buddy's coat. Yeah, maybe I
need to get a life!)
The Steps:
1) [Optional] Brush the coat with a pin-brush to smooth things
out and remove bits of leaves, etc.
2) Fluff the hair along the back towards the head.
3) Starting at the tail, take a small amount of fur and comb
backwards toward the tail. The
comb should reach the skin. If you run into tangles and you are having trouble
getting the comb through, take less fur at a time, or turn the comb and use the
end to break up the tangle. Continue working toward the neck, always combing
backward. When you are done you
should be able to run the comb easily from front to back.
4) Do the legs by fluffing the fur from bottom to top. Start at the foot and take small
amounts of fur and comb towards the foot.
Work your way up the leg from bottom to top. You will need to lift the leg to get at the underside (or
reach through and do the inside of the opposite leg. Be careful on the legs. The fur is thinner and the legs are sensitive to the teeth
of the comb.
5) Do the sides with the same procedure starting from the
tummy and working your way up the side.
6) Use the same procedure on the neck, working your way from
the base toward the head always combing toward the base.
7) Comb the fall and beard.
8) Flip the dog and repeat!
9) Have the dog stand for a final once over.
CLICKER RESOURCES:
Books:
Don't Shoot the Dog (revised edition), by Karen Pryor
The Culture Clash, by Jean Donaldson
Websites:
http://www.clickertraining.com/
http://www.clickersolutions.com/
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Richard L. Marsh
email: rmarsh@neu.edu
Posted: 29 January 2002
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