Tips to Help a Westie Mix Stop Protesting When Being Groomed

For this Los Angeles dog training session, we share some tips to stop 5 year-old Westie mix Whiskey from protesting when his guardian grooms his hair.

Whiskey was adopted through our favorite Dog Rescue in LA, MaeDay Rescue. Knowing Whiskey can sometimes be reactive or shy to people he doesn’t know, we met outside so I could use some dog behaviorist tricks to make sure he liked me.

Once we got inside, we spent time discussing his day to day routine. I shared a few indoor exercise tips, suggested some rules and how to enforce them. We also covered Petting with a Purpose and Passive training to help Whiskey know what behaviors his guardian likes.

To stop Whiskey from nipping at hands or scissors when people try to cut his hair, I pulled out some treats and handed his human my camera so I could show her how to create a positive association with grooming.

When stopping a dog from nipping when you try to cut its hair, its important to go slow and make sure the dog feels really positive about the experience. I added in a CER exercise which can also help by conditioning the dog to associate the appearance of scissors as an indication he is about to get a nice reward. With enough practice, most dogs learn to enjoy being groomed.

To help the guardian remember all the positive dog training tips we shared in this in home LA dog training session, we shot a roadmap to success video.