How to Teach Your Puppy to Enjoy Being Groomed & Bathed

Congratulations to all new puppy owners!

Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting time for everyone; their antics are adorable, and smiles are guaranteed. They also bear a great deal of responsibility and must put in a lot of effort to ensure that they grow into social, well-mannered adults. We all want a confident dog in day-to-day situations, and that includes being comfortable being groomed and bathed.

All dogs, regardless of breed, require regular grooming, but some require far more than others depending on their coat. Training your puppy to enjoy being handled, groomed, and bathed is an essential part of their training, but something that is often overlooked when they are little. Handling your puppy regularly and correctly will help set them up to be an adult dog that is comfortable being touched.

Teach your puppy that they’ll get rewarded with treats whenever you touch or handle different parts of their body. For example, touch or gently brush your puppy’s tail and immediately give them a treat. Then, touch your puppy’s foot and give it another treat. The goal is to teach your puppy that being in their space is safe and rewarding.

Houndztooth’s all-natural training treats are 100% Australian-made and sourced, and they make the perfect rewards for grooming and bath time training with your pup. Depending on the size of your puppy, make sure you cut it up into smaller bite-size pieces ahead of time.

Training Treats Chicken

$16.95

Our all natural Chicken Training Treats are a healthy, high reward and bite-size treat perfect for training and rewarding (and great as toy stuffers too!). Australian made and sourced, our all natural & freeze dried raw suitable for dogs and puppies of all sizes. A high reward and single protein treat, containing no artificial flavours, preservatives or colours. Made from 100% Australian chicken, apple, kale & rosemary. Our Training Treats are perfectly sized to easily reward your dog when training. At Houndztooth we believe that dogs are more than just pets, they’re part of the family. Our dogs deserve only the best and that is the reason we have created our 100% natural Training Treats. A healthy and nutritious treat that your dog will love. Sourced from 100% natural Australian ingredients to promote your dog’s overall health and wellbeing.

Training Treats Lamb

$16.95

Our all natural lamb Training Treats are a healthy, high reward and bite-size treat perfect for training and rewarding (and great as toy stuffers too!). Australian made and sourced, our all natural & freeze dried raw suitable for dogs and puppies of all sizes. A high reward and single protein treat, containing no artificial flavours, preservatives or colours. Made from 100% Australian lamb, sweet potato & rosemary. Our Training Treats are perfectly sized to easily reward your dog when training. At Houndztooth we believe that dogs are more than just pets, they’re part of the family. Our dogs deserve only the best and that is the reason we have created our 100% natural Training Treats. A healthy and nutritious treat that your dog will love. Sourced from 100% natural Australian ingredients to promote your dog’s overall health and wellbeing.

Training Treats Beef

$16.95

Our all natural Beef Training Treats are a healthy, high reward and bite-size treat perfect for training and rewarding (and great as toy stuffers too!). Australian made and sourced, our all natural & freeze dried raw suitable for dogs and puppies of all sizes. A high reward and single protein treat, containing no artificial flavours, preservatives or colours. Made from 100% Australian beef heart, sweet potato, hemp seed powder, kale & rosemary. Our Training Treats are perfectly sized to easily reward your dog when training. At Houndztooth we believe that dogs are more than just pets, they’re part of the family. Our dogs deserve only the best and that is the reason we have created our 100% natural Training Treats. A healthy and nutritious treat that your dog will love. Sourced from 100% natural Australian ingredients to promote your dog’s overall health and wellbeing.

Don’t forget to handle your pup’s ears, inside and out, very gently. Ears are sensitive so do a little touching, followed by a treat.

Recognise the areas where your puppy is uncomfortable being touched. Take these areas slowly using lots of treats as a reward.

As well as being touched, your puppy must learn to enjoy being brushed. Start with a soft bristle brush or grooming glove and gently massage your puppy by brushing in the direction of hair growth, giving verbal praise and treats. Brushing against the hair pattern may be uncomfortable for your puppy. Begin to brush at the back of the head, and work towards the tail and down the legs. Keep these first grooming sessions short and use lots of treats. Always end sessions on a happy note and play a short game to help your puppy associate grooming time with a pleasant outcome.

Puppies also need to learn to enjoy being bathed, and this must be done slowly as a bad experience early on may make bathing difficult for life.

To start, reward your puppy for being in the bath area without using any water. Give your puppy lots of praise and treats for calm behaviour. Do several sessions over a week or so, working up to having water running near your puppy. Reward your puppy for calm behaviour around the water. Once you feel ready to give your pup its first bath, I recommend having someone help you. The second person can gently restrain your puppy and reward them with lots of treats or offer them something to lick as a distraction.

With your puppy being distracted by your helper, try to get the first bath done quickly. A handheld nozzle in a gentle setting and warm water are the easiest. Once wet, use a low-irritant shampoo that is formulated specifically for puppies, like Houndztooth’s Puppy and Kitten Shampoo. Quickly towel dry, and then have some playtime immediately after. If the weather is cold, your puppy should be dried thoroughly with a towel and kept somewhere warm.

This is the best way to teach your puppy to enjoy being groomed and bathed.