You’ve been working hard teaching your new puppy to sit, stay, give you a paw, and stand so that you can wipe off their muddy paws…and legs…and belly.
You can read about SIT here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/mud
You can read about STAY here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/how-stay-can-help-your-house-stay-clean
You can read about PAW here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/the-secret-steps-to-mud-free-floors
You can read about STAND here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/stop-muddy-paw-prints-in-their-tracks
Perhaps your puppy is allowing you to wipe off half of their muddy body, but then taking off toward your couch. Are you chasing them down? Are you yelling? It’s hard not to be frustrated when training a new puppy or rescue dog.
Here are a three tips to keep you calm and your puppy staying put for the whole drying routine.
Towel speed: Dry your dog with slow strokes. Think massage — not tickle fight.
This puppy is in bite-mode. Keep your puppy calm when you wipe their feet.
2. Your Energy: If you are giggling, squiggling the towel, and being goofy your dog will respond to that with play. Approach towel drying as if you are a matter-of-fact veterinarian. You are there to calmly dry the dog.
Keeping yourself calm while towelling off your dog, ensures that your dog will also be calm. The same applies for grooming your dog.
3. Tug-o-War: Be mindful that the towel does not become a tug toy. Towels are for drying, not playing. The same applies to your socks and sandals. If you allow the bad behaviour of towel chewing, you are opening the door for your puppy to make other mistakes. You decide what they are allowed to put their mouth on, and what is off limits. Be consistent, clear, and fair to your puppy.
Tug-o-war is a fun game to play with your dog. Always use dog toys for tug-o-war.
Hopefully these tips allow you to enjoy drying off your puppy, whether it’s after a fun romp through the mud puddles or after bath time.
If you enjoyed this blog post, please click the like button and leave a comment below. We’d love to hear your success stories. If you’re still struggling — leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to help you.
Have a wonderful week, Dog Leaders! Now, go get your dog dirty so you can practice sit, stay, paw, stand, and towels-are-not-tug-toys.
Alyssa
Photos by: Jamie Street (Duck Toller being towelled off,) Daniël Maas (puppy on his back,) Abbie Love (grooming Yorkshire Terrier at the beach,) Darinka Kievskaya (Pug playing tug,) Artem Labunsky (dog standing in water and shaking himself off.)