Take the stress out of grooming and vet visits with positive, consent-based training
Does this sound like you?
You can hear your dog’s nails tippy-tapping on your hard flooring and you KNOW it’s time for a trim, but you’ve been putting it off for weeks because your dog doesn’t like having their nails cut 🫣
Your dog is booked in with the groomer next week but you’re a bit embarrassed to take them in because you haven’t been able to get them to stand still to be brushed and now their coat is totally matted 😱
It’s time for your dog’s annual boosters and you’re dreading it because you know they’re scared of the vet and you hate having to see them so stressed 😢
What if I told you there’s a solution?
Grooming, vet visits and other kinds of handling are simply part of our dogs’ lives – and there’s no getting around that!
But there IS a way to make these procedures less stressful for both you and your dog, and all it takes is a little time and patience. The secret? Cooperative care training.
So what is cooperative care training for dogs?
In a nutshell, cooperative care training means teaching the dog to not only tolerate grooming and husbandry procedures, but also to be an active, willing participant in them. There are various methods for achieving this, but I like to use opt-in behaviours: these are certain behaviours that we teach the dog to perform when they’re ready to be touched or handled. This might be resting their chin on a chair, lying flat on one side or standing on a special mat or platform. Perhaps the most important aspect of cooperative care, though, is that the dog is also allowed to opt out. If they refuse to perform the opt-in behaviour, or if they break the position during handling, we stop whatever we’re doing.
The idea behind this is that we are giving the dog choice: instead of forcing them to submit to procedures they find unpleasant on our terms, we allow them to tell us when they’re ready and when they’ve had enough. It’s basically the same as your doctor asking you if you’re ready before they insert a needle, rather than just jabbing it in without any warning! This brings me on to another objective of cooperative care training: increasing predictability for the dog. All animals (including humans!) crave certainty and avoid uncertainty – a tendency that is crucial to survival. By ensuring that our dog knows exactly what is going to happen and when, we can make grooming and vet visits less stressful for them.
But surely if I allow my dog to opt out of procedures they find unpleasant, they’ll never opt in?
You will be surprised to find that when your dog realises they have the choice to either opt in or opt out of nail trims or vet procedures, they actually start opting in more often! A lot of the fear around grooming and handling arises because the dog feels trapped and unable to escape. We can reduce this anxiety by showing them they always have a way out.
The great thing about cooperative care is that it can be applied in so many different scenarios! You can use cooperative care to teach your dog to accept being brushed or having their nails clipped, to help your dog feel less anxious when you or your vet have to give them medicine or treatments, or simply to make it easier for you to perform daily handling like towelling them off after a walk.
Why do dogs struggle with grooming and medical procedures?
There are a number of reasons why dogs might not like being groomed or treated by the vet. For some dogs, they simply haven’t been exposed to this kind of handling from an early age so they’re not used to it. We often see this in our rescue dogs, especially street dogs who may have had limited human contact prior to being adopted. Alternatively, the dog may have experience of being handled, but those experiences have mostly been negative ones. For example, if a dog had to undergo intensive medical treatment as a puppy they may go on to develop a fear of the vet in adulthood.
Pain is another common reason why some dogs dislike handling. This sensitivity may be limited to the area of the body where they are experiencing discomfort (e.g. their ears if they have recurrent ear infections) or generalised to all handling. Dogs who are in pain may even resort to aggression when their owner or someone else attempts to touch them; if this sounds like your dog, it’s worth speaking to your vet in order to rule out and potentially treat any painful conditions they may be suffering from.
Finally, we have to recognise that a lot of the procedures we perform on our dogs are highly unnatural for them. Although we have been domesticating dogs for thousands of years, it is still understandable that a member of another species approaching them while wielding a strange tool is not something they’re programmed to cope with! What’s more, because we don’t share a common language we are unable to explain why we are doing these unpleasant things to them. And even if we could, we’re not sure whether dogs can understand the concept of short-term suffering for the benefit of long-term gains.
Why use cooperative care instead of just restraining the dog or using a muzzle?
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of muzzles! I think it’s important for all dogs to be happy and comfortable wearing a muzzle – even if your dog has never shown signs of aggression, all that can change when they get older or if they are in extreme pain. However, I firmly believe that cooperative care training trumps the ‘just get it done’ approach for various reasons:
👍 Benefits for dogs:
Reduced anxiety and stress
Increased confidence and trust in their owner
Improved overall well-being (e.g. because they are being groomed regularly)
👍 Benefits for owners:
No need to worry about accidentally hurting the dog because they’re wriggling around (e.g. when trimming nails)
Creates a stronger bond with their dog
Lower risk of being bitten or accidentally scratched
How to get started with cooperative care training
Hopefully by now I’ve sold you on the benefits of cooperative grooming and vet procedures – so how do you go about it? In my cooperative care online course I use a four-step process:
Step 1: teach the dog an opt-in position
Step 2: teach the dog to hold the position for a longer duration and with distractions
Step 3: introduce gentle handling and ‘opt-out’ points
Step 4: introduce tools and build up to ‘real life’ procedures
Check out the video below for a quick overview of what that process looks like!
If you’re just starting out on your cooperative care journey with your dog, this online, self-led course is a great place to start. It includes easy-to-follow video tutorials accompanied by downloadable PDF handouts with step-by-step instructions as well as training and troubleshooting tips. The best thing though? It’s only £15 for lifetime access!
A cooperative care success story
To illustrate the difference that cooperative care can make for dogs who are anxious about handling, let me tell you the story of my rescue Border Collie Crash. He is the true inspiration behind this course, and the reason I want to share my method with the world! When I first adopted Crash, he was extremely sensitive to being touched. Even though he actively sought human contact and cuddles, he would still flinch at the lightest of touches. Trying to brush him, trim his nails or even wipe his paws was a big no-no. In the end I resorted to secretly trimming his dew claws and removing the matted fur from behind his ears while he was asleep to try and make him more comfortable – something I would never recommend and very much regret, as I’m sure it affected his trust in me.
But then I found out about cooperative care, and everything changed. Now I can trim his nails, brush burrs out of his coat, apply flea treatment…I was even able to remove a tick that had lodged itself right between his eyes! It takes a little longer than if I were to just put a muzzle on him and have a helper restrain him, but it’s so worth it to see his confidence and trust in me build over time. We still have work to do – his ears are a sensitive spot after a recent ear infection – but I have total confidence that with time and patience we’ll get there.
If you also have an anxious rescue dog who is afraid of being groomed or handled, I’m always happy to chat and share my experiences.
Are you ready for stress-free grooming and vet visits with your dog? Here are your key takeaways:
Cooperative care training involves teaching your dog to be a willing participant in grooming, veterinary and other husbandry procedures
Giving our dogs the opportunity to opt out of these procedures makes them more likely to opt in
The benefits of cooperative care include reduced stress for both dog and owner, an improved relationship and a lower risk of bites
You can teach your dog cooperative care from the comfort of your own home using my online course
Cooperative care can be used for grooming, veterinary procedures and day-to-day handling
If you’re looking for the best way to cut your dog’s nails, brush them or help them overcome their fear of the vet, cooperative care training could be a game-changer. So don’t hesitate, and get started on your journey today!