How to pet a dog

Teach your dog to like being touched and examined, which will make physical examinations or grooming easier in the future.
Try to solve the problem of sensitive areas when your dog is a puppy, so that it will not be easy to show fear or defensive behavior in the future.

What you need to know before touch training

(1) Make the dog like you first, then practice touching

Before doing touch training for your dog, you need to communicate with the dog more emotionally, such as feeding the dog yourself, taking walks, and playing.

Touching without emotional basis can easily become an aggressive behavior for the dog. If the dog is willing to be touched simply by you, it means that the dog recognizes you as his friend, and you can try to touch the dog’s sensitive areas.

(2) Understand the dog’s sensitive areas

Each dog has slightly different sensitive areas, most of which include ears, paws, neck collar position and buttocks.

Generally, the parts of a dog that are rarely touched are more sensitive, especially those that have already had rejection reactions or are infected with diseases. You must understand them in advance before training.

Sensitive areas must be touched gradually after the dog is stable.

(3) Changing the dog’s concept of touch is the key

Let the dog feel that good things will happen when being touched or picked up. When the dog is picked up, the feet or ears are touched, there will be delicious food, or the dog feels comfortable when being touched and enters a relaxed state. Touching becomes a good way of interaction and can also soothe the dog’s emotions.

The best time for touch training

(1) Feeding and touching with hands to establish good associations

Use the palm of your hand to feed the dog with regular food, or give snacks while touching the dog, and repeat.

(2) Key points of application

Usually, you have done a lot of touch exercises, and the dog is used to being touched. However, sometimes medical treatment will make the dog more sensitive. It is recommended that you talk to the dog in a gentle tone, let the dog feel your care for it, and look at the dog with your kind eyes before touching the part that needs treatment.

It is necessary to observe the dog’s reaction, the length of time, position and strength of touch, and make sure the dog does not avoid or run away. If the dog avoids, wait again.

(3) Dogs just don’t like to be touched in some parts or behaviors

Some care behaviors, such as injections, are difficult to make dogs like, or in an emergency, there is no time to wait for the dog to like it. In this case, as long as the dog can passively accept it and will not resist violently or run away during the process, it will be fine.

Train the dog to withstand some small pressure in daily life, so that it doesn’t like it but is willing to accept it. Carry out rich stimulation training every day, walking is a good way, and when you are at home with the dog, you can also give various touch stimulations to make the dog accustomed to it.

When operating, you can change from a soft tone to a firm request. A firm attitude will let the dog know that this is what he must face, creating a short period of patience.

Common mistakes

(1) Strong pressure

When the owner and the caregiver are caring for the dog, they often take advantage of the dog’s low reaction when he is confused about the situation and force the dog to check. This kind of operation without paying attention to the dog’s emotional reaction will cause the dog to resist more and more during the subsequent care and examination. In serious cases, it will hurt the owner and medical staff, or cause stress injury to the dog, and lose trust in people.

(2) Cram at the last minute

Touching requires repeated practice on a regular basis, and using food to induce the dog at a critical moment will hardly produce the desired effect.