[Dailydrool] cheap ( read: underhanded) way to clean the anal glands

[saraberry at aol.com]

I think it is much better to ask your vet, vet tech or groomer to show you how to do this easily.  Many groomers will do this for a very small fee if asked. We use papertowels and never get messy.

I know it is not a big scare, but I would not recommend any form of scaring a dog to get something accomplished.  It is very easy to stack stress in dogs.  

For example, if they don't like baths, and they get a bath, and then don't like slick floors and have to walk with their feet wet, and then don't like little children who grab their tails, and little Cousin Billy comes over, any one of these separately might not be a problem, but put them all together and you can send a dog over the edge with either panic or aggression demonstrations, and look out Cousin Billy or Aunt June or whoever could be around, and look out again the next time anything similar comes up.

Dogs will also associate fearful situations with people and also with places and no one wants their dog to be afraid of you or to come into the living room, or get their nails dremeled, etc.  Much better to show them the dremel with it off and give them a squirt of Easy Cheese until their tails are wagging.  Then turn it on and off and squirt the cheese until happy, the hold a foot and release, etc, etc., well before the next time they actually need nails done.

The best professionals will always keep a dog training below the fear threshold.  If they show fear, they back off to something easier.  Think about how much you would love playing a game in an earthquake or if a bear was growling at you about six feet away with nothing between you and them.  When a dog is afraid, that is the main concern and they learn that what is going on around it is part of what to be afraid of.

Best*

Sara
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