# Puppy in fear of hairdryer.



## Norboo (Feb 18, 2008)

I tried many ways to get her to accept the hairdryer (no heat of course) but she is in fear of it. I give her lots of her favorite treats but no such luck. 

How do I get her to tolerate it? Thanks


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## gills (Mar 16, 2008)

My rescue REALLY did not like the hairdryer the first time I put it on her; she had a lot to say about it, actually. I persisted and kept a calm gentle tone of voice and she tolerated it but just barely. I did it just enough so that it dried her off a bit but did not totally overwhelm her. I used my hand to rub the fur while the air was on it to make it dry quicker, and sometimes my husband would help by holding her. The key was keeping the sessions short, but long enough to at least get one section of her body noticeably dry. Over the next few weeks I let her watch me when I dried my own hair and made it clear that I enjoyed it. Then after a few baths of her own, she got the point that the blow dryer gets her fur dry faster. She does not like being wet, especially on these chilly winter days. Once she put two and two together, she became quite happy to be blow-dried. In fact the last time I gave her a bath I decided not to blow dry her, and she looked at me like, "you're not going to leave me wet like THIS, are you???!"

So be patient, and do it in small steps. Just a bit at a time, but enough that your puppy starts to understand that the dryer has a purpose and doesn't just make loud scary noises.


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## doggone6 (Sep 7, 2007)

I have yet to meet the dog who doesn't dislike being blown dry. Since I've always had coated breeds, they just had to learn to live with it.

At 9 months...having been bathed and blown dry (with a professional Edemco dryer) WEEKLY since 8 weeks of age...Gus STILL hates the dryer and whines pathetically from the second I turn it on. I just keep at it and I figure one day he'll realize the whining isn't getting the dryer turned off and will shut up. 

Seriously, though - like anything else, practice makes perfect. Eventually they all get the message that they aren't being hurt, abused or anything else and learn to be quiet for the duration.


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