When I first tried to get my dog to wear a doggie headband, it wasn’t much of a success. She immediately tried pawing and scraping the weird object off of her head. The next day, with a bit of desensitization and positive reinforcement, she went on her first walk wearing her costume!
Step 1: Expose the dog to the costume
I don’t know about you, but if I was randomly forced into an object without seeing it before, I would be weirded out! This goes for your dog, too. Before you dress your dog up, place the costume in an area where they can explore and investigate it.
Step 2: Put the costume on during feeding time
Its dinnertime! They come bounding, wagging, and slobbering. Want to know the best way to get your dog to enjoy something? Put it on them during feeding time! This goes with your offending costume. If you are able(this step is hard with head accessories) place the costume on before and take off immediately after feeding time. If you are using a head accessory, you may be better off feeding treats. Do not let the dog have a chance to have a negative reaction, such as rubbing it off, pawing or tearing the costume. In almost all areas of dog training, the more time a dog spends rehearsing the bad behavior, the more often it will do it.
Step 3: Leave costume on for longer periods of time
Once you have spent a few days putting your dogs costume during feeding time, leave or put on the costume while praising your dog, or doing other activities they enjoy, such as playing. If they like attention, they will get showered with it while wearing their costume. Who can resist a little chihuahua dragon? Or a frenchie Santa Clause?
If you follow these steps, your dog will soon learn to love the costume, and they will be able to join you in a whole bunch of events! Happy doggie trick or treating to christmas costume festivities!
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