Grooming Your Dog Without Stress: Brushing, Bathing and the Groomer

In brief

Grooming is about more than looks: when you brush, you spot skin problems, mats, ticks and small injuries early. Even so, grooming can be clearly stressful for some dogs. Three findings matter. First: restraint is often the real problem; in shelter dogs, fear scores were lower with loose holding than with stronger forms of restraint. Second: holding still doesn’t automatically mean relaxation; in a grooming study that so far has only been published in preliminary form, holding still was associated with stronger physiological signs of stress. Third: gradual, reward-based training makes sense, but the evidence on it is small and mixed.

This guide shows what different coat types need, why brushing, bathing and blow-drying stress many dogs, how to get your dog used to them step by step, and how to recognize a good groomer.

1. Why grooming matters

1.1 Keeping an eye on skin, coat and parasites

In practice: regular brushing removes loose hair and dirt and prevents mats. Matted fur pulls on the skin with every movement, and the skin underneath can stay damp and become inflamed, especially behind the ears, in the armpits and on the inside of the legs. While brushing, you’ll also notice ticks, flea dirt, dandruff, reddened areas, lumps under the skin or small wounds. That makes grooming a regular health check as well.

👉 Tick prevention for dogs

1.2 Coat types and what they need

In practice: how much grooming a dog needs depends mainly on the coat. These rules of thumb come from grooming practice, not from studies.

• Short coats need little: a rubber curry brush once a week, more often during shedding.
• Double coats with undercoat, for example in shepherds or retrievers, need frequent brushing down to the skin during shedding, or the undercoat will mat.
• Wire coats, as in many terriers, are traditionally hand-stripped, meaning dead hair is plucked out.
• Curly coats, as in poodles, keep growing, mat quickly and need regular haircuts.

You often hear that double-coated dogs should never be shaved. We did not find a study that tested this directly for heat, sun protection or coat quality. What is documented is that clipped hair takes time: in 37 Labrador Retrievers clipped for surgery, it took about 14 to 15 weeks on average for the coat to return to its original length, regardless of season (Diaz et al., 2004). In practice: for dogs with an undercoat, thorough combing out is usually the better solution. With severe matting, though, clipping can still be the gentler option. That’s best decided together with your veterinarian or groomer.

2. Why grooming stresses many dogs

2.1 Restraint is often the real problem

Many dogs don’t resist the brush but the grip. Cisneros et al. (2025) observed 97 shelter dogs during a short examination under five conditions, ranging from loose, passive holding through a muzzle hold and muzzles to full-body restraint. Fear scores were lower with passive holding than in each of the other four conditions. That wasn’t grooming, but the holds used for brushing and bathing are similar.

A case study compared care routines with and without restraint. Dogs in the restrained group showed more stress signals (Sydänheimo et al., 2023). The groups were not randomly assigned, however, so it can’t be separated whether this was due to the restraint, the training history or something else.

2.2 Water, noise and smells

In practice: on top of the grip, grooming brings many things dogs don’t otherwise experience: a slippery tub floor, water on the head, the smell of shampoo, the buzz of clippers and the loud airflow of a dryer or blower. How much each of these stimuli adds on its own hasn’t been studied. So practice them separately instead of asking for everything at once.

2.3 Holding still isn’t the same as relaxation

Hart and Hart (2026) observed dogs across the phases of a grooming appointment: arrival, restraint, nail trimming, bathing and drying. Heart rate variability fell across the appointment, an indication of increasing strain, while behavioral suppression increased at the same time. Dogs that held especially still tended to show stronger physiological signs of stress. So far the paper is only available as a preliminary online version (Journal Pre-proof) and should be read with caution. A dog that freezes during blow-drying is therefore not necessarily relaxed; he may simply be enduring it.

👉 Teaching your dog to settle

2.4 Early experiences count

In an owner survey by Stellato et al. (2021), dogs rated as more fearful at the veterinarian included those whose first nail trim happened later in life and those that were stressed during body handling. This shows associations, not causes. The direction fits a simple rule, though: early, pleasant practice is better than late force, for the brush just as much as for the nail clippers.

👉 Trimming your dog’s nails

3. Step-by-step habituation

The basic idea comes from cooperative care training: grooming is broken into small, rewarded steps, and the dog gets a clear way to take part or to stop. There is no study that tests exactly this approach for grooming at home. The following steps are a practical approach from training.

👉 Cooperative care in dogs

3.1 A start-button behavior your dog offers

In practice: teach your dog to lie down on a particular mat or to rest his chin on a cushion. This position is his start button: as long as he holds it, you brush. If he gets up or lifts his chin, you stop immediately. That way he learns that he can interrupt grooming and doesn’t have to resist to get some distance.

3.2 Introducing the brush

In practice: let your dog sniff the brush and reward. Then briefly touch him with the back of the brush on the chest or shoulder, again with a reward. Only then do single, calm strokes in the direction of hair growth follow. Paws, belly, ears and tail come last.

👉 Touch and petting in dogs

3.3 Short, regular and with breaks

In practice: at first, one or two minutes is enough; better short sessions every day than one long one a week. Stop while your dog is still relaxed. With mats, hold the hair between the mat and the skin so it doesn’t pull. A big mat doesn’t have to come out in one session.

3.4 Dryer, clippers and tub

In practice: practice sounds separately from handling. First switch on the dryer or clippers at a good distance, reward, switch off. Only then does the device come closer, then the airflow on a paw, later on the body. The same applies to the tub: first just stepping in and getting food, with a non-slip mat, then wet paws.

3.5 Plan realistically

The evidence on training is sobering. In a four-week program in which owners practiced examination handling at home, 44 percent of owners did not meet the training requirements, and results were mixed (Stellato et al., 2019). In a pilot study, trained skills transferred poorly to an examination by an unfamiliar team (Wess et al., 2022). So what your dog has learned with you won’t automatically carry over to the groomer. A protocol you actually stick with is better than an ideal one that fizzles out after two weeks.

4. Bathing without drama

4.1 How often and with what?

In practice: most dogs rarely need a bath. Dried dirt can often be brushed out, and after mud, plain water is usually enough. You need shampoo for heavy soiling or when your veterinarian prescribes it for skin problems. Then use a mild dog shampoo and lukewarm water, avoid the ears and eyes, and rinse thoroughly, since residue can itch. Washing too often can dry out the skin.

4.2 Drying

In practice: a good towel-dry is more pleasant than the dryer for many dogs. If you blow-dry, use a low setting, lukewarm air and some distance. With a dense undercoat, drying takes a long time, and damp fur against the skin can encourage skin problems. If your dog scratches conspicuously after a bath or develops reddened areas, have it checked by a veterinarian.

5. Choosing the right groomer

In practice: what matters most at the groomer is how they work. These questions help you choose.

• Can I be there for the first appointment, or is there a short get-to-know-you visit?
• How will my dog be held? Calmly and loosely, or mainly restrained?
• Are there breaks? A good groomer pauses when the dog gets restless instead of pushing through.
• Are rewards allowed? Can I bring treats?
• What happens if my dog resists? A good answer: a break, smaller steps or splitting the appointment.

Whether you should stay during the appointment hasn’t been studied for grooming, but it has for the veterinary clinic. In a randomized study of 32 dogs, dogs with their owner present vocalized less during a routine examination but yawned more; the authors recommended that owners stay when practical (Stellato et al., 2020). In a crossover study with 25 dog-owner pairs, presence had no clear effect on stress behavior or ease of handling (Girault et al., 2022). In practice: some dogs are more relaxed with their person there, others without. Try it out.

6. Signs of stress during grooming

In a questionnaire study of 1,190 dog owners, mainly conspicuous behaviors such as trembling and whining were recognized as signs of stress. Subtler signals such as looking away, turning the head, yawning and nose licking were mentioned much less often (Mariti et al., 2012). In practice: it’s exactly these subtle signs that dogs often show during brushing or blow-drying. So watch for:

• lip licking, yawning, turning the head away, visible whites of the eyes
• ears pinned back, tucked tail, panting without heat, trembling
• freezing, a stiff body, suddenly refusing food
• sliding away, pushing your hand away, growling or snapping

If you see such signs, take a break and go back a step next time. A dog that suddenly reacts more sensitively to brushing in one particular spot may be in pain there.

7. What to avoid

A dog can also be held down by force, and the coat gets brushed. The question is what he learns from it, and at what cost. The data on restraint (Cisneros et al., 2025; Sydänheimo et al., 2023), on holding still (Hart & Hart, 2026) and on risk factors for fear at the veterinarian (Stellato et al., 2021) support avoiding unnecessarily restrictive handling and forcing a dog through a procedure. These studies do not directly show that one unpleasant grooming session will make the next one harder. Scolding or pushing through while he resists is therefore not a good solution, even if it works in the moment.

If an appointment can’t wait until training is far enough along, for example with severe matting, it’s better to solve it once, deliberately and professionally. A review on fear in the veterinary setting lists, among other things, gentle handling, generous use of food, short breaks and adapting the procedure to the animal’s body language (Riemer et al., 2021). In practice: for very fearful dogs, talk to your veterinary practice about preparatory medication or clipping at the clinic, and practice the muzzle beforehand.

👉 Muzzle training for dogs

8. A note on the evidence

There is hardly any controlled research on grooming at home or at the groomer; most handling studies come from the veterinary clinic. The restraint study (Cisneros et al., 2025) used 97 shelter dogs in a short examination. The case study (Sydänheimo et al., 2023) has no randomly assigned groups. The grooming study (Hart & Hart, 2026) observed dogs, did not test training and so far is only available as a preliminary online version. The surveys (Stellato et al., 2021; Mariti et al., 2012) show associations and owner perceptions, not causes.

The studies on owner presence (Stellato et al., 2020; Girault et al., 2022) are small and concern the veterinarian. The training studies are small and mixed (Stellato et al., 2019; Wess et al., 2022), and the review (Riemer et al., 2021) relies partly on guidelines and expert opinion. The hair regrowth study (Diaz et al., 2004) included only indoor-housed Labrador Retrievers and says nothing about heat or coat quality after clipping. The advice on coat types, brushing, bathing and groomers is therefore marked as practical experience.

9. Conclusion

Grooming doesn’t have to be a fight. For some dogs, the brush or water is not the only issue; restraint and lack of control may be especially important. If you practice early, in small steps and with reward, and give your dog a way to interrupt grooming, you have the better chances in the long run.

The three things that make the difference:

Practice briefly and regularly. Introduce the brush, single strokes, break, and the dryer or tub separately.

Avoid restraint. A start-button behavior your dog can offer and withdraw instead of force.

Look closely. Holding still isn’t the same as relaxation, and subtle signs of stress deserve a break.

Key takeaways on grooming your dog

Loose holding is better than restraint. In 97 shelter dogs, fear scores were lower with passive holding than with stronger forms of restraint (Cisneros et al., 2025).

Restraint was associated with more stress signals. In a case study without random assignment, restrained dogs showed more stress signals (Sydänheimo et al., 2023).

Holding still isn’t relaxation. During grooming, stronger behavioral suppression went with stronger physiological signs of stress; the paper is so far only published in preliminary form (Hart & Hart, 2026).

Subtle signs of stress are often missed. Owners named trembling and whining much more often than looking away or yawning (Mariti et al., 2012).

Training takes persistence. In a four-week program, 44 percent of owners did not meet the training requirements (Stellato et al., 2019).

Working on a behavior problem with your dog? Our step-by-step dog behavior workbooks cover leash reactivity, being left alone, resource guarding, two-dog households, barking at passersby and noise fear.

References

• Cisneros, A., Carroll, A. D., Moody, C. M., & Stellato, A. C. (2025). Handle with care: Dogs show negative responses to restrictive handling restraints and tools during routine examinations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 286, Article 106601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106601
• Diaz, S. F., Torres, S. M. F., Dunstan, R. W., & Lekcharoensuk, C. (2004). An analysis of canine hair re-growth after clipping for a surgical procedure. Veterinary Dermatology, 15(1), 25–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3164.2004.00356.x
• Girault, C., Priymenko, N., Helsly, M., Duranton, C., & Gaunet, F. (2022). Dog behaviours in veterinary consultations: Part 1. Effect of the owner’s presence or absence. The Veterinary Journal, 280, Article 105788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2022.105788
• Hart, D. S., & Hart, S. J. (2026). Behavioural suppression and autonomic stress responses in dogs during routine grooming procedures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Article 107146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2026.107146
• Mariti, C., Gazzano, A., Moore, J. L., Baragli, P., Chelli, L., & Sighieri, C. (2012). Perception of dogs’ stress by their owners. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 7(4), 213–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2011.09.004
• Riemer, S., Heritier, C., Windschnurer, I., Pratsch, L., Arhant, C., & Affenzeller, N. (2021). A review on mitigating fear and aggression in dogs and cats in a veterinary setting. Animals, 11(1), Article 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11010158
• Stellato, A., Jajou, S., Dewey, C. E., Widowski, T. M., & Niel, L. (2019). Effect of a standardized four-week desensitization and counter-conditioning training program on pre-existing veterinary fear in companion dogs. Animals, 9(10), Article 767. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100767
• Stellato, A., Dewey, C., Widowski, T., & Niel, L. (2020). Evaluation of associations between owner presence and indicators of fear in dogs during routine veterinary examinations. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 257(10), 1031–1040. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.2020.257.10.1031
• Stellato, A., Flint, H. E., Dewey, C. E., Widowski, T. M., & Niel, L. (2021). Risk-factors associated with veterinary-related fear and aggression in owned domestic dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 241, Article 105374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105374
• Sydänheimo, A., Freeman, M., & Hunt, K. (2023). Cooperative care does not scare – Use of cooperative care training in routine husbandry in dogs. Animal Behaviour and Welfare Cases, 2023, abwcases20230010. https://doi.org/10.1079/abwcases.2023.0010
• Wess, L., Böhm, A., Schützinger, M., Riemer, S., Yee, J. R., Affenzeller, N., & Arhant, C. (2022). Effect of cooperative care training on physiological parameters and compliance in dogs undergoing a veterinary examination – A pilot study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 250, Article 105615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105615

Note: This guide does not replace individual advice. If your dog snaps during grooming, suddenly reacts more sensitively in certain spots, or shows skin changes, itching or bald patches, have him examined by a veterinarian.

Frequently asked questions about grooming your dog

Brushing, bathing and the groomer