Ava Williams
Dogs need exercise every day, even in the rain and snow. If the wet animals then shake themselves in the apartment, water, and dirt often end up on furniture and wallpaper. However, with a few simple tricks, dog owners can avoid the annoying side effects of going outside.
The ideal case: The dog shakes itself vigorously before entering the apartment. “You can teach dogs to shake themselves on command,” explains Anton Fichtlmeier, author of several dog guides. “Each time the dog shakes itself, dog owners can say, for example, ‘shake nicely’ and afterward praise it,” advises Fichtlmeier. After a while, the dog learns to respond to the command. This can be practiced all year round on walks. “Whenever the dog comes out of the water and shakes itself, you should practice the command and praise it,” says Fichtlmeier.
But you can also actively trigger the shaking stimulus. “Simply rub the dog dry with a towel against the grain,” says Fichtlmeier. The dog will then arrange its fur by itself. “You should always be bent over the dog from the front so that the animal does not have a reflex to flee if its master or mistress goes against the grain,” says Fichtlmeier.
For some dogs, a rubbing of the head is enough. “He senses that something is wrong and he shakes the rest of his body on his own, too,” explains the author. Here, too, the dog should always be confirmed verbally so that the command ‘shake nicely’ is learned by itself.
If you then have an old towel ready to use as a “paw mat”, the carpet stays clean too.