# Terrified of the Blow Dryer



## dare_wreck_ (Dec 28, 2020)

Hello! 

I have a 7 month old that is terrified of the blow dryer. Here at home as soon as he sees it he darts to the corner of the room and curls up into a ball. When he was groomed about a month ago they had to end up letting him mostly air dry because he was so scared and they didn’t want to traumatize him too much. Wondering if anyone else has had this happen with their dog and any advice on how to get them acclimated to the dryer. 

Note: When we vacuum he will lay on the carpet and stare at the vacuum as we move around him. So my guess is that he is not afraid of the noise but the actual air itself. Anyway, thank you in advance for the help!


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

bumping up


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## Blu1004 (Jul 23, 2020)

Try this Happy Hoodie.
I suggest to invest in a dedicated pet dryer as it significantly reduces drying time.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Try the hoodie- and agree to invest in a dog dryer- it'll reduce the amount of time you have to struggle with him - also, try putting him on a table, feeding him while using dryer only on his rear. Something he really loves to eat. Work your way into covering more body each time but until he's tolerating the dryer well don't do his head. When you dry him, try letting him smell your breath while you're drying him- that settles puppies who have never had a dryer experience and I can get them to put up with it just to smell my breath. Socal made a thread on the different dryers a few months ago


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## photoweborama (Dec 6, 2007)

Agreed, the more they are exposed, the less it will bother them. I just got a 7 year old that was an outdoor dog who was terrified of the Vacuum, 4 months now, and she just walks to another room.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

You have to start small. Set it out and let him investigate it while it's off. Once he's used to that, run it on the lowest setting. Maybe in another room. Keep going in small increments. Work your way up to actually drying with it. Absolutely invest in something made for pets. Any dryer is going to be loud and take getting used to.


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## Katie2 (Apr 6, 2018)

My dog isn't terrified of the blow dryer, but he doesn't like it. What I did is first show him using it on myself while he stood a distance away, and I talked to him in sort of a gentle sing-song tone with a smile about how it was no big deal. Then I used it on him, always on the coolest setting, in short bursts of time. Drying him is a really long process that also involves one of those super-absorbent towels plus many, many short bursts of blow drying. He moves away from me when he's had enough, and I let him take as many breaks as he wants. 

Is your dog food motivated? You could suction cup an aquapaw lick mat to a wall and put peanut butter in that and it might be a helpful distraction while you dry.


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

My girl is 8 months. She’s been blow dried since she was a little puppy. We started drying her on the ground, and we’ve give her a peanut butter kong while we blew her dry with the dryer on low. We worked our way up to getting the dryer on high, we even used a happy hoodie while getting her accustomed to it. Now she gets up on the table, gets a peanut butter kong and tolerates the dryer extremely well. Once she finishes her kong she sits/stands there and let’s me finish. I talk to her in a happy voice the whole time. Lots of patience, some peanut butter and repetition 😊


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## dare_wreck_ (Dec 28, 2020)

Thank you everyone for the great advice! I am definitely going to get him the hoodie and invest in a dog dryer. I will put out the dryer tomorrow as a start and slowly get him used to it. Really appreciate the help!


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## dare_wreck_ (Dec 28, 2020)

Katie2 said:


> My dog isn't terrified of the blow dryer, but he doesn't like it. What I did is first show him using it on myself while he stood a distance away, and I talked to him in sort of a gentle sing-song tone with a smile about how it was no big deal. Then I used it on him, always on the coolest setting, in short bursts of time. Drying him is a really long process that also involves one of those super-absorbent towels plus many, many short bursts of blow drying. He moves away from me when he's had enough, and I let him take as many breaks as he wants.
> 
> Is your dog food motivated? You could suction cup an aquapaw lick mat to a wall and put peanut butter in that and it might be a helpful distraction while you dry.


I have to say thank you @Katie2! A couple days ago I gave him a bath and took the blow dryer out. He was nervous and didn’t move. I then turned it on and put it on myself and started to sing! Immediately he was like “Hey I want to join in the fun too!” I kept the dryer on me for a few minutes making sure to sound as happy as possible. I then put some peanut butter on the handle of the dryer per @Emmdenn and let him lick it off. Slowly I would just put the dryer on his lower back for just a few seconds and then back on me. Eventually he let me keep it on him for about 30 seconds at a time. Still a long way to go, but a HUGE improvement compared to him running away in a panic from me just taking the dryer out. Thank you everyone!! Going to get him a hoodie next thank you for the recommendation @Ffcmm !


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## Katie2 (Apr 6, 2018)

I'm so glad that worked! So happy to hear about his progress.😊


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