How to condition your dog to wear a winter sweater

Dear Cathy: My sister and I have a 10-year-old Maltese/Bichon mix male dog. He gets groomed fairly short, partly for health issues. As he gets older, he gets colder. He refuses to let us put a sweater on him even though he shivers. We recently purchased a nice warm sweater with Velcro along the entire belly, and large front paw openings, but we still can’t get it on him without getting bitten. — Marcia, Tolland, Connecticut

Dear Marcia: My normal response would be don’t force clothing on your dog if he doesn’t like it. But I understand your desire to keep him warm during the winter, so here are some ways to condition him to accept the sweater.

First, get him used to seeing the sweater and not freaking out. Carry the sweater around the house for a few days. If you constantly have the sweater with you and you don’t try to put it on him, he will start to get more comfortable around it. Praise and give him treats throughout the day for not reacting to it. A few days later, ask him to sit (praise and treat), and then show him the sweater (praise and treat) and talk about it in a sweet tone. Do not put it in front of his face; hold it over his head, lowering it into view over several sessions. Praise and treat him for not running away from it.

Second, get him used to feeling the sweater on his fur/skin. Gently rub the sweater on his fur while you brush him. You also can place the sweater near his favorite sleeping place to see if he will nap on it.

Finally, after about two weeks, it’s time to try to put the sweater on him. One of you needs to talk happily to him and feed him some high-value treats, while the other puts his leg in the opening of the sweater, then removes it quickly before he has realized what’s happened. Keep doing this several times for several sessions until you can get both legs in each opening without much effort. Once you get to that point, you can try to put the sweater on him again. If he tolerates it, snap on a leash to his collar and take him for a walk. Once the sweater is on him and he is moving, he will be able to better ignore it.

Spraying the sweater with canine pheromones anytime during the process may help relax him and move the process along more quickly.

If he doesn’t accept the sweater, it’s not a failure on your part. Some dogs just don’t like clothing.

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