Stress-Free Doodle Grooming: Making Brushing and Handling Positive (Part 2)

Does grooming turn into stress, resistance, or shutdown for your Doodle? Stress-free Doodle grooming is possible — and it starts with how brushing, handling, and consent are taught.

In this episode of The Doodle Pro® Podcast, join me, Corinne Gearhart of The Doodle Pro®, for the second half of my conversation with Laura Monaco Torelli — one of the nation’s leading positive-reinforcement experts in humane handling and cooperative care.

Laura’s work is also featured in Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™, where her insights support humane, consent-based handling and care for Doodles.

Since 2004, Laura has helped transform the lives of pets and their people in Chicago, bringing science-based, compassionate techniques from her early work with marine mammals and exotic animals into the world of companion dogs.

In Part 1 (Episode 47) — our most-downloaded episode ever — we explored how empathy and reinforcement-based training can make grooming and handling less stressful. In this follow-up conversation, we go deeper into practical, real-life strategies Doodle parents can start using right away.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
✔️ How to help your Doodle feel more comfortable with brushing and grooming tools
✔️ Step-by-step ways to build positive associations with clippers and handling
✔️ Why giving dogs choice and consent reduces anxiety and builds trust
✔️ How to pace grooming sessions to protect your Doodle’s coat and emotional safety
✔️ How Laura’s cross-species training experience informs humane grooming practices

👉 Next listen: Start with Episode 47: Stress-Free Vet Visits & Grooming for Doodles, where Laura and I lay the foundation for cooperative care and positive handling.

🌿 Supportive tools for calm grooming experiences

My favorite calming tools for sensitive Doodles
👉 https://thedoodlepro.com/shopcalm

🔗 Links mentioned

• Episode 47: Stress-Free Vet Visits & Grooming for Doodles
• Laura’s website: https://lauramonacotorelli.com
  
  
• Follow Laura on Instagram: @LauraMonacoTorelli

🎧 Hit play to make grooming feel safer, calmer, and more cooperative for your Doodle — without force, fear, or pressure.

 🎉 The Doodle Pro® Virtual Summit is coming this summer, and the waitlist is open now! 

Three days of science-based, no shame, no blame guidance to help you raise the whole Doodle, not just train one. Get on the waitlist to be the first to find out who's joining the lineup, get first access before doors open, plus a complimentary gift while you wait.

👉 Save your spot: doodleprosummit.com 

Corinne Gearhart is the founder of The Doodle Pro®, a science-based training platform helping Doodle parents raise calmer, well-mannered dogs using positive reinforcement. She is the host of The Doodle Pro® Podcast and author of Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™.

📘 Get the Doodle Schedule Blueprint:
https://thedoodlepro.com/doodle-schedule-bonus/

🎧 More episodes:
https://thedoodlepro.com/podcast