Introducing a Puppy to the Blow Dryer - Take the Lead K9 Training

I really hope you all have enjoyed watching our puppy development videos with our pup Chaka, as we discuss important things to puppy development and training! (If you have missed our videos, look back to around Christmas in our feed and you can see ALL the puppy posts about potty training, crate training, socilaztion, etc)
I will continue to talk about the importance of the exposing your puppy to lots of experiences at a young age, as we try to get them very familiar with all things they will experience in life during a very impressionable period of development of 8-12 weeks old. (Of course we will continue socialization and exposure after this too, but it is important to NOT WAIT - this window of time is very important to help create confidence in your future dog).
Chaka, like many dogs, will be seeing the groomer for bathing, blow drying, nail care, brushing and trims (if his mane needs a little shaping!) and we don't want to wait for his first moments with the loud blown dryer or the tail nail trimmers (video to come!) to be when he has all his shots at 4 mos old, or 6-8 months when his barely shedding puppy coat is being replaced by his adult hair. If we wait, it's too late and your groomer will be "the bad guy" and we don't want that! Also, if you have a high maintenance coated dog, like a doodle, start getting them used to frequent brushing and handling like this NOW...they're going to be seeing the groomer alot!
We are using food as a distraction while we have a short session with the dryer (you could even use your hair dryer, on the cool setting). We will be doing the same thing with the vacuum cleaner, lawn care equipment, and anything else loud you can think of!
If he was afraid, I wouldn't blow his hair at all - I would just turn it on and give food at a distance that he felt comfortable to engage with me and take food, and over a couple sessions work closer and closer to the loud machine. Soon enough he would likely let me blow his coat for him him briefly, and I would continue to pay with food like in the video.
The important thing is to move at your puppy's pace, and if they are getting overwhelmed, to move away again and end on a good note. We ran out of food and only got one side of him dried, but he was getting a little fidgety so I didn't want to keep pushing it. We have plenty of time to have longer sessions! Just remember, push your puppy BUT don't overwhelm them - find a balance of engagement with food to help them explore this challenges!
Oh boy, I can already imagine the tumbleweeds his coat will be producing when he is older !