Dislikes brushing
She's 65lbs and will be a year old on May 29th. When I pull out the slicker brush, she slinks to the basement. I cannot seem to even get a few strokes in, she just hates it. I'm always careful to not hurt her and to be encouraging, but she simply hates to be brushed. She was shaved and her body is at about 1 1/2 inches long and is easy to maintain, but her face is a bit longer and she's beginning to get knots at her cheeks and under her ears. I don't want her to be shy of the brush. Any advise? Erin |
|
|
Are you using a grooming table? My dogs tend to be uncooperative unless they're up on a table. Even Nelson, who loves being brushed, can be a pain in the butt. 
If Asterisk is food-motivated, use treats in addition to praise when she is cooperative. Start by gently stroking her coat and rubbing her feet and legs before touching her with a brush. It really helps to exercise a dog thoroughly before trying to groom. She may just have too much energy to sit still for a long period of time. Try using a pin brush rather than a slicker except on feet and legs. You MUST get down to the skin when brushing and a slicker is hard to do that with. There are lots of posts here with pin brush recommendations. Use a wide-tooth comb around her face and ears to keep them mat free. If you work in a calm and gentle manner, dogs usually love being groomed.  |
| I don't have a grooming table... where would you get one? I'm willing to try anything that will work.
I have been very diligent on messing with every part of Asterisk since she was a puppy. She handles her ears, feet, and mouth exceedingly well, she doesn't seem to mind that at all. Erin |
| Miss Marley hates the idea of being brushed - actually being brushed she seems to really relax. Therefore this is what we go through when the brushes come out.
She sees the brushes and runs to the Dining room (the room furthest away from the Living room where i brush her - our basement door is closed  ).
I go into the living room and sit on the floor witht he brushes (sooo much more comfortable on my back than the grooming table). SHe can't stand to be that far away and comes slinking intot he living room. Now if Morgan comes to me first I will start brushing him, and she plops down practically on top of him to be brushed instead. If Morgan is not invited over, Miss Marley lays down at the farthest point in the living room from me. I tap the floor in front of me and she literally belly crawls across the room until she gets within a good arms length of me and than lays on her side with a SIGH! 
I usually have to slide her closer and I start brushing her - when it gets to the point that she should stand and turn over she is either asleep, or soooo relaxed I end up just flipping her. She will stay like this for 3 or more hours while I brush her and if I have to get up to answer a phone or something she never moves. Morgan on the other hand will come directly over to be brushed and then get impatient after an hour and want to leave. WHn they were about your girls age, we were still working the kinks out. I never brush unless they are laying down with their head on the floor/table. we spent many sessions just gettingt he positions right and running the brush over them a few times then treat. And you have to be calm Nita is right - if I am rushed, or in a bad mood -it doesn't go well  |
* Capt. Obvious Danger wrote: I don't have a grooming table... where would you get one? I'm willing to try anything that will work.
Erin You can use any horizontal space that is large enough and sturdy enough to hold the dog. You can buy a grooming table from most any pet supply catalog or on eBay (watch the shipping cost!). Some people here have used their kitchen tables or two sawhorses with a heavy sheet of plywood on top. If you're handy, you can buy legs at home supply stores and add a wood top.
 |
| I got my table on craigs list. They met my hubby at work and exchanged.
Very nice table for $60.00 |
this is amazing, I thought it was just Archie that scarpered when he saw the brushes coming out  |
| Edgar doesn't run but he is a pain in the butt until he calms down. He will try to pop his head up every time and try to mouth the brush. But by the end he is very happy and relaxed. It took a bit to get to that point as he was a horror when he was smaller.
I believe that there are some dogs on this forum that are kept in short cuts for the reason that they hate being brushed and never grew to liked it. |
| billy loves being brushed but hates the dryer. he will demand brushing but only in the grooming room, he jumps up on the table and wont leave till his had a brush, treat and a squirt of perfum and the stuff. the only dryer i can use on him is a hand dryer on low, he just barks and barks and anything else. and he hates his front paws being brushed, i just have to do little and often.
try using a massage brush to get him used to the feeling without the brushing, then maybe a bristle brush and work up to a pin brush. |
| Tiggy is the same.
At first she wouldnt lie still and kept popping her head up and chewing the brush. I absolutely cannot brush her unless she is up on a table. She just wont stay still. She runs away when I get the brushes out but once she up there she goes to sleep. She will stay put for 3 or 4 hours as long as she's had some exercise. It took months of short brushing sessions with lots of patience and praise and extra special treats at the end before we got to this point though. Tiggy knows she only gets the treat if she stays put but I had to be fair and let her down once she got fidgety, even if this was only 20mins later. The treats for staying lying down really helped us. Good Luck. |
Start out with very short sessions. Maybe only 10 minutes. End on a good note & ONLY when it is on your terms (aka the dog is behaving). Gradually increase the time. Most of the time I don't do an entire dog at once. Maybe a quarter each evening. Now when I have to groom a dog I am showing that doesn't live with me, I have to do it all in one sitting. Or brushing out after a show before sending them home....all at once. Don't make it a big ordeal & soon they will be laying there for hours. Mine beg for it even when shaved. They know they have my undivided attention at that time. Most of them fall alseep while being groomed....even at a dog show!  |
| Nelson hates to be brushed as well. He does not mind the comb as much. We built a great grooming table. It takes him about 30 minutes to calm down enough to sit or lay down. I am trying to brush him for 20 minutes each day. Cannot seem to increase the time. So we will just keep trying. Eventually he will learn to enjoy it (I hope). I have never had a dog that did not like to be brushed! |
| I seem to have more success on brushing Asterisk's body. She will let me brush her if she's on the couch or laying down... but I cannot seem to get her face without her running off.
Even when I bathe her, she will turn her face away every time. She'll give me all her paws and patiently let me wash her, but she fights me when it comes to her face. Thus... coming back from the groomer yesterday they had to shave her muzzle down. She had a matt on the right side of her muzzle that when they trimmed it out, left no other option but to shave it down. So, she looks a bit... different right now. She doesn't seem embarrassed, if anything, I think she feels better having that matt out. I just bough a wider tooth comb for her muzzle. Any suggestions? I have ice on ice in the conditioning spray, but she doesn't seem to like it. Erin |
| If you have to use a softer bristle brush (like a puppy brush) on her face just to get her used to being groomed, that may help. It won't get completely down to the skin but Asterisk should become more comfortable with the act of grooming. As she gets used to the routine, she'll be more inclined to accept a comb or soft slicker on her face. Don't forget lots of praise and treats!
Since she doesn't like the spray around her face, try using a few drops of a silicone-based hair serum such as Chris Christensen's "Silk Spirits" or Cowboy Magic. I've even bought "hair polishes" at Sally Beauty and they've worked well for soaking mats and allowing them to be pulled apart easily. Keeping a bit of product on problem areas will help prevent further matting. Glad to hear Asterisk is being more cooperative. It takes patience and perseverance to groom an OES but it's so important with this breed, regardless of the length you keep their coat. |
| what is this perfume you all are talking about? |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|