# 6mo old TT thinks grooming is play time; brush is a toy.



## OllieTT (Oct 21, 2015)

Knowing that at 9 months, Ollie's adult coat will start to come in and the matts will take over, I have been trying to get him acclimated to the pin brush. It's not going so great as he obsessively attacks the brush. I try to distract him with a toy while I brush, but he doesn't fall for that. 

Just how do you train puppies to calmly accept brushing. And while I think of it, how do you blow dry without causing fear?

Thank you.


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## MysticRealm (May 30, 2007)

You need to be more firm with him. Don't let him attack the brush. If a simple ah ah, doesn't do you'll need to go firmer. A sharp 'enough!' might be in order. Remember to praise when he is being good (you can even treat him). A bit of wiggling is going to happen with a puppy, just don't stop what you are doing. But actually biting/attacking the brush needs to be halted. In grooming you always want to be firm, but gentle, and most dogs will take advantage of their owners cause the owners are scared to be firm.
Start by just having the puppy in the same room with the blow dryer. You can start by letting them just see it without it running, then when comfortable with that turn it on at the lowest setting but don't blow it at them, once comfortable, gently start to have the air run over the dog's back legs/bum (dogs are generally less worried about things around their back end then around the head). If he gets anxious try not to stop, talk to him soothingly, maybe go a little further back (possibly even just have the air blowing behind the dog) but don't turn it off. If you turn it off he thinks that squirming around works and may get worse, you want him to realize that it's not going to hurt him. So taking a step back to where he was more comfortable is ok, but completely stopping (unless the dog is absolutely terrified but if you did the previous steps properly the dog should not be terrified) isn't what you want. Then slowly work your way more towards the dog's head as he becomes ok with it. He may never like the blowdryer, but he should be accepting of it and not very afraid.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

I like a spoon full of peanut butter keeps them occupied getting it unstuck in their mouth... paired with short body sections of grooming or just learning to stand and be handled on the grooming table and they done before the peanut butter is gone...


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

With our Afghans we train them to lay down on their side while we brush and blow dry. It takes a lot more effort for them to get up and attack the brush from a lying down position than it does from a standing postistion. You can also make corrections a lot quicker for the tiny trying to get up movements before it has escalated into a grooming assault. It's also a lot easier on their bodies and patience to lay down during long grooming sessions.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I pair grooming with treats always. Ginger gets all her nails trimmed before she gets a cookie now, Bucky gets a treat every 1-5 nails still. It is essential training same as LLW, coming when called, crate training and the rest of it. If you have a helper try spreading a tablespoon of peanut butter on a plate and letting him get to lick it only when brush is on dog.

Start by pretending to groom at least one time daily but just a little at a time. You will find sticky spots that are harder for him to handle, do easy then a little of the hard bits. Before using that brush use your hand to pretend to brush his coat all over. Snag your fingers in the coat to pull a little so he gets used to that sensation. I move from hand to giant silver back bristle brush that does nothing to pin brush to slicker to comb. I don't try to brush or comb out the coat at first, just drag it over. Really that's the way to do it anyway. If you drag the brush over enough times it will get out the snarls easily without breaking much coat. This seems tedious but fear biting Bucky was mat free in only a couple weeks doing this, a well brought up and treated pup ought to be able to do at least that well.

Bucky needs to know what odd things I am using on him and I let him examine the tool before using it on him. I would freeze if he whipped around because I did too much too soon. I'd go back to easy stuff and call it a day. He would process the info and to my surprise was always fine doing the handling the next day. He still wants to lick the dremel though. I really really don't want him to lick it when it's moving!


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

Just wanted to add another little tip. When you are brushing, try using a conditioning spray to mist/ moisten the coat first, it will allow the brush to slide through the coat better. The moisture in the coat adds elasticity to the hair to prevent breakage and the conditioner helps lubricate the coat so the brush can slide though without snagging as much. 

If you don't have a conditioning spray you can always just use pain water to spray, or you can mix up your own conditioning spray. In a pinch I've used a teaspoon of conditioner mixed with water into the spray bottle, the only issue I had using that was that the sprayer got gunked up aft a month and needed to be flushed with water. Currently I have 2 different mixes that I'm testing on my afghans. I have one bottle with a teaspoon of liquid silk mixed with water and a second with a teaspoon of Argan oil mixed with water. Liquid silk is an oil treatment made specifically for show dogs by Chris Christensen, it's intended to be used between shows to protect the coat. Argan oil is just the human grade product that you can buy at most stores in specialty shampoo section. I use a different one on each of my 2 afghans and have not had issues with either spray bottle or product on their coat, if I had to pick between the 2 I'm leaning a bit towards the Argan oil, but that's because I use it on my own hair.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I put peanut butter in something and let them lick. Sometimes a spoon, sometimes a kong bone thingy (it has holes on either end that are easy to fill with peanut butter). As puppies they are pretty much licking peanut butter the whole time and don't even notice what I'm doing. I wean that away as they calm down a bit and show me they don't mind grooming

For my older dog, I still get out some treats and give him some every once in a while when he's being good.


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

Ralphie always attacked the brush, too. He knows the "Wait" command really well, and I noticed that he is only focused on the treat on the floor or his food when I give that command, and he will not move. I had him lay down, told him to "wait", and placed the treat on the floor. Instant focus, ignoring the brush. Then I brushed his coat a few times, praised him, and gave him the treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. The amount of time he had to wait gets a tiny bit longer every time. After some repetitions he learned the brush feels really good, and he rolled over for me to brush his belly and other itchy places! Eventually I hope the grooming will become a great enough reward to lay still.


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