Grooming

[amberdoggoneit]

We are trying to teach Buble to stand still for brushing and it is going very badly.  He is only our second dog to come along that is going to have long hair. 

Baxter was very easy to train to be brushed and he loves it.  He will stand still for you and then he will roll over and let you get his under belly. 

We have tried treats,toys,praise,and distractions.  None of it seems to help. he freaks out and starts to scream.  This is the same with baths. He screams like you are skinning him alive. 

Does anyone have any suggestions?  I know that I have to keep trying becasue he will never get used to it but I was wondering if anyone had any tricks to help me out!!

[Guardian Angel's White lightning]

he is only a wee one yet....i think that takes maturity to understand that it is an enjoyable thing...it will definilty take a few more weeks...traini ng isn't just in days...it can take weeks, months, years.....gott a give the little guy a chance...there have been so many changes in his life, from being pulled away from his mom, to being pulled away from his siblings, to your loving home, and now you want him to do what??? It will come with time, i know it took at least 4 weeks after we got titan before we could tell him to stand for grooming.      JMO

[shangrila]

What kind of brush do you use? Maybe you should try easing him in with a gentle brush like the zoom groom - it's rubber and massag-ey so it feels nicer to the dog (I know that is the only brush zoey tolerated near the end). Also, try giving a momma-dog massage before you brush him to get him relaxed.

As far as baths go, have you tried getting in the tub with him? Maybe if you held him in your lap in the tub it wouldn't be as intimidating as him being in the tub with you on the other side

[MagicM3]

I really hate it when this happens..some just hate it..One thing I can assure you of and that is if you stop every time he starts to scream he already has you trained..

I would keep the sesions short...make sure you are doing nothing to physically hurt him..  ie pulling or snagging his hair...

If he needs to scream let him..take a deep breath and let it out..remain calm.. try to ignore it..do what you need to do and once your done..give him a treat..or toy..and then take him out for a short walk or game of toss..

If he learns to associate brushing with good things are about to happen...and they do figure that out...things may smooth out quickly..

Hang in there..things do get better..

Tricia and the fur kids

[Gemz]

a little tip that might help is if you can do it in the kicthen, put some paste or maybe peanut butter on the fridge so he can lick it off while you groom.

[Sillygoose]

You can also try grooming him on a table. This way you/re not hanging over him. He may feel intimidated by this. Also try bathing him in the kitchen sink if he isn't too big yet. Tripper fought forever with bathes but now he gets inon his own because I never let him win. The pup will eventualy realize it's not all that bad.

[People Whisperer]

If you use a grooming table with an arm you could tie or hang the best chewy treat and let him nibble on it the entire time while you are grooming. It will be bouncing back and force and he might like the game and get fed.

When I was getting Lily used to a table I kept her hungy before the session and then put a whole bunch of treats on the table...she only got sooo many treats at once for grooming. Now she loves to be groomed and even falls asleep on the table
Good luck, he will come along

[amberdoggoneit]

Thanks everyone for the great advice.  Hubby is in the process of building a grooming table so I cant use that yet but everyone elses ideas were briliant!!  Thank you