My dog won't let me brush him!?

He is a 3 year old shih tzu mix that has always been really picky about letting us groom him. His hair's really wavy and in some places really curly so when he does not let us brush him he turns into a knotted mess!! I have no problem brushing his body for the most part but i have a huge struggle trying to brush his face! he just starts trying to bite the brush or he starts to cry! So whenever he just gets really knotted we just take him to the groomers and they just shave it off cause it's all they can do. But that is too expensive to maintain with a dog that's really curly.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

Two Phases to this project--Step 1, get your dog over the fear factor. Step 2, ensure that you have the right kind of brushes/ mat detangler's/etc to get the job done relatively pain free.

Firstly, your dog probably has the doggie equivelant of PTSD when it comes to being groomed. He's going to hoop and hollar at the slightest tug on his fur. He may even show fear/agressive behavior such as the mentioned brush biting. In fact, if you just get the brush and show it to him, he'll likely show fear behavior.

So, basics--your dog has a fear issue. Let me be real up front---this isn't going to be a one day fix. You may need several weeks to several months to have your dog wagging his tail when you get the grooming brush every day.

The goal is to have your dog have happy associations with the brush. The speed at which your dog will improve will be based on his temperment, history, and the time you devote to this project.

If you give treats to your dog, feel free to use them during these suggested exercices--reduce regular food intake accordingly.

Step One: Place the brush on the floor on the far side of the room from the dog. If your dog leaves the room encourage him back with happy playful talk, a toy, and/or treats. Spend time just being happy with your dog and giving him affection. Be sure to touch the dog all over, move him from side to side, hold his paws--things you might do when grooming--just do them playful and petting all the while. Do this until the dog at least does not react to the brush OR the dog begins to get the idea that the brush means a good time.

Step Two: Move the brush closer to the dog in gradual steps, 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, etc, repeating the above. The goal is to be able to walk to the dog, lay the brush on the ground next to the dog, and then proceed with happy dog time.

Step Three:

Hold the brush under your arm and continue with the happy dog time. Remeber, if your dog balks and refuses to play at this stage, you need to go backwards and devote more work to the earlier stages.

Step Four: Play brushing. I say play brushing because no serious grooming, AT ALL, is to happen here. I would pick the brush with two sides--metal and nylon--and use the nylon side to just lightly skim the dog's back or other areas that are not prone to matting. Use almost no pressure on the brush. The nylon shouldn't pull on the hair. Make sure that you continue with the happy talk and pet your dog and stroke him, etc, between strokes. I would do this for a good week at the least before attempting real grooming work. Which brings us to the second phase.

Learning how to groom your dog. I can't teach that here, obviously, but I do suggest you have the spray on dematting liquid you can buy at petstores, a special metal prong looking tool that is just for dematting, and that you see if you can pay a reasonable fee to have a groomer give you the basics.

Knowing HOW to groom your dog in a relatively pain free way is going to let you get to the end of the journey and be a happy dog owner. There are methods to holding a mat, teasing it out with the detangler tool after soaking with spray, etc etc....will there be some tugging now and then? Sure--but painful tugging should be eliminated. And your pooch will be rolling over for those blissful belly brushings when you grab the soft brush.

Good luck!

My dog won't let me brush him!?

The key is to teach him that grooming his face is a good thing. Even if he only lets you do one brush stroke, reward him with his absolute most favorite treat and make a big deal about what a good boy he was. Eventually you can add more and more brush strokes until he lets you brush his whole face.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

I think he might be scared of the brush. That is probably why he's trying to bite ti so you will stop.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

Expense is just one of the joys of owning an animal!! You might try slowly introducing the brush to him. Not at the time you want to brush, just let it become more like a plaything. He is associating it with an unpleasent experience and you have to re-train him to a positive one. Just brush a tiny little bit at first, like a patch a half an inch long. Then, as he accepts that, do more. But DON'T rush it!!

My dog won't let me brush him!?

Most dogs don't like their faces messed with. If you are careful, and can hold him still enough you can probably trim and shave him yourself. You can try to slowly work towards his face. Try holding a treat in your mouth (sounds nasty, but trainers do it) to distract the poor baby. When he doesn't put up a fuss right away praise him and give him a bit of the treat. We have to do this with my dog's nails (he's jumpy) and when we started cleaning his wrinkles when he was a puppy (he did the same thing as when you try to brush your dog's face). Best of luck!

My dog won't let me brush him!?

My maltese used to cry and try to get away when I brushed him. I then started to associate Greenies, which is his favorite treat, with him being brushed. I would brush him and let him see the Greenie. He now sits still when I brush him because he is awarded a Greenie. Good luck! =)

My dog won't let me brush him!?

try to reward him after brushing his body. if he realizes that he will get a treat if he sits still, maybe he will allow you to brush his face in hope of getting another treat. also it may be that the dog is afraid of the brush. maybe try to get a different brush. sometimes a softer color with more flexible bristles will not make the dog so afraid.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

I would grab the hair on his chinny chin chin to hold him still and groom him, if he tries to bite, let him bite the brush and then proceed in a calm manner until you are finished. He should also be tied so he can't run away, you hold him by the face, the leash holds him by the neck, he will get the message without being hurt or traumatized, as long as you re calm and gentle as you can be.

then when he is loosed, give him a treat. My dogs like the Pounce turkey n chicken cat treats the best...

My dog won't let me brush him!?

I had the same problem with my Shih Tzu when I first got her. Her previous owner didn't brush her, so when I got he, she had to go to the groomer. My advice is this; Take her to the groomer and have her shaved, the brush her everyday. This way she won't assosiate the brush with her fur being pulled. Then there wont be a problem with her having a fit about it.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

Most animals object to have their face groomed.

If you brush gently him daily even after a shave to get him used a non painful brushing and not allow it to get tangled he may grow to accept it. After the shave start with a soft brush like a baby brush a move up to a wide tooth comb and then to am more narrow one. Avoid slickers they are painful around the face. Ask your groomer about a safe spray conditioner for the face to help with make the comb glide smoother. Always reward your dog even if he wasn't perfectly behaved with a treat. No yelling durinng the grooming session talk gently. Start with short sessions and increase the time. Get a thinning shears scissors in case you do get tangles, cut gently being careful to avoid the skin. Also a small letter opener can be a good dematter.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

You could buy a pair of clippers and clip his hair yourself. He seems scared of having the brush near his face. Maybe you can try something that's smaller near his face, like a small comb.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

Your dog is 3 years old. What have you been doing all this time. You might try to brush him more often so the knots dont form or just save your money and let the groomer do their job for you. IM NOT TRYING TO BE MEAN I just think it is kinda late to be asking that question. However you could just do a little a day that way he won't have to go through it all at once. And be gentle. Good Luck!

My dog won't let me brush him!?

hi, of course he won't let you brush him, he is simply too scare i believe.

try to give him treat when you bursh him and praise him well by using your soft tone when you speak to him .

be very gentle , don't let the brushing take too long be a short one once at a time (like brushing the back first then stop, next day brush the stomach area...)

let him know you will be doing this brushing everytime, but not very long every time, to let him accept this brushing slowly at a time.

try to bring him outdoor(when you bring him out for poo and wee time bring along the brush, so it won't stress your dog when every time you do the brushing %26amp; it also won't mess up your house with all the hair flying around).

i have got 2 chi hua hua,%26amp; i have happy time brushing their hair everytime..

hope my answer will be helpful to you %26amp; if you have anymore question pls feel free to add detail..

so, happy brushing.. good day to you..

My dog won't let me brush him!?

mayb ur pushing 2 hard or the brushes bristles are too pokey. But what u could do. is do little parts of your dogs face at once.brush the same place on his face every time you start to brush him. then once he gets use to that. start on another part of his face. mayb it just hurts. if you brush ur hair in the morning w/o putting it up, it gets really notty,lol, and it hurts to brush it. mayb thats what ur dog feels.

My dog won't let me brush him!?

mines like that too,

it works alot better when you set them on top of a table

My dog won't let me brush him!?

A dog gets "picky" about his grooming because he HAS to! Do you think he is biting at you and the brush and crying out because he is possessed by demons? NO! IT HURTS! If you can not afford to keep this dog properly groomed (By "properly" I mean shaved short once every 3 months!) then you should most definately re-home him! What you are doing to him is definately not fair to the dog and if you want him long and flowing then it is going to cost you! That means weekly professional groomings!

Just because you have probably seen show dogs on tv running around the ring in long flowing locks does NOT mean they run around in meadows all day rolling in the long grass like that after the show is over! Those coats are carefully wrapped in small sections between shows to keep it in top condition for the next show! And want in on a secret? They mostly shave down retired Champions so that they can then enjoy life as dogs were intended to. As well as making breeding more sanitary.

Please trade places with your poor dog for one day and see if you don't scream when that person comes at you with that brush when you are a knotted mess, OK?