Gizmo HATES to be brushed!

I really like Tofu Pup's advice, as well.

There are times in a dog's life where they just have to learn to accept "because I said so". When Bacca was young, I did all the nice things, getting him used to all the various torture tools gradually, etc.

But as both pups got older, it started to become more: Ok, silly dogs....you know this drill, so just get over it. The sooner you get into position, the faster we'll be done.

So now, they get a treat when they come to me when I've got the nasty tools out, and they get a treat when they are done. Indy will still try to hide from me, but he can't resist the cookie on the grooming towel.....:lol:

They both get it now.
 
When I first got Anna (she was 3) she hated to be brushed, and would snarl and bite at the brush. I didn't want to hurt her, so I started taking her to the groomers, and let them deal with her. She also wouldn't let me clip her nails.

I was not gentle enough with her, I think she had sensitive skin. The groomers all said she was very good with them, but they had her on a table. As the years went on, we both learned how to use a slicker and another brush, given to me by her best groomer. I learned to not pull on her skin and how to be very, very gentle.

Daisy sees me pick up the brush now (after two months) and comes right over. I have carried over the gentle technique to her. She loves the attention, and she looks beautiful after it is done. I want to get the sheltie grooming book, and all that goes with it. There are no dog groomers locally in my new town, plus her last hair cut was a disaster....no pants.......
 
Toffee hated it too... I used 'Cuz I said so' methods, previously. Two years later I had finally switched to treats when he was holding still, and rewarding the behaviour I wanted! When he kept still even if just for a few seconds, I said yes or clicked, then treated! Also by keeping it at short sessions, it worked so much better! Slowly but surely it went from to being a hassle to a joy for both of us! This is also easier said then done, but I believe most breeders and groomers won't be able to invest this much time in training and going sooo slow, if you have ten dogs to groom! I find it is much better to put him up on a 'table', but I don't have grooming experience like the others do and I won't get a table, but the washer/dryer and freezer tops work just fine for me! lol

I am kicking myself for fighting all this time, when I could have trained it just with a few short session of rewarding and conditioning when he was younger, instead of holding him down and making him put up with it :( So, I am glad I went with reward and positive based behavior in the end because click and treat works much better for me :yes: :biggrin2:
 
I should have been clearer....I taught the dogs "Cuz I said so" by using treats and rewards and it extends beyond grooming.

The point is that they don't have to like it, but they do have do it. And they will do it readily enough now.
 
thanks for all of the advise, guys! Gizmo is doing a lot better now. he still doesnt want to lay on the floor for me to brush him, but he will let me do it with him in my lap. he just lays there and snuggles. so next step is to get him to stay put on the floor. :smile2: he hates the spray bottle though so we need to work on that too. but hey, we're gettin somewhere at least!
 
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