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Brushing is a nightmare! Please help! I am a new member of YorkieTalk and am excited to be apart of this community. Not only is Winston my first Yorkie, he is my first dog. I am so glad that he is apart of my life. Bringing him home was by far the best decision I have ever made. :p Ok, so here it is...he turns 1 year old just before Christmas and there is one thing I can't seem to overcome - he makes brushing him an absolute nightmare! Everytime he even sees me go for the brush he goes wild. He will jump at my hand and try to bite the brush as if he wants to destroy it. I have to force him to lay down in my lap while I attempt to brush him all the while trying not to get my hands in the way of his sharp little teeth. Not only is he a nightmare at home, I also hear from the groomer that he is no walk in park! I have kept his hair short to avoid this problem but want to grow it out - please help :confused: |
welcome -- your Winston sounds like a real individual! :-) they are so cute aren't they? I am not a very experienced pet owner myself, but whenever I have to do soemthing to my guys that they don't want done, I have much better luck if I wrap them in a towel to do it. Of course, the groomer can't do this. I'm sure you will get some better advice. |
my yogi runs away but i tell him to come and he walks slowly with his head down the best trick is lots of treats but special treats you need to give him treats that he only gets when he gets combed so he knows that he will get the treats if he gets combed this will help out alot. then after he starts getting better dont give him as many treats. Yogi gets one only if he is good and now he just sits there so i can comb him. but the first time means lots of little treats make sure there chewie and small so it wont take him alot of time to eat :) |
Welcome to YT!:D What kind of brush are you using? If you run it up & down your arms, does it hurt? Then it's probably hurting him too. I sell the Madan brushes (link on my siggy) & the blue or green brush is great for sensitive pups...they'll sit still while brushing them w/this. It has beveled pins & the cushion is very soft. While brushing, the pins move thus minimal pulling & breakage of hair. Get him used to brushing time. Put him on a bathroom counter top or table. Consistency is key & always praise him when he stands still. At this sensitive time, I just cut out any mats w/a blunt nosed scissor bc I don't want them to associate grooming time ='s ouch time. Give him yummy treats after.:) |
have you ever taken him for a grooming? brushing my baby was a nightmare. he was soo matted it was impossible for me to do anything then i took rex for his first grooming just over a week ago at 4 months old i thought he was to young and i didn't want him to get shaved but the groomer was amazing and got all his mattes out in 30min it cost my 60$ for the whole thing but well worth it. now every morning i comb him and he sits still....well kinda as long as his has a toy to chew on. i think he learned from the groomer because she didn't let him get away like i do and i just give up but she didint no matter how much he cried. now he knows its coming so he just relaxes for the most part. maybe try taking him to a groomer. |
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:thumbup:This works!! It's what my husband started and I do to get Sophie to sit still while she gets brushed :D |
Oh, and by the way...A BIG WARM WELCOME TO YORKIE TALK FOR YOU & WINSTON :aimeeyork :animal-pa |
2 Attachment(s) have you thought about maybe just keeping his face and legs long and keeping his body short. My dog doesnt actually mind being groomed but her hair is just not easy to keep nice, and honestly I dont want to put her through it. Her facial hair and leg hair is very soft and fluffy and doesnt require lots of brushing...Its a great hair cut and I think she looks adorable. |
I will definitely give these things a try, he is very food motivated so maybe the treats will work. I just don't want him to think I am rewarding his bad behavior... Should I wait until he sleeping to brush him or keep the brush out for him to chew on whenever he wants? To answer the question of what brush I use - I have two kinds, the small one that has the little metal pokey bristles ( I think to use for mats) and a plastic one that has two sides, one is plastic softer bristles and the other side is the metal ones with rounded tips (more like a human brush). I really do think the pokey one hurts him, it seems like his skin is super sensative and his hair is so thin that there is no protection. I take him to the groomer every 4-6 weeks but try to brush him a couple times a week. Thanks for the comments, I appreciate it. |
I think one of the problems is that you are trying to groom him while he is on your lap. Dogs usually behave better if they are up on something like a grooming table. A folded towel on a washing machine works great, too. Don't make grooming time a battle. Put him up on your washing machine and brush him a little with a nice soft brush like a Madan. Praise him while you are doing it and reward him with little treats as you go. When he's had enough, stop. You want it to be a positive experience, not a battle of wills. You should be able to gradually increase the time this way. |
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The other w/rounded tips are also a no-no. The rounded tips actually gets hair stuck in it & breaks it. That hurts too. I brush my furbabies everyday, sometimes couple of times a day to prevent matting. Momo is the only one that attacks the brush. He's the one that mats:rolleyes: w/thick cottony hair. What I do w/him is put him on the bathroom counter, then he knows it's grooming time. Like Ladymom said, put him on the washing machine:D or any surface. Start w/giving him a treat (since he's food motivated), leave the treat bag right where he can see it. Only give him the treat if he's being good. Give him a break if he's being uncooperative & try again 20-30mins later. |
Thanks for the advice. I will try to put him on the counter and brush him to see if that separates play time from grooming time. Also - I tried to go to the Madan brush link on the last post and it will only let me view it for about 10 seconds then switches to a page that says not a valid thread...do you have another website to view the brushes on? |
Here's the link: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...onverters.html I'm gonna have to go change that...hmm, wonder why it does that... |
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I had a simiilar experience to Carissa. At 4 and 1/2 months, my baby Jamie was real matted and wouldn't let me do much. The groomer, who was the same one that worked on my first yorkie, was very kind and patient. She teased me that Jamie's new nickname was Diablo but said after they fought over the brush for quite a while, Jamie finally calmed now. The groomer said that she really is quite a sweetie but is a very dominant dog and you can't give up. I thought she would have to shave her also but she worked real hard and got the mats out. Now Jamie is sitting while I groom her every morning. I also believe my groomer was instrumental in teaching Jamie to relax. |
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