Molly's face washing Help, I need some good advice and tips. Molly, my five year old rescue yorkie hates having her face washed and groomed. She growls and if I continue she bears her teeth at me and means it. She will often attempt to bite the brush. I have tried everything and now she has got some small tree buds stuck in her face fur and won't let me near, any suggestions please. :aimeeyork |
I work with rescues and fosters sometimes it is heartbreaking that the most gentle grooming does not bring them joy, but fear and panic. I have found sometimes it helps to cover their eyes. Will she allow you to hold and pet her ? Rub her ears ? Sometimes you can slowly work up to face washing, grooming. I think it is ok to use a soft muzzle in the early stages of desensitizing behavior modification. Wrapping in a towel and covering the eyes works with some dogs. You will need a helper for this one. Please use as a last resort, you can hold her by the scruff of the neck and , hold her body firmly in your lap, with her back facing you, one arm across her body below the ribs. You or the friend can quickly use an old tooth brush or wash cloth to remove the sticker/ weed. We have had to do this to put meds on a face, sadly forcing them, sets back retraining by a mile, you have to start all over regaining their trust. Hope this helps. |
Mikki fights me tooth and nail when it comes to her face area. I use a wash cloth to put the water on and take the cleaner off. She tolerates the wash cloth better than anything else. I do it very slowly and softly. I don't know if it will work for you but it has worked wonders with her. |
:D Harry's very butch and doesn't really like being fiddled about with....:D I actually use our old-fashioned white muslin dish-cloths on his face as they're so incredibly soft (yes, I do keep them separately from our own!) :) It's probably completely wrong of me but, knowing his aversion to it, I started making a game of it....little gentle rubs with warm water all round his mouth area, softly, softly :D And now, after he's eaten his dinner, he actually waits by the kitchen door, waiting for our little after dinner game. Good luck Nicky :) Sally + Harry x |
Thank you for the tips and advice, she's normally okay with body grooming, it's the chest and face areas that are the worst. I will try the toothbrush tip and hope that she doesn't notice, ha ha, and reward her with a treat afterwards and myself if successful. |
Have her teeth been checked? My moms yorkie rescue doesn't like his face getting messed with but it was worse before he had his dental (bad a few bad teeth) and now we try to touch his face a little more every day and he has gotten better and better. It might just take some time. |
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