How to get a 14 week old to liked being brushed
 

Hello everyone

I have a yorkie puppy. So far he is truly a sweet dog. The only problem I have is when it comes to brushing. Today I was brushing him because the brush that I used I guess was not getting to the root of the hair and he was matted. I went and purchased another brush yesterday. I tried brushing him today and got so much matted hair out but he did not like it. . He did not stay still I held him and twice he tried to bite me because i think it hurt him. I know he is juts a puppy but since daily brushing is a must for yorkies, sepcially so that the hair does not get matted. How do i get him to stay still. I gave him his favorite toy it worked for a little bit.

Also every day brushing like 10 min will that be ok?

Thanks :D

Make sure you a using a pin brush with no balls at the tip. I recommend the Madan brush..hehe...i have 4 of them. Also just be persistant and do it daily..eventually he will enjoy being brush....all puppies are sorta like that at the beginning but keep it up and it will be worth it in the end...heh

It helps if you get him familiar with the brush first. Maybe spend one or two minutes a day, just with him on your lap or where ever you plan to groom him. Stroke the back side of the brush down his back, if he stays still, praise him. Touch him with the brush, just a few little strokes. Touch his feet, belly, ears etc.

Brush very gently as just pulling on their hair can hurt these little guys. I always hold my hand at the base of the hair (at the body) so not to pull away from the skin, and I pull the hair through the brush towards the body, not pull the brush through the hair away from the body. if he does have matts or a matt, start by working it apart with your fingers, try some Cowboy Magic on it. Then hold the part of his hair that is closest to his skin and work out the matt from the end of the hair strand, so you are not pulling his skin.

Most important: keep praising him when he lets you brush him, love on him, tell him what a good boy he is. Do a little each day, maybe not even ten minutes yet. Try doing two sessions of maybe 3 minutes in the morning and 3 minutes at night. He is still a baby, it will take some time.

Be patient, consistent, and persistant. REWARD and PRAISE and before you know it, he will be enjoy (or rather, he'll pretend to enjoy, lol) his grooming sessions :):)

I always cut the mats out if it's close to the skin. If the mat isn't close to the skin, I'll hold the hair from the inside & comb out the mat. It really hurts them & they'll associate brushing time = hurting time.
If you minimize the pain as much as you can, he'll learn to like brushing.
I always grab a section of hair & start brushing downwards in layers. It helps by not pulling & tugging on the hair.

My puppy is 16 weeks and I have found that if put him on my lap and hold a hand full of puppy kibble (I use a different brand than the one he normally eats) in one hand to distract him, I can use the brush on him with the other hand. I release a single piece of kibble at a time, (like a PEZ dispenser) for him to munch on while I gently brush his back and legs. After only 2 sessions of doing this, he ignores the brush in favor of the kibble. When he is older it will be easier and he will like being brushed, but at this age the brush is just another toy that you won't let him play with ;)