# Puppy won't let me brush him!



## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

What has helped me more than anything is always putting my pup on a table to groom him. I also go slowly and gently, and praise him and give him treats for being good. He would also go psycho if I tried to brush him on the ground or on the sofa :lol:


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## Poodlelvr (Mar 13, 2010)

Oh, this sounds so familiar. In 2001 I brought home a puppy I named Merlin. I tried to get him used to being brushed. After he had been with me for a few days and was comfortable, I placed him on my lap and tried to run a brush a few times. He squirmed and bit at the brush. I thought maybe he was afraid of the brush, so I placed it on the ground for him to examine. The little devil grabbed it by the handle and hauled it away. I tried treating him while I brushed, but it's very hard to do a good job of brushing with one hand. The other hand was busy passing out treats. I took him to puppy kindergarten and told the instructor about the problem. He suggested that I spread some peanut butter at nose level on my refrigerator and brush while he licked it off. That sort of worked. I was used to grooming my own poodles, but knew I did not have enough hands to manage this pup. I had to use pro groomers. Merlin died at age 3 of an auto immune disease.

If you don't have a grooming table, you might try placing you pup on top of a washing machine or something similar. Good luck to you.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Grooming is a gradual 'get used to it' thing........start by handling and touching your pups feet, rubbing and playing with his toes, playing and fondling and gently tugging on his ears, massaging him all over ....do this frequently , even if it just for a minute, whenever you can, thru out the day ....touch him on the back. head, and legs with the brush and give him a treat so he associates the brush with good stuff, always done calmly without fuss or excitement, as you want your dog to be calm, not an excited 'let's play' puppy when he will want to mouth your hands and fingers and the brush......if your dog is a toy or a mini, let him lie in your lap at night when all is quiet, and gently stroke him with the brush .....one or two strokes and then give him a treat....rinse and repeat! 
Brushing can be a bonding time and can be done while watching TV or just sitting quietly.

As Zooeysmom mentions, a grooming table is helpful for the larger Poodles who are a lot more physical work to handle! LOL!


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Keep your voice quiet and calm. Or say nothing at all, and play this game. One brush stroke, give one treat. Two brush strokes, give one treat. Set puppy on floor and play. Done for now. Come back later and repeat. One brush stroke, one treat. Two brush strokes, one treat. Three brush strokes, one treat. Can you get to four brush strokes without a struggle? No, OK, go back to one brush stroke, one treat and go up the scale again. Then stop for a while. This is pretend grooming, practice grooming, get used to the brush, gentle loving grooming. Pretend to groom. That kept me from getting frustrated when Noelle was young.

Any real serious grooming can be done while your puppy is asleep. I shaved Noelle's face and feet while she was asleep until she got older.


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## King Louie (May 27, 2016)

The way I did Adonis is while sitting on the couch watching tv I'd just start brushing and combing him then right before bedtime so he was sleepy and he would fall asleep while I was brushing I would have to pick him up flip him over but oh well. Then when we went out I would randomly break out the brush and start brushing him when we went to the vets while waiting he would be getting brushed and combed. He absolutely loves it now and will sleep during the process or just lay there looking around.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

LOL Your post reminds me of early days with Dulcie! How funny that now I can hardly remember it, but when she was young this was EXACTLY what happened and I thought she would never get used to being brushed or (!!) groomed! 

Everyone's advice here is spot on. Start slowly and just a little bit at a time. The key is to keep at it. Every day, a few times per day - a few brush strokes, then on to play something fun. 

I don't recall if there was a lightbulb moment or a gradual acceptance. Probably it was gradual and since we were doing it every day a little bit at a time, I barely noticed (and neither did Dulcie) that she was getting used to it. when she was full grown, I invested in a grooming table (for full grooming days) and that made life even easier.

Now, like others have described, when I approach Dulcie with the brush, she may give me the sideye and even trot away with her tail down, but when I say "Come", she comes over and sits. The moment I start brushing , she flops right over onto her side and basically zones out. It's lovely and I believe she secretly enjoys the pampering!


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