New Problem
Well, we have a new issue Duncan and I. I missed his weekly brushing last week due to my conference. I normally line brush him thoroughly once a week, but did not get it done last week. Duncan does have to wear a muzzle when I brush him because he does snap out of fear occasionally, for example if I catch a particularly bad snag. Even with his muzzle on he does sort of bump you with his nose, but he has never actually bitten. So I went to brush him the other day and we ended up at a stand still. I got his muzzle on him without issue, and then made my first part of his fur. But when I started using the "rake" to pull out any loose undercoat, he almost immediately snapped. He seems to have a very "tender head" so to speak and does not take any hard pulling or snagging very well at all. I was being very gentle with him, I was not brushing fast or pulling hard but any brushing seemed to hurt him. He was not matted at all, I just needed to brush out his undercoat. He's done so well with brushing to this point. He normally lays on his side and patiently let's me brush him, unless I do happen to catch a hard snag that is. He certainly doesn't like it, but he seems to have been resigned to letting me brush him. But this time he just would not let me continue. He got up a couple different times and walked over to the other side of the bed to lay down, and then finally just jumped completely off the bed-finished with the whole thing. I didn't want to force him and turn the situation in to anything traumatic, so I took off his muzzle and let him go. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Short-term, I do need to take him to the groomer, but I'm not sure how well that will go. I can wash him with warm water so that his undercoat will come out - it's spring anyway and he'll start shedding any time now. But I can't not brush him. He does let me use the pin brush on his top coat of fur, but that undercoat still needs to be brushed out regularly.
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I'm glad to hear how hard you are working with Duncan, but it seems that you expect a lot of him quite quickly. I have found the best way to get my shelties to love being brushed is to give them tonnes of treats.
I start out 1 brush stroke, 1 treat until they are quite happy to have that one brush stroke, then work up to 2 brush strokes 1 treat, etc. By working through this slowly I have 3 shelties whos tails start wagging as soon as I pull out a brush. I know its hard to be patient, but if you work for 5 minutes a day for a week you should be able to work up to doing a back leg for one treat.
You should also consider clicker training for Duncan. It helps build confidence in shy dogs, and allows you to avoid manipulating his body to get him to do what you want him to do. The Shy-K9s list is a wonderful resource for working with shy dogs.
Thanks so much for the suggestion for teaching him to like brushing! I'll have to try that! As for the clicker training, I have thought of doing that, and even bought a clicker. But the loud sharp noise seems to scare him and was actually making him "run" from me. Loud sudden noises seem to do that to him, and since the clicker noise seemed to come from me, it seemed to be teaching him to stay away from me, rather than reinforcing the behavior I was trying to teach him. Duncan is also not very treat driven. He likes treats ok, but won't always eat them even if I put them down for him. I've not found any sort of treat that Duncan would do "anything" for. He likes liver treats ok, and seems to really like cheese, but if it comes to me asking him to do something in order to receive it, he usually will just leave it.
Hmmmm, such a dilemma! I remember having a terrible time at first with both my girls when I would try to brush them, Bea is still pretty sensitive about brushing around her ears- I have to be very gentle there and hold the fur close to her skin to avoid pulling at all, so I know what you mean. Byrdie I would have to leash, and tie her to my leg as I sat on the floor to brush her, or she would wiggle away and hide. I gave them no choice but to submit to it though, being gentle and understanding, soothing, and praised them lots for cooperating, and would give them a really yummy special treat as soon as we were done, and frequently a special walk, or a play session.
They still don't enjoy being brushed, but they do cooperate, and love that treat afterward! I don't have to leash Byrdie anymore, and she now lets me trim her nails, and neaten up her paws too!
I think Duncan will come around with gentleness and persistance on your part, try not to allow him to get the upper paw and get away from you, otherwise he will keep trying every time, and you will not teach him that it must be done, so he might as well cooperate, and get it over with, so he can have his special treat. And if he doesn't respond to dog treats, try something else that he really likes a lot. (Try liverwurst, most dogs love that!)
I once had to pill my cat for a couple of weeks when he was ill. Within a couple of days he was looking forward to pill time, because immediately after his pill, he got brushed, and that is his favorite thing in the whole world!
I hope this helps a little bit, at least to give you some ideas.
Ellen Leigh
Furminator! Well worth the money. Got mine (the medium size) on e-bay for $34.00. Duncan will love this thing. It does NOT hurt! Good luck! My new sheltie baby loves to be furminated twice a week.
Hello, I just discovered your story through Sheltie Nation and I really enjoy reading about your progress with Duncan.
I adopted my Sheltie 2 years and 3 months ago and I do all his grooming myself. These are the tips I acquired along the way.
I put a cotton rug on top of my washer and put Max up on the washer to brush and clip his front paws. Easier on my back and similar to a grooming table. I got this tip from someone who had a Golden Retriever.
Use a detangler spray to reduce the pulling. I just use a "slicker" brush and happened to have some wig conditioner/detangler in a spray bottle. You can also buy leave-in detangler / conditioner at Petco. It really works.
Max initially did snap and really disliked having his hind end groomed and nails clipped. Work up the time period slowly but be firm. I used "no" when he balked and "good boy" when he cooperated. Of course he got a good chewy treat after I get him off the washer.
I clip his nails with a small scissors-type clipper and just do a tiny bit each time but very frequently. I have only clipped too short (bled) once using this method. I say "good boy" for each tiny clip. He still tries to turn away sometimes but I gently insist. He only lets me do his front paws on the washer. For his back paws I have to get him to lie on his back on the carpet, give a tummy rub then clip the back nails. Apparently balancing on 3 paws on the washer is just too hard. Clipping the fur between his toes and around the nails is done while he lies on his back on the floor also.
I also use Bag Balm on the bottoms of his feet, which get dry and cracked. It is basically vaseline and lanolin.
Max gets his bath in our walk-in shower with a hand-held sprayer. Now he is so smart he knows when I am getting everything ready and just walks in the shower himself. He doesn't like the bath, but loves the drying-off part of being rubbed all over I guess. My obedience instructor says keep one hand on the dog the whole time for reassurance, and sing a song while your give the bath. I haven't tried that but you could.
Congradulations on your Shelties -- Donna and Max in VA
Thanks so much Donna! This is very helpfull!
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