How to Brush a Dog That Hates Being Brushed
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Very few dogs object to being brushed on principle. They object to what brushing has felt like so far, usually pulling. Once you fix the pulling, most dogs come round, though it takes longer than people expect.
Work out what is actually wrong
Watch when your dog starts objecting. The timing tells you a lot.
- Flinching the moment the brush appears is anticipation. Something about brushing has hurt before and they have learned the cue.
- Fine at first, then snapping or leaving usually means you are reaching a specific area, behind the ears, the armpits, the back legs, the base of the tail. These are where mats form and where skin is thin.
- Fine everywhere except one spot can be a sore patch rather than a behaviour problem. Have a look at the skin before you assume it is attitude.
Stop the pulling
The technique that makes the biggest difference costs nothing: hold the fur at its base, between the mat and the skin, with your free hand while you brush the end of it. Your hand takes the tension instead of your dog's skin. It feels fussy for the first minute and then becomes automatic.
Work the ends of a tangle loose first and move inward. Driving a brush straight into the middle of a mat and pulling is the single thing most likely to make a dog hate the whole business.
Shorter sessions than you think
Two minutes, done calmly, beats fifteen minutes that end badly. You are not trying to finish the dog in one sitting, you are trying to make brushing boring.
Finish while your dog is still comfortable, not when you run out of dog to brush. Ending on a bad note is what builds the association you are trying to undo.
It also helps to brush after a walk, when they are tired, rather than first thing when they are full of energy.
Give them something else to do
This is where a lick mat earns its place. Stuck to the side of the bath or a cupboard door at nose height, with something frozen on it, it keeps a dog occupied and facing away from you for long enough to get real work done. For a dog that has learned to dread the brush, it also starts rebuilding the association in the right direction.
Use a brush that suits the coat
A slicker brush, fine bent pins set close together, is the usual choice for pulling loose undercoat out of a double coat and working through light tangles. Look for rounded tips on the pins; bare wire ends scratch skin, and a dog that has been scratched remembers.
A head that pivots helps you follow the contours of a leg or a chest without changing your wrist angle every few seconds, which in practice means you press less hard.
The brush we carry has rounded pins and a pivoting head for exactly this reason.
Little and often beats a rescue mission
Brushing a well-maintained coat is pleasant for both of you. Brushing a coat that has gone three months is a different job, and no technique makes it comfortable. A few minutes twice a week is less total effort than one bad afternoon a season, and your dog never learns to dread it.
Know when to hand it over
If the coat is matted tight to the skin, do not try to brush it out. Dense mats pull on skin constantly and can hide sores underneath. That is a job for a groomer with clippers, and it is kinder to book it than to spend three evenings making your dog miserable.
Likewise, if you find red, broken or smelly skin under the fur, or your dog yelps at light touch somewhere, see a vet before you resume brushing that area.