Lyric puts up with my Dremelling his nails but he certainly isn't very thrilled about the whole thing. He would rather avoid it if possible. He's the only one. The Chihuahuas push to be the first one in my lap when I get the Dremel out and Jose` resource guards the Dremel. LOL. I swear....if I leave it on the floor in my room under this table, he'll lie there for hours right next to it and growls at any dog who comes near. Those two totally associate the Dremel with great treats even though they too, aren't crazy about the procedure but tolerate it. But somehow, Lyric never bought it completely.
Anyhow, yes...I go get Lyric. When I'm Dremelling the others' nails, he high tails it to the living room. I go get him, put a leash on and give him a high value treat and do a few fun things with him first for about 2 or 3 minutes. That way, the bad thing isn't directly associated with my going toward him. There's a time inbetween and that sort of throws him off. I just try to balance it out and give him good treats frequently while he's having his nails done. I also try not to have to do all his nails in one shot. There's no rule that says you have to do all nails in one day. That way, it doesn't take so long and it's not as rotten.
My dogs love to be brushed so I don't have a problem with that. And they don't mind baths. Try to make your brushing sessions short and rewarding. You can work up to longer times as you go. Make it feel like you're stroking or patting your dog. Use a comfortable, soft sort of brush and start out in the favorite spots; back near the tail, tummy, whatever. And do the legs the next time after he's come to think brushing is actually a nice thing. I'd just spend a very short time on the places he doesn't like.....at first. You can even put a small bowl of some extra special food while you brush.
