Charlie wants to kill the brush

[Charliesmommy]

My German Shepherd has thought since he was a tiny puppy that the dog brush is evil and must die. If he sees it anywhere he immediately starts growling at it and then, if he gets it, he bites it to death. I have tried buying differenty types of brushes and have also tried giving him treats while sitting near the brush to try to get him used to it but he is just not cooperating. He is 1 year old and has basically never been brushed. He is a long-coated Shepherd so I HAVE to figure out a solution to this before summer comes and he starts shedding again. Any ideas????

 

[Sweet72947]

I'm having a similar problem with my lab and nails. She gets real afraid if she even SEES the clippers. What I have started doing is just showing her the nail clippers and giving her treats to teach her that nail clippers don't mean bad stuff is going to happen.

With your dog, you can just leave the brush in site and when he doesn't react to it, give him a treat. Its going to take a while, but you will have to teach your dog that the brush means good, and then teach him to let you brush him. I'm sure some others will chime in with further advice. Good luck!

 

[Brattina88]

I would get a brush that looks different than any other brush you've had if possible... and do not try to brush him with it
then I would start desensitizing your dog to the brush. For example, praise the dog when you get get the brush out and he ignores it. You can't start to close to him if he reacts. Get it out and set it by you on the couch or something and ignore / discourage any behavior that isn't calm. Call him over and praise him for not having a problem with it after a while. Gradually go to where you can have the brush right next to him, and he ignores it (praise like crazy for any improvement/wanted behavior). Just like Sweet posted... Eventually you can gently stroke the hair with the brush and treat, and slowly work towards being able to brush your dog You have to make sure your timing is right, so that you aren't rewarding your dog for growling or biting the brush.

Always end on a positive note, and make brushing as fun as possible. Brush gently. Smearing peanut butter, or letting him chew on a bone, or something similar may help in distracting him from mouthing the brush, so that you can brush. Its a good idea to start working on this now, for a couple of minutes a couple times a day, and you'll be brushing by summer Desensitizing is a long process, there is no easy fix

I hope that helps a little. There are comfort wraps and aromatherapy items that may help if you find you need a little additional convincing that the brush is not the bad guy

Both my GSD and my brothers GSD LOVE being brushed... I hope he learns to like it too

 

[Lizmo]

I would get a brush that looks different than any other brush you've had if possible... and do not try to brush him with it
then I would start desensitizing your dog to the brush. For example, praise the dog when you get get the brush out and he ignores it. You can't start to close to him if he reacts. Get it out and set it by you on the couch or something and ignore / discourage any behavior that isn't calm. Call him over and praise him for not having a problem with it after a while. Gradually go to where you can have the brush right next to him, and he ignores it (praise like crazy for any improvement/wanted behavior). Just like Sweet posted... Eventually you can gently stroke the hair with the brush and treat, and slowly work towards being able to brush your dog You have to make sure your timing is right, so that you aren't rewarding your dog for growling or biting the brush.

Always end on a positive note, and make brushing as fun as possible. Brush gently. Smearing peanut butter, or letting him chew on a bone, or something similar may help in distracting him from mouthing the brush, so that you can brush. Its a good idea to start working on this now, for a couple of minutes a couple times a day, and you'll be brushing by summer Desensitizing is a long process, there is no easy fix

I hope that helps a little. There are comfort wraps and aromatherapy items that may help if you find you need a little additional convincing that the brush is not the bad guy
Both my GSD and my brothers GSD LOVE being brushed... I hope he learns to like it too

Ditto! :hail: Lizzie LOVES to be brushed too.

 

[Whisper]

Excellent, excellent advice from Brattina.

 

[DrewG]

I just started brushing my Yorkie tonight (a little late I know). He wasn't very thrilled with it. I let him knaw on a treat or two while I worked the tangles out. I will start trying the above methods and try to get some progress.

 

[Debi]

I'm having a similar problem with my lab and nails. She gets real afraid if she even SEES the clippers. What I have started doing is just showing her the nail clippers and giving her treats to teach her that nail clippers don't mean bad stuff is going to happen.

With your dog, you can just leave the brush in site and when he doesn't react to it, give him a treat. Its going to take a while, but you will have to teach your dog that the brush means good, and then teach him to let you brush him. I'm sure some others will chime in with further advice. Good luck!

I've been doing that with the clippers for months now. my Ham now loves the clippers...................until I attempt to clip his nails. I don't know how long this training process is supposed to last, but it is becoming tedious at best!

 

[Charliesmommy]

I don't know why, but Charlie doesn't mind the clippers at all - just the brush. I have been trying the above methods for a month or so with no luck so far. Guess I'll just keep trying.

 

[little liz]

Not sure if this will help!

You said you've tried using treats but I am not sure how you are using them. Minnie used to always want to bite the brush and attack it, offering her a treat, even a really good one was not going to distract her enough to let me brush her...She was pretty good at waiting for treats though, so I would hide the brush as much as possible, show her a small treat, put it down in front of her and tell her to leave. I would make her wait a little while and then tell her to go on, and she would devour the treat. The waiting for the treat is very intense for Minnie and she will, even now hardly take her eyes off of it while waiting. So I started putting a treat down and while she was concentrating I would gently stroke her back with my hand, then I would let her have the treat and put another one down. This time I would gently brush her once. At first she might flick around but I would bring her attention back to the treat and tell her she could have it and make a fuss, then just stroke her with my hand again.... The next time I'd do it I would use the brush a couple of times etc. Yes I would go through lots of tiny treats and it took a while before I could brush her properly but it worked! Now I can spend as much time as I want to brushing her. A couple of tiny treats is all that is needed even when she is all tangled and matted! When she sees me with her brush now she may bounce and try to jump at it but I think more out of excitement. She loves doing tricks and I think that she classes being brushed as just that LOL. I do hope that this helps. Maybe worth a try ^__^