Duke still wants to kill his brush despite lots of treating please help?

[Kayla]

I was curious if anyone could shed some light on why despite my best efforts to use all positive reinforcement and baby steps to get Duke used to being groomed (nail clipping,ear cleaning, brushing and so on), he still hates it and struggles and screams as if your killing him. He already knows paw, so I usually tell him to give me a paw, treat him, show him the nail clippers, treat him, touch his paw with nail clipper, treat him and then next day repeat all this plus clip one nail. I've never cut into the quick but ever since the first time I clipped one nail he will no longer give me his paws when he sees the nail clippers. I've tried gently picking up his paw while saying paw and treating him when I have it in hand and then touching him with the nail clippers and treating him but he freaks out and struggles to get away. If had to start getting my mom to hold him for me and we do one nail a day with lots of treats but he still hasn't gotten over it he even tries to bite my mom to get away.

The brush isn't as bad I usually do the same process as I do with the clippers, get him to sit, treat him, stay, treat him, show him brush, treat him, touch him with brush, treat him, do a quick 30 second brush down, treat him and then stop for that day. He's getting much better with that but still struggles and bites the brush and I usually have to hold him while doing it to make him hold the stay.

Ear cleaning is the same story, I introduced it to him slowly, same process, one day I'd just make him sit, treat him, stay, treat him, show him ear q-tip with baby oil on it, let him sniff it, treat him, then next day repeat and actually stick it in his ear and treat him and then take it out, next day clean that ear, treat him then next day other ear, but again I needed my mom to hold him as he would not stay still at all.

I know it takes them ahwile to get used to it but will I ever be able to get him to sit normally and get him to give me his paw so I can trim his nails and groom him normally without him making a big fuss? He's almost 5 months and while i'm starting to see improvement on the brushing (which I do twice a week as he dosen't really seem to shed much at all) and ear cleaning ( do it about once a month as his are nice and clean but he does have floppy ears so I don't want bacteria to build up since I know it creates a warm moist enviroment for it to grow) I haven't really seen much if any improvement for the nail clipping.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Kayla

[Charliesmommy]

I have the same problem with my Charlie about brushing. I posted a similar question recently and didn't get any better ideas than what both you and I are already trying. Charlie doesn't mind the nail clipping but I can't get near him with a brush. Hopefully you'll get some more responses that I did and maybe we can both solve our problems!

[Kayla]

Let's hope:) I've noticed he's slowly starting to get better with the brush and today he actually let me hold his paw while letting me clip one nail which is a huuuge improvement for him so maybe if we keep trying every day it'll improve over time.

Best of luck with Charlie:)

Just curious what kind of puppy is he looks like some type of shepherd?

Kayla

[bubbatd]

I really fault the breeder on these problems. My pups were all introduced to these things from 3 weeks on .Sure it took time .... with a litter of 12 at even 5 minutes each a good hour . I always did it at bedtime and ended up with soft brushing which put them to sleep !

[Kayla]

Ya unfortunatly Duke came from a BYB so that would deffiently explain his resistance to them. He's slowly making progress it's just the nails and taking a bath that need a bit more practice.

Kayla

[krisykris]

My dogs don't really have an issue with brushing.. but when they were babies I made sure to get them totally relaxed first... rubbing their tummies... then slowly adding in the brush when I saw them getting tired. Now they relate being brushed with being totally relaxed and actually fall asleep half the time I'm doing it :)

[Fran27]

Boris is scared of the brush :rolleyes:

[Charliesmommy]

Charlie is a German Shepherd. He was rescued from a puppy mill so, needless to say, no one did ANYTHING with him his first 8 weeks of life. He'll let me do just about anything to him, except the brush. Don't know what his problem with it is but I have tried everything! He is 8 months now (the pic is obviously old) and I've been trying since the day I got him so I have just about lost hope. He is a long-coated GSD too so, come summer and shedding season, I'm going to be in trouble!

[Duke'sMommy]

Duke never let me brush him until about a month ago. He will be 1 in February. Everytime I tried he would bite the brush. But then one day he just accepted it. After watching me brush the cat and he realizing he lost my attention during that time he decided he was going to like the brush. But I really dont know what to tell you but hang in there, your obviously on the right track with what your doing.

Im back to the beginning with Duke again with the bath. He use to be fine with it until my mom and sister gave him a bath, I dont know what they did but he wont go near the tub. Its a struggle to get him in, once in he will stay in the tub but its no fun getting him in.