lrkellly

Hello,

So... I'm feeling like a horrible poodle owner. I want to groom Sprout myself, but I'm afraid its too late. Sprout is 8 months old and he will not allow me to brush him fully without biting and squirming.

I can bathe and clip him fine, but I cannot brush him. I didn't think there was a problem because his hair never really got very tangly or matted. Now he gets matts around his neck and in his arm pits (especially) and he has tangly legs... (must be growing out of his puppy coat?)

I was *this* close to buying him a muzzle today at the pet store, but I thought .. there must be something I can do to re-train him somehow! I hate the idea of muzzling him.

Treats are obvious, but this requires another person constantly putting treats in his mouth while I try to both hold him down and brush him...

Is it too late?

Thanks for any advice....

PaddleAddict

Is this the first time you are brushing him? What about bathing, etc?

It would be helpful to have another pair of hands or at least a grooming arm with a noose you can loop around his neck.

Are you putting him up on a table or trying to groom him on the floor?

I hope that FJM pops by because I seem to recall that she had some good advice about conditioning the puppy to brushing/grooming. It will be better to do short sessions, 5 minutes, and brush one section of the coat at a time while praising and giving treats, then giving the dog a break and trying another section later, until the dog is brushed all over.

It is good of you to fix this issue now since poodles need a lifetime of regular grooming.

mom24doggies

It's definitely not too late! You can retrain your boy to like brushing. Start by just having the brush with you on the table, and treat him with something yummy (I like to use something special when I'm doing grooming training, such as cheese or lunchmeat...my Lhasa will even sit still for nail grinding when I use that stuff!) when he stands still. Do that for a while until he doesn't react at all to the presence of the brush and is quietly waiting for more treats. Then pick the brush up, repeat the treating for standing still until he is again comfortable. Then start by just touching him with the brush on a non-sensitive part of him, like his back leg (most dogs don't mind their back legs being brushed). Treat only when he behaves. Once he's comfortable with that, move on to doing one stroke, treat. Slowly introduce more strokes and different body parts, again only treating when he's standing still. I would recommend just doing these exercises for maybe 5 minutes at a time, several times a day. Less time if you can tell he's starting to get antsy. Basically, don't go past his comfort level. When I'm retraining something like brushing, nail trimming, etc., I go until I can tell the dog is almost ready to get impatient and move, then I stop and treat. That way, it's pretty easy to stretch their comfort level farther and farther. Also, don't try brushing out any mats for a good long time...let him have lots and lots of good associations with the brush. I would just go ahead and clip out the mats this time. That little bit of hair won't be worth the struggle. Since he's probably going through his coat change, it might be a good idea to simply clip him shorter. That way, there are no bad associations with the brush and it will be easier for you to retrain him that way as you won't have to deal with long hair. You can concentrate on retraining. HTH!

P.S. Definitely don't muzzle him...that will only escalate his behavior. Muzzles are a last resort...since Sprout is still a puppy and very trainable, he doesn't need that.

__________________

"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

lrkellly

Thanks PaddleAddict,

I have been brushing him every day, but not fully brushing him. He lets me brush his back and part of his belly but its getting harder now. I brush his legs once or twice a week when my partner and I can do it together. We have been doing this on the floor, but maybe I should put him up on a table. I'm also afraid that brushing out the tangles is hurting his skin...

He is easy to bathe and he tolerates being clipped to some degree, although I haven't had a long clip session with him yet.

I've been looking for conditioning sprays but our local pet stores don't seem to carry them. However, one is bringing in mink oil spray next week so I might give that a try.

lrkellly

Thanks so much mom24doggies,

These sound like excellent strategies, I will definitely give them a try. I would just love to be able to give him a complete brush as we're lounging on the couch. That would be my dream. I will work with him on the table slowly with that dream in mind!

I guess I should schedule a date with the groomer.. according to her, he's great to groom... so it must have be me who trained him to mis-behave with me


Thanks for your help..

mom24doggies

A lot of dogs "act out" when their mom or dad tries to groom them...you have no idea how many times I hear "did he give you trouble when you brushed him?", and many times I answer no. I would definitely table train Sprout first, then you can move to a lap on the couch. A lot of dogs behave much better when on a table anyway, it seems to remove some of their confidence and takes them out of their comfort zone, so they stand still.

__________________

"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

fjm

Completely agree with Mom24 - and recognise that if he is a bit tangled it may hurt a bit no matter how careful you are, so you need super good treats to make up for it! Lots of 2 - 3 minute sessions, ending on a good note, are more likely to be successful than trying to push on until you are both hot and cross and ready to bite each other.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

Indiana

I'm STILL training Maddy, just because she's such a wiggle worm. I use treats and don't spend too much time grooming at a time to make it bearable for her. Never too late; just think, some people adopt rescues who have never been brushed in their lives and THEY learn to love it, so Sprout will adjust.

3dogs

I agree with others it is not to late. I would without fail get your dog off the floor & on a table with noose. If you need a noose for the hind end as well then that is fine. You can just start over & only brush/comb 1 leg, with treats, end session on a good note. If he gets to snapping then either you have gone to long in your grooming session or your poodle is trying to see how much he/she can get away with & have you stop. If you stop while the snapping is going on then your dog won & this behavior will be repeated. Just go back to an area that your dog won't snap at, praise & end session. End positively no matter how small or short the session is. I groom all my dogs on the table & sometimes just to put them on there, treat, touch body parts & then end session. I think Rens is in Canada that lots of groomers get their products from.

lrkellly

Thanks everyone . We're moving slowly with treats on the table and a bit of brushing, trying to make things positive. Meanwhile I'm waiting to get into a groomer to clean him up so I can start from scratch.

I would love to get a grooming table with an arm/noose but I live in a small place and wouldn't have room for it really. Is there such a thing as an arm that will attach to any table, without damaging it? The only table I really have that I can use is our kitchen table which is thick chestnut wood....

I think a noose would make a huge difference. Perhaps I will have to splurge on a folding table.

Thanks again for your help and very useful advice