I've mentioned this before, but now I'm really trying to understand it, and also find a way to change the behavior. Cooper (2 yrs) is generally a very friendly, confident, playful dog, who gets along fine with other people and dogs. She has a couple of idiosyncrasies, that cause us some problems. Generally she love to be petted and most of the time even likes to cuddle. You can do almost anything to her with your hands and not get any negative reaction: Rub her ears, scratch her back, handle her feet, rub her stomach and generally pet her, and she seems to love it. She sleeps on our bed, most of the time towards the foot, but often comes up to the head for hugs and rubs in the morning. She has a major aversion to any kind of brushing, even with a rubber zoom and groom. I can comb her fur with my fingers and she will stay all day. If I use a Zoom and Groom she seems fine for a few strokes, and then bolts. Same with other brushes, but the Zoom and Groom seems like it would be the least intrusive so I've been working mostly with that. It seems like she doesn't panic as much as she used to, but she still takes off. I usually hold her by the collar to steady her, but let her go if she wants to leave, since I don't want her to feel trapped and she is so big that she would be hard to hold in any event. Once she takes off, she may not come to me on command for an hour or so, although she will probably walk right up me if I'm sitting down. She has the same sort of reaction to some of the things at the Vets. She has not had a temperature taken since she was a small pup, but they don't have any trouble with doing an exam, and shots have not been bad. She doesn't mind going to the vet at all. We have not had to trim her nails because she gets enough exercise on pavement and gravel that she keeps her nails well trimmed, but I can see that will probably change in the future. We can play with her paws, toes and nails without getting a reaction, but just getting a clipper near her makes her bolt. We have been trying to modify this behavior by doing only a tiny bit of brushing and then rewarding with treats, but progress is slow to non existent. Our other Lab (Tilly) and our previous Lab (Ginger) never objected to being brushed, and actually seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps related, some times if she is sitting or lying down on the bed, and I give her a big hug she will bolt and jump off the bed, but almost immediately jump back on the bed or come around on the floor to be petted. She doesn't seem shy or apprehensive after jumping off the bed, so it seems like a different behavior from her brushing aversion. I don't think this really needs to be solved, though I would like to understand it better. FWIW, Tilly doesn't really like to be hugged, and I think doesn't like being petted that much except for butt scratches. Both dogs seem to love going between your legs, but then most dogs seem to like doing that. Does anyone else have a dog that really dislikes being brushed? Were you able to work through it somehow?
I don't have this problem with Hattie or Charlie, they love being brushed, I only have to get the brush out and they are at my feet. Could holding her collar be the problem? Could you clicker train for brushing desensitisation with chicken or something equally yummy? I have used the clicker to desensitise Charlie for checking/cleaning his ears, brushing teeth, general examination of paws etc. also for nail clipping all with great success. I guess some dogs just don't like being brushed. Did you brush Cooper as a puppy? I don't really know what else to suggest. xx
Molly dislikes it and it came as a shock because my last dog, Lab, adored the zoom groom -he used to leap around in excitement when I got it out. Molly has come to accept being combed, with a plastic human comb (fairly fine tooth). I did try quite hard when she was younger to get her used to the zoom groom but it was always a struggle to even do a couple of strokes with it or with a brush. As she needs very little grooming I've just gone with the comb.
I got grooming glove Rory who has very sensitive skin and very ticklish. It combines teeth embedded in the Palm and hes fine with that.
I just found Pippa's article about Labs that don't like to be brushed. I'll give her suggestions a try. As I recall Cooper did not like being brushed as soon as she was old enough to have an opinion about it. She was not groomed a lot as a pup because she did not like it. I can't think of anything pleasant that happened to her associated with grooming. She is not reactive to very much, mostly dog related tools in someone's hand.
Some dogs are much more body sensitive than others. I find one of those glove grooming things quite a good introduction to grooming.
I've discovered Mollie is ticklish! She is the first dog I've had who prefers being patted to being stroked. .
Rory is very ticklish his coat is very fine too very different to my other dogs coats. He is ok with the occasional furmination and love the rubber horse curry comb.
Snowie dislikes being brushed. But absolutely loves being rubbed up and down with a towel, and loves being scratched with my finger nails. He has no issues with being handled, but walks away if I have a comb or brush, or stops me from combing him if I have strarted - he puts his mouth over the comb as if to gently bite it. I was surprised - a dog who doesn't like being brushed?! All I can think of is he had a bad experience as a puppy at the groomers, cos he refused to go in on the third time I took him. I never took him back there.
Sam used to quietly slink off when he saw the brush , so I did this . Put him on lead, out into the garden , and I just stroked his whole body , talking in a reassuring way to him , then as he relaxed , I would substitute the brush for my hand, just for a few seconds, then stroke again . It seemed to work x
Jess is really similar - really similar, I could practically have written your post word for word. She loves being petted, is generally confident around people and animals, hasn't had a bad experience at vets or or with a brush but just will not let me brush her. I've tried C+T since the first time I tried to brush her, but have only managed to get her to like the brush provided it's not touching her! So I've not got a solution I'm afraid, but would love to know if you find a method that works.
