A few weeks ago, we worked on getting your dog comfortable with having every part of their body touched. This laid the groundwork for the next step in groom training, getting your dog familiar with the tools used during the grooming process.
Brushing is often something dogs don’t enjoy. Did you ever have long hair as a child, and your mother was in a hurry and brushed your hair quickly? The tangles in your hair were caught by the brush and pulled your skin. That pulling hurts! You learned to dread hair brushing and run from your mother.
Dogs experience that same pulling sensation when the brush hits a tangle in their coat. If your dog cries, mouths your hand, or runs in fear from the brush, getting a tangle pulled in a sensitive location may be why.
Another reason a dog may not love to be brushed is that the wrong brush, or brushing too much in the same location, results in a brush burn. A brush burn feels and looks a bit like road rash. This is not something we want for our pets. (This is why I’m against shedless treatments that guarantee a dog be brushed for 45 minutes no matter the size of the dog. 45 minutes is a good number for a husky, and a ridiculous amount for a chihuahua.)
In order to reverse this fear of brushing (or to make sure we don’t cause it for puppies) it’s important to be careful in how we go about desensitizing the brush. Let’s go over some safety first, so you can understand how to avoid causing pain to your dog.
Safety Tips for Happy Brushing
If you have a chihuahua, a dematting rake will feel like you’re attacking your dog with a stegosaurus tail. On the flip side, a rubber curry which is perfect for a short hair chihuahua. The thinner the coat, the gentler the brush needs to be on the dog’s skin.
In general, dogs are divided up into the following coat types:
- Short, flat coat
Think the short hair chihuahuas and dachshunds, labs, pugs, jack russel terriers, etc. - Double coated breeds
Thick coated dogs whose hair grows to a set point and doesn’t grow any longer. Think huskies, collies, chows and corgis. - Drop coated breeds
These dogs have fine, long coats like human hair. They are called drop coats because they can’t be fluffed straight out like a poodle coat, but instead their coat “drops” toward the floor. Think Maltese, Yorkshire terriers, Shih Tzus or Aghan Hounds. The long haired chihuahua would fall into this category. - Poodle type coat
These dogs have hair that can be fluffed straight out from the body, and it will hold its shape. Poodles, Portuguese water dogs, and the bichon frise (which is listed as a drop coat in some places, but can definitely be styled like a poodle) fall into this category. - Wire coat type
The coat is stiff, coarse, and feels like fine wires rather than coat. They tend to be of a medium length, and also tend to look like scruffy even fresh from grooming.
You should be able to tell what sort of coat your dog has just by looking at it, even if you have a mixed breed. If you’re not sure, your groomer can give you advice on the best brush. Here’s our list based on these coat types:
- Short, flat coats
A rubber curry comb, a soft bristle brush. - Double coated breeds
A slicker brush, a pin brush, an undercoat rake the thickness of your dog’s coat and no bigger, a metal comb - Drop coats
A slicker brush, a pin brush, a metal comb, the comb will be your best friend. - Poodles
A slicker brush, a metal comb - Wire coat type
A soft slicker to avoid damaging the coat.
If your dog has an unusual coat, ask your groomer what they recommend. The right brush will make your dog feel more comfortable with brushing, so don’t be afraid to look at your options and find the right tool.
How to brush comfortably
For desensitization purposes, we won’t be actively detangling the dog or causing them any discomfort at all. To maintain their confidence that brushing doesn’t have to hurt however, you’ll want to adopt the least painful methods of brushing your dog.
Here’s a great video that teaches you how to brush out a long hair dog with minimal pain. The technique is called line brushing, and it brushes the dog thoroughly without hurting.
A rubbery curry comb should not hurt your dog, but if your dog is older or very small, you can push your dog over. Make sure to stabilize your pet and brush gently, especially if the dog is very old or young.
Finally, don’t brush the same spot for a long time. The most common cause of brush burn is from ferminators and similar bladed brushes for deshedding. Someone brushes the same spot and continues to see hair, so they keep brushing that spot thinking they will brush until the brush no longer has hair on it.
Since these bladed brushes can also cut the hair, they will continue to have at least a little hair on them until the dog is bald in that spot.
Brushing the same spot over and over will lead to a brush burn. Try not to brush the exact same spot repeatedly. Know that our training protocol of 10-15 strokes will not be enough to cause a brush burn but brushing the exact same spot over and over again for a solid minute (30-60 strokes) might.
Let’s Start!
By now you probably know what to do to introduce your pup to the brush. Leave the brush on the floor in your usual training location, and let your dog investigate it. How your dog reacts is most likely going to depend on their past history.
Some dogs may take one look at that brush sitting innocently on the floor and run or hide. Some may investigate it because they know it leads to a reward. We’ll have a quiz with separate homework sheets at the end to help you figure out how slowly to approach this.
If your pup looks at the brush at all, even if it’s from across the room, click, and toss them a treat. Do not try to place a treat next to the brush or force them to approach the brush to get their reward.
If your dog eagerly investigates the brush and looks at it each time to cash in on a treat, you can confidently proceed to step two.
Touch the Brush
Once your dog is confident that the brush won’t eat them—as long as it’s safely on the ground and not touched by human hands of course—it’s time to up the criteria. Set the brush on the floor as usual, but this time when you invite your dog to train, put your hand on the brush, toss or give the treat, and then remove your hand.
It’s important not to touch the brush, let go, and then feed the treat. This rewards the ‘letting go’ of the brush, not the touching of the brush!
Do this 10-15 times and check your dog’s reaction. A nervous dog may be worried about you touching the brush, and hang back. If your dog leaves, take this as a sign to break this next step into smaller steps. Your hand is near the brush but not touching it, for example.
If your dog is fine with you touching the brush and just wants those yummy treats, it’s on to the next stage.
Pick up the Brush
When your dog is confident about you touching the brush, it’s time to pick it up! Pick up the brush, offer your dog a treat, and then set it down. Repeat this task 10-15 times. If your dog is hesitant to come near or seems worried about you holding the brush, keep it in your hand but almost touching the floor and try again.
Repeat this as a daily session until your dog is confident about taking treats while you hold the brush.
Bring brush up to brushing level
When your dog is completely fine with you holding the brush while you take a treat, move the brush upwards to shoulder level, offer a treat, and then bring it back down. Repeat this 10-15 times, rewarding your dog for not running away each time. If they do run away, make the motion smaller and try again later when the dog is calm.
Bring the brush towards your dog
Make as if to brush your dog in a neutral area, such as the shoulder, but stop a few inches away. Don’t actually brush the dog. Treat while the brush is either coming towards the dog or at the shoulder, not when it is retreating from the dog.
Repeat this 10-15 times. If your pup is backing away from the brush, try repeating from farther away. You want to reward the dog for not moving away or only moving a little bit if they’re generally fearful.
Touch the dog with the brush
When your dog does not move at all when the brush comes to them and clearly associates the brush with treats, it’s time to gently touch the dog with the brush on a neutral area like the shoulder. Don’t complete the brushing motion, just touch.
Repeat this 10-15 times. If your pup is nervous, continue repeating this session daily until they are confident about being touched by the brush.
Brush Once
Now you’re going to change the touch to a short stroke of the brush. Make sure to go with the grain of the hair. Treat at the same time you stroke the dog with the brush, and repeat 10-15 times. If your dog is fine with it, you can continue from there to brush in different spots of the dogs body over several sessions.
Can you brush the back? Can you brush the neck? Can you brush the rear? Reward each and every stroke during these sessions, so your dog learns to like the feeling of being brushed.
Great Job!
When you can brush your pet at least one stroke anywhere on your dog without them trying to escape, you’ve successfully completed this section. Your groomer will obviously be brushing the dog more (and so will you) but the goal here is to make your dog like being brushed, not to make them endure hours of practice every day to be realistic.
Our next desensitization protocol will be on the clippers. This is especially helpful for dogs who get haircuts, but even short hair dogs may need to have their paw pad hair shaved.
Quiz
Homework
Similar Posts:
- How To Brush a Short Haired Chihuahua
- Introduction to Tail Desensitization
- How to Deshed Your Chihuahua
- Blow Dryer Desensitization: Wind
- Introducing Hindquarter Desensitization
