# Help! Pacman HATES being groomed!



## Nikkitine (May 11, 2009)

So Pacman hates being groomed with a passion. He bites anything and everything that goes near his body, especially the puppy bristle brush. He's such a little brat he'd roll over on his back whenever I start brushing him and start rolling away from me hahaha. I've tried the distraction treat idea of having him eat a small treat out of my hand while I brush him, but turns out he knows what I'm up to and will ignore the treat and keep a keen eye on that brush in order to start attacking it when it gets near him. Not to mention he's also teething and loves nibbling on anything and everything =_=. Any advice?


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## anouk (Nov 3, 2006)

Where do you groom him?
At first I used to put a towel on the washing machine and Lizzie on it: the small place didn't allowed her to move and she was scared of the height.
When she tried to bite the brush I tried to distract her with praise and treats.
Now I use a small grooming table and I don't have any more problems, I think time has helped too!


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## Nikkitine (May 11, 2009)

QUOTE (Nikkitine @ May 10 2009, 09:44 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=774521


> So Pacman hates being groomed with a passion. He bites anything and everything that goes near his body, especially the puppy bristle brush. He's such a little brat he'd roll over on his back whenever I start brushing him and start rolling away from me hahaha. I've tried the distraction treat idea of having him eat a small treat out of my hand while I brush him, but turns out he knows what I'm up to and will ignore the treat and keep a keen eye on that brush in order to start attacking it when it gets near him. Not to mention he's also teething and loves nibbling on anything and everything =_=. Any advice?[/B]


 I tried a table, the bed, the toilet, anything. He doesn't seem to be afraid of heights and he knows that my treat means he'll get groomed so he doesn't even pay attention to the treat anymore when he knows I'm holding the brush, even behind my back haha.


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## kathym (Aug 5, 2006)

Try the madan brush its very soft.Baci still at times gives me the chicklet smile when he really had enough.


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

First of all...Pacman is just too darn adorable and I just LOVE his name :wub: :wub: :wub: 

My Mia was a real pippy pip, when I first started grooming her.....oh my :smheat: :smheat: But then K/C's Mom (Sher) offered advice to take your time, be patient...give massages.....praise when you can....and eventually, they will understand that grooming is not such a chore, but can also be bonding/loving time.

Now she is really good for it.......and looks forward to her fat free all natural yogurt afterwards .

It just takes some time...

He really is soooooooooooooooooooooo cute!!! :wub: :wub:


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## princessre (Dec 23, 2008)

How heavy is he? You can always pick him up with one hand and brush with the other?


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## Kutsmail1 (Dec 26, 2007)

While Zippy didn't bite at anything when I started grooming her as a puppy, she is an EXTREMELY busy little girl. As a puppy, Zippy would play so hard that she would finally just plop and go to sleep. I would pick her up then and brush her out. She pretty much slept through it all. As she got a little older, she was accustomed to it...no problem except that it is an interruption in her daily plans lol.


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## Nikkitine (May 11, 2009)

@ princess: He's not heavy, only 6 lbs, but if I pick him up with one hand, he's way too wiggly for me to even begin to brush him -_-, he's start yelping and try to break free. I don't want him to hurt himself while squirming haha. 

@Kutsmail: Yeah, I've tried tiring him out really well and start grooming him, but after about 2 seconds of starting, he'll bolt right up and start trying to attack my bristle brush again haha. I've even waited till he was so knocked out he couldn't keep his eyes open. Nope, right when he sensed the brush, eyes went wide and there he went....


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## princessre (Dec 23, 2008)

My trainer says if you really want him to do something and treats aren't working, make the treat more desirable by stopping treats altogether outside of this activity. It worked on my pup.


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## Nikkitine (May 11, 2009)

QUOTE (princessre @ May 12 2009, 03:02 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=775042


> My trainer says if you really want him to do something and treats aren't working, make the treat more desirable by stopping treats altogether outside of this activity. It worked on my pup.[/B]


Princessre, Cassanova is just SO ADORABLE!


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## princessre (Dec 23, 2008)

QUOTE (Nikkitine @ May 12 2009, 06:04 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=775043


> QUOTE (princessre @ May 12 2009, 03:02 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=775042





> My trainer says if you really want him to do something and treats aren't working, make the treat more desirable by stopping treats altogether outside of this activity. It worked on my pup.[/B]


Princessre, Cassanova is just SO ADORABLE!
[/B][/QUOTE]

Aww...Pacman is adorable! 
Kisses from Casanova!


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## godiva goddess (Nov 19, 2007)

maybe you can try to put him on your lap? he is probably not use to the feeling but as long as you keep it up, he will eventually get use to it. i agree w/ the treats idea, it makes the grooming seem like a positive experience. i also use Madan brush, i think it is a good brush for our babies. i groom Mia while she stands..she stands perfectly still for me. but i can not take credit for that..when Mia first came home, she actually stood perfectly still on the table while i groomed her. lol. i have no idea why she stood so still and was so good, except i am guessing that her breeder trained her. that is my only logical answer b/c it was rather unnatural for a dog to stand so poised and motionless while being groomed!? LOL.. .

either way, i think it is good that you keep at it. if you ever take Pacman to a professional groomer, he will be more used to being brushed and groomed. good luck!!


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

Try getting him used to all of the grooming tools. Start by keeping them on a low table where he can see them but not reach them, when he is used to that, then move them to the floor and let him sniff/explore them. If he tries to grab them, pick up the item he's grabbing and then place it back on the ground. If he won't even go near them, you can set a small treat on each tool and let him warm up to the grooming tools on his own by getting the treats off of them.

Next, you will need to set him up on the counter, lap, or wherever you do your grooming. Take a tool, touch him with hit briefly (touch the skin, and move away) and then treat him. Do this repeatedly. When he's okay with a brief touch of the tool, then do a tiny stroke with it, and treat. etc.

It's a good idea to keep grooming sessions short -- maybe only 2 minutes at first, just do several sessions per day. What you will be doing to Pacman is desensitizing him to the grooming tools. You say you use a bristle brush...the type of brush you will need is a pin brush (one without the little balls at the ends of the pins) like the Madan pin brush.

Please let us know if you have any other questions!


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## diesel (Oct 21, 2008)

Oh my gosh, your Pac Man sounds exactly like my Diesel when he was younger. Grooming always seemed like more of a wrestling match, than a grooming, and Diesel always looked worse than when we started from all the rolling and wiggling :smpullhair: 

So, I started out with holding Diesel in my lap and close to my body with one hand while lightly brushing him with the other one. I only did this for a minute or two and let him go as soon as he started looking anxious or ready to bolt. Slowly our sessions got longer and longer. Second, and most importantly, Merrick's Flossies are magic! When Diesel started getting sleepy, I'd break out his brush again and start brushing him. As soon as he'd make a move to bite the brush, I'd fill his little puppy mouth with a Flossie (and ooh he loved chewing those brushes, but like I said, the Flossie was magic!). For some reason, the Flossie was best before bedtime...otherwise it only lasted a few seconds and then he was back to wrestling and brush tug-of-war. Gotta love that puppy energy  

Our initial grooming sessions never lasted more than a couple minutes but he slowly became desensitized to the brush. He's about 9 months old now and can sit still for a half-hour grooming session (no treats needed).

Good luck with Pac Man...and he is WAY too cute :biggrin:


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