# How to brush a puppy?



## Tailer'sFolks (Feb 27, 2007)

Makes me think of this video:
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=13961&highlight=Evil+Brush

Have you tried to use the Search and then Advanced Search here...there may be tons of other treads like this...

Tailer hates being brushed, but will stand still with his head drooped and turn around when I ask him too...I have a fine wired brush, his fur is fine and thin, not thick n fluffy. If I try to brush him on his bed, he gets up n moves...

Good Luck!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

A wire slicker brush is probably the most basic brush you need. I also have an undercoat rake, which I love for the longer hair, and a mat comb, which I rarely need, but like having around.

I also wrote a long post on getting a puppy used to brushing for another thread, but rather than searching for it, I'm just pasting it below since I saved it on my computer:

Get a partner, a wooden spoon, and some peanut butter. Coat the spoon. Don't just get a spoonful—smear it all over the spoon. Have your partner hold the spoon while the dog licks it, and show the dog the brush. Don't brush the dog yet. Keep the brush where he can see it until he loses interest and focuses on the spoon. 

Once he seems uninterested, move the brush towards his body, out of his range of vision. Wait, since he may get interested again and turn to look. Still don't brush the dog or touch him with the brush. Pet him with your free hand and keep the brush motionless until he turns back to the spoon and can't see the brush.

Once he seems fairly comfortable, touch him gently with the _back_ of the brush on his back. Keep petting him. Work up to where you can stroke him gently with the back of the brush and your hand while he's distracted by the peanut butter.

At some point, he'll run out of peanut butter, and you need to end the session for the day. Try again the next day with a fresh spoon coated with peanut butter. Building on previous progress, you should be able to get further each time. Soon you'll get to the stage where you're stroking with the back of the brush and he doesn't care. Once he seems truly comfortable, you can turn the brush over and just barely graze the fur with it. Then, you can work up to brushing harder and harder.

The idea here is to get him used to the brush first, and once he's totally comfortable, get him used to the feeling of the pins. If you don't have a partner, just smear peanut butter at dog eye level on your fridge and work there. Go slowly, and if the dog gets agitated, back up a step. The brush isn't unpleasant, just unfamiliar, so the addition of a special treat (peanut butter) and a chance to get comfortable will make brushing acceptable for the vast majority of dogs.

By the way, this is a great way to introduce puppies to the brush at a very early age. The peanut butter will keep them in place and hold their attention while you get them used to the idea of the brush. Puppy coats don't usually need a slicker brush, but it's important to get them used to the equipment and the feeling right away when they're tiny and open to new experiences (and even more easily distracted by peanut butter).


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## Olddog (Mar 24, 2009)

I never had problems with brushing. Riley would always watch me brushing the cats and would always want a piece of the pie. It would usually only last a few minutes and then would think it's a game. Before you could start, I would put it away and the sessions are starting to get longer bit by bit.


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## K9Lover (May 6, 2009)

NewPup said:


> Riley would always watch me brushing the cats and would always want a piece of the pie.


:roflmao:That cracked me up.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Now that's the cutest Puppy Bark I've ever heard. He should be named Levi because with that deep voice he reminds me of the late great Levi Stubbs ("feed me seymour feed me now!")

I have the same problem with Gilmour. I've yet to get through a brushing session with him.


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

I bought a 20 dollar wire brush at Petco. It's neat because it has a removable strainer that takes the hair right off the brush. I've read that goldens shed constantly. I also saw a shampoo at Petco that claims to control shedding.


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