Grooming problems

[mkl]

My dog hates being combed and the fact that she has long hair doesn't help either. I have no clue what to do. I've combed her everyday since she was a puppy and she's struggled everytime!!! She's 2 yrs old now. But I hate bringing her to places to get brushed... they seem so rough. I hate how they keep yanking at her hair.
So frustrated with grooming her...

[eXile]

Well, this isnt an abnormal problem. Lets say you plan a time to go out with your friends. Then all the sudden your mom says its time to brush your hair. You would be pretty angry too. Not to mention its sometimes painful.

To get use to it and not show any signs of struggling will take time. Get a couple treats but keep them in your pocket and dont let her see. Softly brush her. If she shows any signs of struggling, ignore it. If she stays calm softly say Good girl/boy and maybe give a treat. Just keep practising and eventually she will stop struggling the way she is. Simple as that...or should be

[Moo]

Agreeing with Exile here. Start on square one.

Put the comb on the ground, and put a treat on it, and let her venture in to it. What elevation do you groom on? I groom sitting on the floor, with my guy in front of me... He likes it better that way, and I can kind of use my legs to keep him from running away. When she is just laying around, come up to her and start playing with her fur, touch every part of her body. Treats for not struggling.

Never let her bite the comb, I always pretend that the comb is part of my body, to prevent nipping it.

[erdog3]

I also found when I was grooming that if you hold the hair at the roots/base of the coat then brush that out it doesn't pull on the skin. That is you pull in the opposite direction to the brush.

Try it on the tail.....get hold of it, now grip the hair firmly against the tail, then brush it out from where you have hold of, keep working all the way down. If you come across a tangle then make sure you have a firm hold on those strands then brush, so as not to drag against the skin.