ChelseaArias

Thank you Adrienne! This advice has helped us greatly. It is going well, slowly but surely. One thing he doesn't mind at all is my little hand held vacuum. In fact, he even lays down and wags his tail when I use it on him even rolling on his back and letting me get his tummy. I am still trying to work on the brushing part but at least I can keep his shedding under some control with something he enjoys. I've never really come across a dog that likes a vacuum, they usually bark, run away, or attack it. I think I may try a glove brush after all. Petting him always calms him down so perhaps he won't mind it at all or it may be easier for him to accept. Again, thank you for the advice and we will continue on this path.

I have a 9 month old Norwegian Elkhound. He absolutely hates being brushed. I have tried a Kong ZoomGroom (what I use on my cats) which is gentle, but also a Furminator. Neither he enjoys at all. Obviously, for his breed, regular brushing is a must but at the same time I don't want to force him down to brush him. His regular toys he loves do not keep his attention. The only that I have found is to give him a whimzee, he really loves those, and he will chew on it and stay still while I brush him. But once he chews through it, maybe 20 minutes later, its over. I don't mind doing this until he learns to like it but I am very hesitant to give a whimzee everyday, I don't think its something he should be consuming on an everyday basis. Should I just keep trying everyday or is there another method that could help? At the time being, I am only doing it once week when I give him a whimzee, but I would really like to be able to brush him at least every couple of days especially when he is shedding so much. When he was a smaller puppy he actually didn't even like being petted, he just wanted to play so I thought the brushing thing would come later when he appreciated being petted more. He absolutely loves being petted now and I can put him right to sleep just by doing so but he wants nothing to do with a brush. Any advice would be great. Thanks.