Hey all! So we got Koda from my husband's sister who didn't know what she was getting into when she got him as a puppy. He is three months old now and we've had him for about a week. I did some research before we got him and read that huskies need to be brushed about once a week, but Koda hates his hair brush. Every time my husband or I try to brush him, he goes crazy and runs around the house. He bites at the brush and has even tried to bite me for holding it. How can I train him to like getting groomed

Here is what worked for Caper, who used to start moving away from me if he saw the brush, or try to bite it if i began brushing him. Basically run-of-the-mill desensitization:

1. pick up the brush and immediately put it down before he starts running away. Give him treats & praise. Repeat until he stays, then hold it for longer in your hand before putting it down & treating.
2. once he consistently stays when you take out the brush, move the brush towards him and treat him for not flinching. If he flinches or moves, you've gone too far, and need to move back a little. by that I mean only move the brush towards him enough so that he doesn't move, don't push him over his limit.
3. progress to the brush touching him. if he doesn't move, treat and immediately remove the brush.
4. progress to actually one brush stroke.
5. then more strokes. at first, you'll have to keep sessions short so that he doesn't get too uncomfortable and try to escape.
6. progress to being able to brush him for short periods at a time. It might take you a few sessions of brushing different sections to finish brushing his whole body.
7. keep practicing and making your treating fewer and farther in between. after a while you can fade out treats when he gets comfortable enough and his overall positive experience with brushing will be enough for him to stand/lie still for the grooming on his own.

Caper is done shedding for now but while he was, brushing had become a very relaxing part of his routine. He would lie down and fall asleep after a while of me brushing him. Cute to see

Good luck!

Evie hated being brushed as a pup too and I finally said enough was enough and was a little less kind going about getting it done. She was getting brushed and that was that no matter how much she put up a fight. I held her collar with one hand and brushed with the other and just kept a calm voice and praised her the whole time no matter what a pain in the butt she was being. Every day. She only got a treat when I was finished and I always made sure to make it one of her faves. Each day it got easier as she realized she wasn't going to get her way. Now she actually enjoys it and rolls over so I can get her belly. I tried treating like crazy, doing little bits at a time and it didn't work for us. She would have ended up a fat matted beast if she had her way. I was always the same way with trimming the hair between the pads on her feet and cutting her nails. Some things just need to get done and they have to learn to deal.

Ah I remember the brush battle  
Don't worry it gets better just stay firm, calm and consistent giving Koda lots of praise and treats he will soon come to realize that grooming is non negotiable and things will come right. This sounds really gross but when I was having real trouble with Orion I used to smear the kitchen cupboards with a little smooth peanut butter then let him into the kitchen. He would be totally preoccupied with licking every trace of the sticky peanut butter off the cupboards that I would be able to brush him and as I did I constantly praised and repeated "hold" over and over again. Now all I have to do is issue the "hold" command and he'll stand holding still for me as I brush.
At Koda's age I brushed Orion every day just for a few minutes at a time to help acclimatize him quicker, also whenever he was calm (usually just about asleep ) I would make a habit of just running my hands over him handling him as much as possible, checking his ears, teeth, paws everything, nothing was sacred and now he is fantastic with me handling him.

I did what Jill did, but that might not be the best approach. I'd recommend what NewComer suggested first. I'm just a little impatient lol.

Tire him out a bunch. Play with him for a long time get him real sleepy. This should be prett easy for a pup. Then try to brush him. Dont make th brushing session to long, just enough for him to get used to the filling. Each time you do it. Add a little bit of time. If he still biting at the brush, i got this thing from petsmart, its like a lickable dog treat thats in a tube, that has a rolling ball on the end. As th dog licks it more liquid comes out in a chicken flavor.

What kind of brush are you using?

I use a slicker and an undercoat rake on Odin a little bit each day. I give Odin a pig ear when I brush him. He REALLY likes pig ears and will be so pre-occupied with eating it that he pretty much ignores anything else. He only gets them when I am brushing him so it is a very special treat.

Pikanyanya wrote:

I use a slicker and an undercoat rake on Odin a little bit each day. I give Odin a pig ear when I brush him. He REALLY likes pig ears and will be so pre-occupied with eating it that he pretty much ignores anything else. He only gets them when I am brushing him so it is a very special treat.

I use pig ears for this kind of thing too. Mostly the dryer though. Dizzy hates the hvd.

I have a slicker for him right now. I didn't know what would be best before I got him, but knew he would shed like crazy. These are all great ideas! Thanks for the help. I know something will work.

For xavi who would try to bite me everytime i try to put the brush on him. I taught him not to eat his food unless i let him, then when im about to brush him i put a couple of treats in front of him and he would just sit there starring. After im finished brushing i give him the treat and reward him. Its been working for me for the past 3 months

Danzig at 5 still hates being brushed.  The only thing that really helped was treats.  Dustin would keep one in his opposite hand so Danzig would stay interested in that the whole time.  Now that he's older we don't need to do that, he'll just lay down when he sees the brush, but we still give him a treat after if he's good.

I brush one pet each day and Loki gets brushed pretty much every other day as a result for a few minutes. He is getting much better, but just a little at a time. Giving him treats for not biting brush at first, then I would pet him and use brush interchangeably.

Now, I will start the dyson training with the grooming tool this week. This should be fun, but it will great if he could be like my lab who is fine with dyson. Then hair goes right into vacuum.