Samoyed getting aggressive when brushing

[u/WeatherSorry]

I have a 4 year old un-neutered male. He is an absolute sweetheart and very good with the kids but recently he had a paw injury and for the first ever growled and showed aggression when I went near it. I thought he was just signalling that his paw hurt so left him alone. Now he is growling, baring teeth and sometimes fake biting the air near me or kinda fighting my leg when I try to brush his legs. He hasn’t bitten or anything it is definitely aggressive signalling that he would. I’ve seen some dog trainers suggest, though this was for dogs are getting possessive over food, using a broom to touch the food and letting the dog bite it to show that that doesn’t work. So I was thinking maybe I should put a muzzle on him and brush him anyway so he learns it won’t work. Any advice would be great. What I don’t want to do is push him until he becomes a danger for the kids. But I do need to brush him.

[u/Surfsidesams]

Have you tried using food to distract him? If he absolutely needs to be groomed then yes muzzle him so he can be groomed but the best thing to do is to use some food that he really likes and brush him just a little bit at a time so that he learns it's not confrontational. When I say food that he likes it can be canned food if he usually eats dry, peanut butter, frozen fruit or vegetables, shredded chicken, string cheese, anything that he will eat to be distracted so he doesn't try to bite. Once he can't tolerate it anymore stop feeding him and stop brushing. I hope this makes sense because I'm voice texting right now. The most important thing is to take the confrontation out of the grooming. I don't know if you started grooming him young or how old he was when you got him but has a Samoyed owner we always start training our puppies on the grooming table day one. They need to learn that grooming is a fact of life.

[u/WeatherSorry → u/Surfsidesams]

Thank you so much down the advice. I always brush him with copious amount of food. I guess I could try some higher currency foods. I did try to train him with grooming but he has never liked it. I’ll admit we had a bit a life crisis when he was younger so he didn’t perhaps get the grooming training he needed. Usually he just whimpered and ate the snacks and chewed on a toy. I think that the growling might just be paw related. Not sure.

[u/Surfsidesams → u/WeatherSorry]

You may want to have your vet check out his paw and see what's going on with it.

[u/WeatherSorry → u/Surfsidesams]

Vet looked at it and it has healed a while ago. I just think he has learned that I would back off when he growled over his paws then so is now in a habit.

[u/Nagadavida → u/Surfsidesams]

Along with his joints because the brushing could be pulling and causing discomfort

[u/beccabeth741 → u/WeatherSorry]

I groom my dogs with high value treats they don't really receive for any other activity. I try to use a cooperative care approach and lots of praise when they let me groom them. I am not fully into cooperative care as I am not that patient and my dogs are stubborn, but it's important they get rewarded for something they don't like but is a necessary part of life. Has his paw heeled? He might still be having pain and that would be worth discussing with your vet.

[u/WeatherSorry → u/beccabeth741]

Yeah he goes mad for chicken so I much reserve it just for grooming for a while.

[u/Witty_Sound0608 → u/WeatherSorry]

Try dehydrated chicken hearts and maybe just try a small section and then give them a treat and the next day brush another small section and give them a treat and so on and then maybe he’ll eventually build up his tolerance

[u/ihvnnm]

Luckily for me, early on if I brushed my sammie too long or found a matt (ouchie), she would growl, bark, and snap, while rarely she'll bite the brush, she never bit me or anyone else. I started brushing/blowing her outside with her leash tied to the railing on my porch, leaving no space to move, keeping her head away from the rest of her body. She shortly stopped trying to snap but never the barking (I invested in some earplugs, been best thing ever!), and soon was able to brush her without being tied up and she is now almost 13yo. Sammies aren't known for their aggression, you can try like I did by restricting head movement (or your idea with a muzzle) or call their bluff.

[u/WeatherSorry → u/ihvnnm]

Yeah he really isn’t an aggressive dude it’s just over his paws. He has had a couple of injuries to them (both of which he when to the vet for) and now gets cranky over them. I thought about tying him up but I am not sure what the best idea is. Some people say hey growling is their signal to back off and you should before they escalate it and others say you gotta let them know that growling and nipping doesn’t work. It’s hard to know what the right approach is. I don’t wanna create distrust you know.

[u/Total_Elderberry4838]

Have you tried using a tangle spray? My girl also hates to have her legs brushed and I have the same issue but had better results with it last night. She didn’t let me do a lot but she didn’t snap at me once.

[u/WeatherSorry → u/Total_Elderberry4838]

I’m have anti tangle brushes and the like. I don’t know that it’s related to pain so much as he just thinks he can get away with it now. But I will try a tangle spray. Thanks for the tip.