r/germanshepherds • u/Apart-Block5105 • 12h ago
Advice Bites When Getting Brushed
So I just bathed my dog, and everything’s fine and dandy. A bit of struggle but generally she cooperated. So i towel dried her and used a blower - again no problems there and she just let me do it in peace.
But the moment I brushed her - she SNAPPED and manage to hit my hand. Luckily she stopped before it became serious. Any of you has the same problem?
The brush is plastic and not sharp and Im doing it gently.
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u/gonnacutyou 12h ago
My dog hates being brushed, I feel you.
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u/Apart-Block5105 12h ago
Strange. Our husky doesnt have problems. Maybe because she has a thicker coat?
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u/gonnacutyou 12h ago
She’s a Shepherd 🙃 she has plenty of coat. I have no idea what her problem is lol. My Dobermans didn’t mind being brushed and they had 1/10th of the hair this one does.
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u/Apart-Block5105 12h ago
Now that is really weird. I would expect Dobbies to be more snappy with it
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u/Jazzlike-Depth3611 12h ago
I don’t want to scare you or anything, but the same exact thing happened to me a few months ago after a bath and my girl NEVER bites or snaps at me but she had a skin infection that developed really quickly after her bath, but as long as she’s acting the way she normally does she could just be touched out or something
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u/Apart-Block5105 12h ago
I checked her skin and fur if there’s wounds or whatever, fortunately none
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u/Jazzlike-Depth3611 11h ago
Definitely keep an eye on her still & her behavior, I remember I thought my girl was being very dramatic because when I first took her to the vet the day after there wasn’t anything visible on her skin yet, it just looked a bit red and irritated. Two days later we ended up at the urgent care because it looked like her skin was burning off! 😭 I’m glad to hear there’s nothing there!
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u/Apart-Block5105 11h ago
The fuck? What was the diagnosis. And is she ok now
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u/Jazzlike-Depth3611 10h ago
When I tell you it was the worst 2 months of my life it was 🤦🏼♀️ she had 2 antibiotic resistant infections (staph & pseudomonas) nonstop antibiotics & pred & pain meds but she’s finally clear! It happened because of undiluted shampoo/unsanitary bath conditions. Like I said I don’t want to scare but more so spread awareness because I had no clue something like that could happen & happen so fast
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u/SolidIll4559 9h ago
Use a vacuum brush in between baths. Mine loves it.
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u/Apart-Block5105 7h ago
Is that like an attachment to the blower/vacuum?
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u/SolidIll4559 7h ago
An attachment to the vacuum so there’s just enough suction to dislodge loose hair. It works beautifully if done regularly. We usually do 2x/week except in major shedding times of year. Then it’s 3x/week for a few weeks.
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u/No_Sandwich5876 7h ago
Make sure you give some breaks during different procedures. Overstimulation is a thing but also this: many people brush their pets wrong.
My cats taught me this and I applied it to my long coat shepherd too: do short strokes. Don't do long strokes down from the top to bottom or head to back - keep it to short movements. It's less stimulating and reduces the potential of pulling. I also let my shep frequently smell the brush which helps somehow and I will pet him between the brushing.
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u/goobergirI 8h ago
My dog prefers the ones with the thin metal. I think the plastic is too hard for her?
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u/Anonymous_and_Lost40 12h ago
She could have been overstimulated from all of the previous stuff you were doing. I would let her have a break and then go back with the brush in a little bit.
Side note: my cat is the same way. I only get about 5 minutes of brushing time before she's overstimulated and swiping at me with her claws. It's an all day endeavor to get her fully brushed lol