Fudge came to us aged 6 months last August, having had two previous owners, and went to the groomers for the first time last November and he hated it. The groomer seemed quite fed up with him and said he was really hard work as he wriggled so much for two hours. He will not keep still, hates the brush anywhere near him and has a large love of muddy ditches. I bathed him every day for a week 2 weeks ago because his coat was so muddy after every walk, and now it is looking dull and has dandruff. He hates the bath or shower - I have to hold him in it with one hand to stop him jumping out and shower him / lather him with the other - this is very hard to do. I often end up wetter than him!
He has some knots under his armpits which I try to cut out, but because he wriggles I am frightened I will cut him. He also gets knotty ears which again I have had to cut out. I tried spraying him with conditioning spray and brushing it through, but he just rolls around on the bits I am trying to do. We try brushing him every night as he is settling down, and in the last couple of weeks I have been trimming bits off each day with scissors - his feathers are now quite short but thick, so I think I need to get some thinners. I'm a bit confused with what to do with his top knot. It is getting a bit long and looks like a crimped fringe! Today I tried a metal comb with elastic wrapped around it and some of his fur on his head and back came out quite easily, however he would not put up with it and kept biting my hand. Is this because I was hurting him? Should I be doing this with a neutered male? He didn't yelp or whine, but obviously didn't like it, even though the fur came out easily.
Sorry for so many questions, but all the advice I could find is about non-neutered, hand-strippable show dogs. Fudge is neutered, 13 months old and just my much loved pet. Do you think he will calm down as he gets older, and get used to the grooming?
