Holding by the tail

[Isabella Whateva]

I've been trying to groom my chin for quite some time now as bits of fur on her back have gotten course.
I'm aware that many owners grip their chins at the base of the tail to hold them still. I've tried many times to do this with my girl but she always barks and nips at me.
What should I do? Should I get some gloves and persevere, or should I just leave her be?

 

[alli713]

How is she nipping at you? Some of my girls don't like to be held by their tails, but to properly groom, you hold them by the base of the tail with one hand (thumb and two forefingers) and then suspend them upside down. You then brush backwards, from tail to head. When they're upside down they should not be able to bite you. Sometimes they try to flip upwards towards your hand, but so far I haven't been bit.

Holding them upside down also stops them from struggling so much.

 

[laurc19]

One small thing to consider is to try not to be afraid. They can smell fear and then they get scared.

When I first tried to pick my chins up by the base of the tail I was so scared I was going to hurt them and they could sense that I was scared which then transferred to them and they got scared.

Once I told myself that I knew what I was doing and that I wasn't going to hurt them, I picked them up with a much more firm and steady hand and they didn't hesitate at all.

 

[tunes]

Are you just dangling her while you groom? I rest my chins on my leg when I groom them. I only hold them up when I am working on their tummies and undersides.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

I have been really nervous about grabbing her tail and that's probably been what she's sensing.
She's also been really fast at getting away from us before we can grab her. I'll probably feel more confident about grabbing her if I can get some gloves or something.
We'll keep trying.
I just wanted to be sure it was the right thing to do.

 

[Rickman]

New leather gardening gloves work best, trust me! I've had my share of biter rescues!!

 

[Isabella Whateva]

Ok so today we went for it and my boyfriend was able to hold her for a good 30 seconds or so while I tried to groom her. However when he finally let go she slipped a little chunk of hair. I was pretty alarmed by this. There isn't a bald patch or anything but it was a good amount. I'm giving up future attempts at tail holding.

 

[Shawn Fitzsimmons]

That's not bad at all. Your likely to pull out fur when you groom them. They do it to themselves all the time.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

I don't think it came out because of the grooming as it wasn't attached to the comb or anything. It was like she just let the fur go.

Also after our many attempts we still have not been able to break up that one little clump of stupid fur. It's almost like a little tiny dread-lock, we just cannot make it go away.

 

[tunes]

Sometimes it's easier to just cut it out carefully with scissors or give it a good tug and pull it loose. Those really clumped up pieces of fur aren't really going to break up with a comb, and it will probably pull too much and make her tender around the area anyway.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

How long do you think it would take to grow back if we just cut it out?