If your pup is anything like ours, she hates being brushed. She would just as soon take a bath—which she also despises—to get away from someone with a brush in their hand. But since she’s a mega-shedding husky and all, it’s a task that needs to be done about once a week. Well, unless we’d like to sweep and vacuum daily, that is.

If your pet has this same issue, we have a grand solution for you.

If you’re thinking I’m going to suggest taking them to a trained professional who will do all the work for you, we are definitely not on the same page. Of course, you’re welcome to pay oodles of money to beautify your poodles, but we’re talking about the low-cost, budget solution here. And Fido will love you for it.

The Golden (Retriever) Ticket

Peanut butter. All you need is a jar of all-natural peanut butter and a spare, lickable surface. We prefer the bathtub, but you’re welcome to use a kitchen cabinet, bathroom floor, or your toddler if you think it would make for a good YouTube video. (Okay, maybe scratch that last one—off the list, not with your dog.)

Unconventional?

Yes.

Vet recommended?

Probably not.

Totally effective?

Hellz to the yeah!

The Method

Start by giving your puppers a nice good whiff of the creamy distraction. Make sure they’re drooling with excitement and don’t let them have any of it just yet. Then, find a way to keep them away from you for a few minutes. If you use the bathtub like we do, all you need to do is close the door.

Next, take a knife (or your fingers if you’re so inclined) and start painting your desired surface with the peanut butter. It’s best to do a layer thick enough that it takes them more than a few licks to get through it, but not so thick that they would be tempted to scrape it off with their teeth. I’m not sure how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, but it’s probably close to how many you need to brush a medium to large-sized dog.

Almost ready…

At this point, you need to make sure that doggo doesn’t have a collar, harness, or Christmas sweater on. You can probably guess that items like these would prevent optimal brushage. Once they are free of any accessories, grab the brush and free their path toward the ‘butter.

With any luck, they will be completely distracted from the brushing like our husky, Laska always is, and you can go to town getting all the extra fluff away from your puff. We find it helpful to have one person brushing furiously while the other corrals the fur into a trash can. Don’t let that hair get away and turn into dust bunnies unless you’re looking for more pets in the house.

Lick and repeat as necessary.

Hope you and your furball found this helpful. For more arguably good advice, you can find me at @sharingeverybite.