Grooming an Unwilling Pet

Question
  We have a 3 yr. old male Chow Chow (a real sweetheart) that we adopted from a rescue organization, so we are not familiar with his background (only that the "people" to whom he belonged moved and left him for two weeks in an apt. w/no food or water).  As you are undoubtedly aware, Chows need CONSTANT grooming (he's our 2nd Chow) BUT he will not let us NEAR him with a brush or grooming tool, tried a groomer and they called and asked us to come get him because he "freaked" when anyone tried to come near him with ANYTHING.  Unlike most Chows, he's not aggressive but just howls and howls and tries to run.  It's pathetic.  I have the feeling he had a very bad experience at some point.  I have tried to use a "baby brush", the kind you would use on infants - just use one hand to stroke him and the other to use the brush.  He seems to tolerate that but as soon as I try ANYTHING with any sort of "bristle" he just takes off.  By the middle of winter he is a mess with big clumps of fur, which contribute to hot spots in the warm months.  ANY suggestions as to how I can approach/cure this poor animal of his fear and keep him well groomed?  He is SUCH a wonderful dog it's so disheartening to see him so scruffy.  Thanks so much for your help!

Answer
Hello Donna, I am afraid that some dogs when scared young never get over it.  Only time and patience can turn a bad experience around.  You are on the right path, taking baby steps.  The biggest problem you face is that to properly  groom him he will at some point feel the pulling of hair that needs to be removed and I don't see him accepting that at all.  What I would do is find an understanding Vet and ask him to sedate the dog while his groomer grooms him.  I used to do a Lhasa in this very same manner.  It was the only way to groom this dog.  We tried a muzzle only to have the dog nearly rip its face off trying to get the muzzle off.  We tried pills to sedate the dog, these were not strong enough.  So under a local anethesa was the only answer.  If the dog is done this was 2 to 3 times a year you might be able to get the inbetween done with your method.  Good luck Donna, I feel your pain and sympathize with you situation, but you are right the dog does need grooming no matter what in order for the dog to be completly healthy.  Thanks for asking, Cindy lou :)