I was wondering whether anyone had any advice for how I can get my 19 week old puppy happier with grooming. She is a cocker spaniel cross bichon frise and so needs regular grooming but at the moment its a big hassle. She will try and bite the brush, roll over on her back, run away and under anything she can just to get away.

I have tried using toys to distract her and treats but she just eats it and then continues to play up. She's starting to look like a right little ruffian    I just wish she saw it as more of a pleasure.

The trick is to get her to associate the brush with good things.

My pup also kicked up a huge fuss over being brushed or having his nails clipped, but with perseverence he will now lay quietly while his nails are cut & will tollerate short grooming seesions.

This is how I managed.
1st of it's best done while the dog is quite (not wound up from playing). My pup has learnt to 'wait' for anything, eg. he will sit/lay quietly & 'wait' for the next command, so I would put some treats on my lap, get him to lay & 'wait' while I brushed him, making sure it was 1 quick stroke that he didn't get a chance to react to, I did this for a few times and then stopped before he was too wound up (or he would try to eat the brush!!). I repeated this at any opportunity, eg, whenever he wanted something. As he is very food-motivated I did this before each meal.

Patience is key, she will learn, but pups see most things as a game. It would be worth getting you pup used to the sight of the brush first, by having it in sight/letting her smell it whenever she is doing something she likes.

Get her used to being positioned to be brushed before you introduce the brush.  Have her collar on, stand her sideways on to you and put your hand in her collar. Hold it firmly and gently get her used to being stroked while standing with the other hand.  If she sits, just put your hand under her tummy and push her legs back into the stand again.  Say a 'stand' command to her while you are doing this.  When she accepts this, stroke different parts of her body, including her legs and gently pick up her feet and get her used to you handling her anywhere.  She can't run away as you have hold of her collar, eventually she should relax and start to enjoy it.  If at anytime she plays up, remove the hand giving the pleasure, set her up again and carry on.  Then gently introduce the brush in the same way you did with your hand.

Later on you can get her to lie on her side and do the same so you can brush underneath her and and inspect her feet.  This is a useful exercise not only for grooming but when you go to the vets.

I found i could groom my dog much better when i placed him on ahigher surface-i.e table etc. When he's on the floor being groomed he refuses to stay still and does everything he can to avoid being brushed. As soon as hes on the table (with a rubber mat so he doesnt slip) he stands still and behaves impeccably.
Little and often is a good way to get the dog used to it. Lots of treats to distract and reward. Let dog sniff the brush first so he knows its not to be scared of. You will get there. Persistance is the key