I have gotten the head thing down to a science for my animals. I use their skittish nature. they want to hide their head, so while they are in the crook of my arm, with the body controlled by my chest, i will slowly come over from behind their head with a soaking wet washcloth. Press down onto the top of the head, and firmly swipe back towards the neck. they will jerk and try to hide, but they will eventually have no where to go because if you have control of their body, the head can only go so far. When they hide their head underneath their body, i gently flip them and start there.

For me, they will flip a switch in their head, and will try to get the rest of the shed off with me. I guess it's hard to describe lol.

I only do this because i have not just held their head otherwise.