Need dog grooming advice

[Buckaroo]

Guys I am looking for a better way to groom my buddy.

He is a Chow/GSD mix and has lots of undercoat that is a bitch to keep up with.

I have a good comb that works well but keeping the hair from going all over the place is quite difficult and I am hoping to find a better way.

He is a house dog and we live in the upper Midwest so I am anticipating a heavy spring shed so I need to get this figured out pretty soon.

Suggestions for a grooming stand would be welcome too.

Thanks

Buckaroo

[Hoss356]

What you want to get is a brush called the furminator. Here's the site http://www.furminator.com/ they're a little on the high side when it comes to price but I've never heard of anything that works as good.

[Business_Casual]

We have a furminator and it works a treat on the cats. On the collie, not so good. His hair is too thick and coarse.

I would caution you check that before you invest in one.

We have one of those Swiffers with a vacuum on it and that is how we control the hair.

M_P

[Preferred User]

To get the dog to a manageable state will take some work.

If you have bad mats you will need:
Coat-King by Mars (http://www.groomersmall.com/coat_kings.htm)
if the mats are not so bad a heavy long blade rake (http://www.groomersmall.com/acc_demattingtools.htm) will work fine.

Follow that with a Resco coarse #80 comb (http://www.teclausa.com/resco/combs.html) to get out what you loosened with the rake. If there is a lot of fine hair then you may also need a slicker brush (http://www.amazon.com/Millers-Forge-Shedding-Slicker-Brush/dp/B0002ZIMO4). The slicker is also good for general maintenance and will keep shedding down.

Once you have the worst of the hair out a quick bath. Rinsing is WAY more important than washing. Now for the fun, drying.

If you have only towel-dried or air-dried your dog when you switch to a blower you will be greeted with literally clouds of hair. HERE (http://www.groomersmall.com/K9_dryers.html) are a few pretty pricey versions. I bought a used one from a local groomer for <$50. You can use the blower function from a shop vac, but they are a lot louder than a blower and may spook the dog. For mine the blower is a game so drying them is never an issue. And when they are wet you will dislodge a ton of hair with the blower. And you will notice a lot less hair in the house.

Between the slicker and a pin brush (http://www.chrissystems.com/brushes.htm) you will be good for maintenance.

One final thing, is nail trimming. A Dremel (http://www.groomersmall.com/dremel.html) is much better than an anvil clipper. Nails will be less rough, will pickup less dirt and if you do get scratched will cause less damage.

[Gentoo]

Furminator.

/thread

[perna]

A tip if using a dremel for nail trimming, get a dust mask.

[Buckaroo]

Thanks for all the replies folks!

Really, my biggest problem currently is catching the hair as it is being removed from the dog. I guess I wasn't clear in that. I can keep the hair down in the house pretty well by keeping him limited to my office and the tv room in the basement.

When I brush him the fine undercoat hairs get to blowing around and I would like to be able to catch them more easily. Currently I get the shop vac out after I am finished brushing. I brush him outside and I am worried that I will end up with a dog hair "scarf" all around my house and my neighbor's too!

Maybe I just need to slow down but they are so fine that they escape the brush. Does the Furminator trap fine hair well?

Buckaroo

[perna]

Birds love hair for building nests, so the hair will either be picked up by them or will just rot.

[d90king]

Groom him outside.:D I have two Labs and I try and stay with a schedule of "spa" days every 3 months and that has helped a great deal. Best part is they come to me so I don't have to take them and get hair all over my Rover interior and they don't get worked up or stressed...

[Preferred User]

When I brush him the fine undercoat hairs get to blowing around and I would like to be able to catch them more easily.That is what the slicker brush does.

[Buckaroo]

That is what the slicker brush does.

Got it!

Just ordered a Furminator and a slicker brush.

Thanks

Buckaroo

[Bulldog1967]

Furminator.

/thread


Yup, does my doggie good.

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w305/mcgeedigital/dogs/Brody7.jpg?t=1265501111

[xfyrfiter]

Wife raised and we have two australian shepherd dogs. She shaves them in the

spring and the hair is a lot less trouble.Not real short only 1.5 inches or so. Basic fold

up grooming table works well ,also can be used as portable shooting bench.

[Buckaroo]

Wife raised and we have two australian shepherd dogs. She shaves them in the

spring and the hair is a lot less trouble.Not real short only 1.5 inches or so. Basic fold

up grooming table works well ,also can be used as portable shooting bench.

I have been considering this (shaving him in the spring). I had a great Aussie and it still hurts to remember her!

Buckaroo

[Buckaroo]

Furminator works great indeed!

Thanks

Buckaroo