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
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.
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
To get the dog to a manageable state will take some work.
If you have bad mats you will need:
Coat-King by Mars
if the mats are not so bad a heavy long blade rake will work fine.
Follow that with a Resco coarse #80 comb 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. 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 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 you will be good for maintenance.
One final thing, is nail trimming. A Dremel 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.
Furminator.
/thread
A tip if using a dremel for nail trimming, get a dust mask.
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
Birds love hair for building nests, so the hair will either be picked up by them or will just rot.
Groom him outside.
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…
That is what the slicker brush does.
Got it!
Just ordered a Furminator and a slicker brush.
Thanks
Buckaroo
Yup, does my doggie good.
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
Furminator works great indeed!
Thanks
Buckaroo