Coat Change, Matting and Broken Brushes
Izzo is just about eleven months now. When I took him home for a weekend, my dad sat down to give him a good brushing, claiming that I had not been keeping up with it myself. Of course, I was. And we didn't realize this was because he was clearly going through a coat change. So, a trashcan of fur later, my dad proclaimed that he was done, and I had to start putting more effort into my dog grooming. I came back to school, and just two days later, he was matted on his back and butt! I went to work with the slicker. I pulled out a fair amount of hair, and then while working on a bad mat, stabbed myself in several places in the hand. At this point, I was bloodied (didn't notice it yet) and the pins of the brush were all splayed out in different directions. One more pull through his back (not even on a bad part), and my Furminator broke. At this point I realized the blood. You can only imagine the scene: frustrated me, bleeding out of the hands and examining the broken brush. Sad Izzo, wondering what he could have done to bring this upon himself. So he is changing coats, right? He is still not going grey! Is this normal? I am desperately trying to keep up with his crazy fur, and I am also in need of a new brush. Any recommendations? |
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| Oh, don't use a furminator on an OES. This may be your issue. It will ruin your dogs coat. It's for labs, hounds (dogs with short fur that shed a lot) and northern breeds. Use a pin brush with no balls at the end. The coat change sucks! When Lily was going through it, I broke down and shaved her. |
| No slickers for OES? Really? It's not the traditional Furminator, but this model: http://www.petco.com/assets/product_ima ... 13448C.jpg I had no idea that was an issue! |
| You can use a slicker. i don't know what a furminator is and the thing you depicted is a little....different <g> But by all means get a (regular) slicker or two, I still prick my fingers/hands on the damn things, though. A pin brush is much safer, but will only get you so far during a coat change. I have two 16 mos old going through the most godawful coat transition. I finished one and no sooner had I turned around and she's matting again, but I can't deal with that because I'm still trying to get through her sister. ONE dog would seem easy right about now, but it's hell no matter what. If you're not going to show you may want to consider just shaving. I've been tempted where luna is concerned  Have no idea how I'm going to salvage her coat. It's a nightmare. If I could shave her I would in a heart beat. Coat comes in much better more quickly, or at least with a lot less pain. Kristine |
| Few things you can use. 1. Poodle comb 2. Metal comb 3. Soft slicker brush and this will help ye fingers 4. Fingers. To pull the matts apart 5. Matt spray 6. Time 7. Line combing/brushing The white part is harder but you must get down to the skin. There are some very good post on grooming your OESD on this site. You must take out some of the undercoat to let the junior coat grow. All this will take time but once you have picked it up it should not be that bad |
| I was assuming the deshedder furminator that removes the undercoat. Slickers are fine, the one in the picture I've never seen before. I have a normal slicker. I actually found the white parts easier to groom through coat transition than the black/grey. Lily matted like crazy on her hips. Since Izzo is a sheepie/poodle mix, he may not turn grey at all. I'm not familiar with poodle coats, like when or if they even go through a coat transition. Looked it up and it seems they do go through a coat transition. http://www.allpoodleinfo.com/Poodle_Coat_Hair_Issues.html |
| The poodle comb is long and wide & very good taking out matts |
| That Furminator slicker looks like the pins are really close together - and therefore you will likely have difficulty getting it down through all the coat to the skin. It will ride over the top and you are missing getting him properly brushed through. At my house, slickers are for the final steps of fluffing and separating hairs for that nice fluffed finished look, not for the work of the actual grooming and detangling. Once the coat is fully smooth and tangle free, then a brush like that would work. |
| This story of frustration sounds farmilliar.... I made the mistake of letting Leonard wear a harness at the dog park, the result was the worst matting ever under his legs. In half an hour his freshly groomed coat was matted right to the skin. I used a pin brush and a mat rake to get them out, it took almost an hour of fighting and I had to cut part of one of the mats to get it out. Poor Leonard,I can't imaging having somebody yanking on the hair under your arms for an hour would be very comfortable I tried to be as gentle as possible but those mats were unlike anything I had ever seen. I have a "coat king" stripping rake that I bought from a groomer supply shop for Ru's wiry coat a long time ago; while I don't use it on Leonard usually but it is handy for cutting through mats - even the harness mats. I like it better than the Furmanator for Ru (and the long haired cat) because it really does the trick without getting caught in the hair. I am careful to hold onto the mat so that it doesn't pull at his skin and use caution as a coat rake will strip the coat so I will hold the mat and slowly work through it with the rake in two or three strokes. I recently had to upgrade my slicker brush because my old one wasn't up the the challenge of coat change. (And Leonard had been carrying it around and chewed the handle a bit). The one I got was a double sided one like the one the groomers use and it has really long pins. Leonard has been changing to grey recently too, I have to brush his back end daily right down the the skin to keep it from matting and the slicker brush gets filled up quickly. I also find the grey is harder to keep mat free than the white. I agree with Lori, line grooming is the way to go as you will get right down to the skin. I have to do his whole body every couple days right now to keep the mats away and his back legs daily. His back legs have been changing for months and are still not all the way grey. Good luck! Good thing they are so darn cute! |
| Izzo is really incredibly patient with brushing--moreso than any other dog I've ever had. He usually sits with me on the couch and if I ever hit a point where it's really bad, he gives me a look like "Okay let's be reasonable now..." I am relieved to say he doesn't cry/try to run like my family's other dogs. Last night I went through for two hours with a metal comb. He looks great now, but I'm wondering what sort of supplies I need. Comb/brush recommendations? Also, would it help if he just got a haircut and not a complete shave? He's got about 7 inches or so now, and I'm not opposed to having him lose some of that. |
sutterst wrote: Izzo is really incredibly patient with brushing--moreso than any other dog I've ever had. He usually sits with me on the couch and if I ever hit a point where it's really bad, he gives me a look like "Okay let's be reasonable now..." I am relieved to say he doesn't cry/try to run like my family's other dogs. Last night I went through for two hours with a metal comb. He looks great now, but I'm wondering what sort of supplies I need. Comb/brush recommendations? Also, would it help if he just got a haircut and not a complete shave? He's got about 7 inches or so now, and I'm not opposed to having him lose some of that. Yes - I never have shaved Chewie (6 yrs) - I do scissors cuts on him to whatever length I feel like at the time.  Even when he finished his CH, and I cut him down, it was to a couple inches...such a shocker!Bond is 16 months and showing, so he basically has his entire life's growth with him still.  I use pin brushes (I have many types, they vary in their ability from coat to coat, and even in length of coat for which one is best), wide and regular tooth combs and slickers, for the most part. |
| Are these brushes something I should be ordering from specialty sites? Petsmart is pretty limited, and I didn't think they looked that nice. What brands do you think are nice? And I'm hand trimming his butt as I type this. Might as well try to keep it a little more even. I'm assuming it's normal that his butt grows in at crazy lengths, and I think that part of his fur changes differently/before the rest of it does. I find the black parts of his fur are much worse than the white (with the exception of the ears). |
| Depending on where you live, you MIGHT be able to get the correct brushes. By me - I need to order or buy at shows most of my stuff. Pin brushes for sure. Good combs too. If you do a search here on the site - I did a 3 part grooming and trimming essay with photos (poor Chewie!) a few years ago. I have photos of the equipment too. Butt trims, feet and legs, and body trimming. |
Dawn - where are we getting our pin brushes these days and what are we getting? I am down to my last of the good ones they don't make any more  Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: Dawn - where are we getting our pin brushes these days and what are we getting? I am down to my last of the good ones they don't make any more Kristine I have ONE left, still in it's bag. Perhaps I should auction it off to the highest bidder???  I have one I like of a different brand - Sunny gave it the stamp of approval too at the Land O'Lakes show. I'm at work, can't remember the name/style. I texted Todd - hope he's home and can reply back... |
| http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... cker-brush http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... cker-brush Slickers you need |
| Pin brush http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... -pin-brush |
| Combs http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... oarse-comb http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... -comb--68- http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... atic-comb- http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... e-comb--73 http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... -comb--74- |
| Brush http://www.groomers-online.com/product. ... stle-brush You can buy other brushes about £40 to £70 |
got sheep wrote: Mad Dog wrote: Dawn - where are we getting our pin brushes these days and what are we getting? I am down to my last of the good ones they don't make any more Kristine I have ONE left, still in it's bag. Perhaps I should auction it off to the highest bidder??? I have one I like of a different brand - Sunny gave it the stamp of approval too at the Land O'Lakes show. I'm at work, can't remember the name/style. I texted Todd - hope he's home and can reply back... And he did It says Genuine Bass Model a-9 on it. Here's a link I found on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/BASS-BRUSHES-ME ... 564c46bc32 It has nice rounded off tips too - the dogs much prefer it. I get less resistance with feet and legs...so it must feel nicer. It is my new brush of choice...and reasonably prices as well. I got mine at LCD I think too - or at a show from Midwest or Rico....but I really think it was when we stopped at LDC after Nationals.  |
| For those of you that might be looking for the Mason Pearson brushes that have been discontinued... You can find them at the Vermont Country Store under health and beauty. They have the regular size and the pocket size. They are pricey --but they are definitely the original and not a knock-off. The smaller pocket size brush is also listed under "Things of the Past". |
got sheep wrote: got sheep wrote: Mad Dog wrote: Dawn - where are we getting our pin brushes these days and what are we getting? I am down to my last of the good ones they don't make any more Kristine I have ONE left, still in it's bag. Perhaps I should auction it off to the highest bidder??? I have one I like of a different brand - Sunny gave it the stamp of approval too at the Land O'Lakes show. I'm at work, can't remember the name/style. I texted Todd - hope he's home and can reply back... And he did It says Genuine Bass Model a-9 on it. Here's a link I found on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/BASS-BRUSHES-ME ... 564c46bc32 It has nice rounded off tips too - the dogs much prefer it. I get less resistance with feet and legs...so it must feel nicer. It is my new brush of choice...and reasonably prices as well. I got mine at LCD I think too - or at a show from Midwest or Rico....but I really think it was when we stopped at LDC after Nationals. Dawn, I checked out the link you have here and it has a nice zoom feature. I thought we shouldn't use pin brushes with rounded tips? Cindy |
| Dawn, I checked out the link you have here and it has a nice zoom feature. I thought we shouldn't use pin brushes with rounded tips? Cindy Rounded tips are good - having balls on the tips are what is bad. This brush has regular pins, with each pin being nicely rounded off, not just cut off. If you brush it on yourself, it feels much nicer. "For those of you that might be looking for the Mason Pearson brushes that have been discontinued"...from Karen - The discontinued brushes we were talking about are the Hindes pin brushes. Sorry for just assuming people knew. |
| Ahhh, thanks for clearing that up Dawn! Cindy |
| Thank you thank you thank you for all of the advice! I cut him! Because with eighteen credits of college classes, I am exhausted with so much brushing every night and so is he. |
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