Full Coats
I "was" in a routine, but then just one week of not brushing Sky and she is matted again, around her neck and back legs. It's driving me nuts... I so desperately want to get this dog back in the show ring, but this keeps happening. |
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| It is a job, isn't it? I think the mat gremlins sneak in every night!
I try to brush Mojo every day, but not all of him at one time. One day I do the body, the next the legs and finaly his head. Spreading it out helps cut down on time and keeps up with the mats. |
| Clyde has almost no undercoat but close to 12 inches of topcoat and I still MUST brush him everyday. Even if I miss one day, what should've been a nice leisurely 10 minute brush turns into about 45 minutes by the time I go through the whole coat to look for every little lump. His neck and shoulders seem to be the pllace to matt too. It's also amazing what you find in a foot of coat when you miss a day. Clyde could grow trees in there. |
| I intend on keeping Mallory in full coat. I have brushed her everday except for two since adopting her and in those two days her hair snarled and tangled so bad on her legs and underside it was such a pain to brush out.
Even though her hair is still in that wispy, fine, fluffy puppy stage and it seems it wouldn't tangle as fast as an adult coat, it does. I sit/lay Mallory down with me each night while I'm watching TV and just brush and brush while she sleeps. She will wake up long enough for me to roll her over and then back to sleep she goes. Other then her muzzle, she HATES to have that brushed, but is getting better about it with time. All in all, it takes me about 20 minutes to brush her entire coat with a pin brush and then I go back over it with a metal comb. Of course she is still a pup though. |
| I've spent 2 solid hours grooming Sky today, my hands are cramped up now and I had to take a break. All I've got done in that time is most of one side, but not including her head, neck, legs, belly or armpits.
I figure I'll give her (and me) a break and get back at it... hopefully I can at least get her body done today, and maybe head, neck and legs tomorrow. |
| We are trying to keep Bosley's coat, but just like Mallory, we groom daily, and are still with soft, puppy fur...It is getting longer, though, between 7 and 8 inches, now, and we were able to trim around his eyes, with little trouble. Still very little undercoat, and so far we've only had a couple of mats.
But we now have a new challenge. My neighbor says they are called "pitchforks"..but they are tiny leaves with 2 little hooks that stick in a dog's fur like porcupine quills. We pulled out about 100 last nite, and today...at aleast another 100 were in there. Bosley likes to stick his face in the bushes to eat these red berries, and his face is a magnet for them. He gets them around his eyes and muzzle the most. You can see about 10 all in a row from the corner of his eye. Yikes! I just did 2 tours of the yard and yanked out every one of the dried "pitchfork" bushes I could find. Any hints on getting these things out of his fur any quicker would be greatly appreciated.  |
| I was brushing Jasper every day and he still got matts! Right now, he has about 3" on him - left him in a puppy cut, and he's still matting. It's driving me nuts, because I just don't have the time for brushing him like I do when hubby is home. |
| The slicker brush is your #1 weapon! |
| I always spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours on Yuki and that's every 3-4 days. I feel the same way as you and just tell myself it's my fault since each time I say it'll be an every day thing. I've always managed to get out every knot people tell me will be impossible.
Mr J. brushes her, but he just sticks to the hair on top or that's already smooth (he'll argue this, but I watch him). .....so that's not a lot of help. He tries though, but I feel to do it right, I've got to do it since I've line brushed longer. |
| Bosley's mom, that is also know as the devil's beggartick.... nasty little things. Picking them out one by one is usually best... and then hunt them down and chop them out of your property. LOL I hate those things...lol... |
| OOOhhh poor Bosley.....looks like you'll have something to do while youre watching desperate housewives tonight (or your favorite show)...its a lot less calories than popcorn with butter....Im sorry, I cant help but laugh (not at you, with you) Panda gets burrs from the grass and I have to do the same thing...thank goodness its contained to her legs....poor Bosley... |
| Well, it took three of us, and a couple of kongs with Cheez Whiz in them, but with Bosley spread out on the couch, and me at the head, hubby doing the rear and one son doing the middle we got him all done with no big fight. Then to vacum the couch, and floor to get rid of those little daggers... ...phew! Hubby suggested we move the grooming table right into the family room so we can brush him every nite. Like Darcy suggested, watching a favourite program...We can tuck it behind the bar when not in use...or hey, throw a table cloth over it and use it as another end table ! LOL Those razor's are looking mighty tempting after a week-end like that!
And he got into the bushes again, because I threw the "dagger" branches into our fire pit, and Bosley, who loves wood, had to dig into them to get out a piece of two by four he was needing to chew on! He is barricaded to the side yard (smaller, but still safe), until we burn them all...BRAT! |
| Oh my! Poor Bosley! (and you!!) Those things are horrible! We have them here, too, but fortunately, not in the yard.
I'm behind on grooming right now, too. Normally, I do brush every night. But, I had a weekend event with my nephews that I had to attend, so we're at least three days behind. I know tonight will be a big challenge.  Ideally, though, when I am brushing every day, it takes about 20 minutes to brush Gen out and her hair is about 7-8 inches now.
Beau is only about 3" now and it takes about 10 minutes to brush him out. No big matt problems since it's still so short. |
| What is a slicker brush? |
| I do at least a little bit of each dog every day. Toby gets fully brushed out at least once a week because of being in show coat. It takes about 2 and a half hours because his hair's pretty dense.
It's easier with the other two because I don't have to worry about taking out undercoat. And of course, the less undercoat the easier it is. |
| poor bosley! we have a big field in my backyard with lots of burrs, that walter just looooveess to roll around in, so we definitely know your pain.
walter is in full coat, and because im not at home during the week and my parents are very busy he gets brushed and his matts cut out once a week. hes a total mess, i call him my little hobo dog. |
| Stacey, I'm probably in the same boat you are. Frank has about 6 inches of coat now and we're going to start showing him next month even though he's not completely "in bloom". (which was a new phrase I learned at the Centennial which means a full show coat for whatever that is worth).
It's been recommended that I bathe and blow him out Frank once a week which is about a 4 hour job for me right now. Unfortunately I've been getting him in the bath about once every 2 weeks and in between I probably spend about 2-3 hours during the week working out spot areas. Frank will be 2 in January but still has a lot of his puppy coat which I think might be the same situation you are in with Sky. I know there has been different discussions about conditioners and 3 well known breeders at the Centennial suggested using this one conditioner that doesn't seem to soften the coat called "Coat Conditioner" by the brand "The Coat Handler". When I do regular brushing I dilute it in a spray bottle and it really loosens the mats and when I bathe him I let it sit on his coat for about 5 minutes and then rinse it out. It has really helped me greatly as I was about ready to get the clippers out and shave him down during the summer.  |
| Winston hair is about 7 or 8 inches long now. I try to brush and comb him about 3 times a week. When I see a mat coming I sit and work on it and get it out. A mean old groomer I took him to once and never again, said I should not only brush him but I should comb him also. She showed me a comb that is metal and has wide teeth. Well I bought it from her and tried it at home. It does work. First I brush him and then I comb him out. The comb seems to help get any mats out with a little help from spraying some baby conditioner on his hair. My one problem is he is always trying to bite the brush. He wants to bite on it like it is a bone. |
| Unfortunately a comb will take out too much of the undercoat which is not what you want to do for a show coat. Since Willowsprite is thinking about showing him so she should really try to stick with a straight pin brush for body and slicker for paws. |
| Yes all I use is a #1 AllSystems pin brush, and a comb to help get out mats after I've broken it up with my fingers. I use the comb on her face and ears as well. I use the slicker to finish up on her paws afterward.
I've been brushing in lines that are only 1/4" thick at a time.... it took a total of 8 hours to get her back into the shape I like to see, after letting it go for only one week. Now though, a half hour every day or every other day will keep her mat free. |
I've been away all week at a conference and left James alone with Clyde and Lucy, with explicit directions to just "run a brush" through Clyde each day for about 5 minutes. I left Clyde completely matt free so it should've been an easy job-- should've being the operative word. James tried to tell me Clyde wouldn't let him brush him, which I'm not buying. I got home late last night to find my baby in a serious mess. Like I said before, Clyde has almost no undercoat but just enough has come in to make a serious mess. I've probably done about 3 hours worth of grooming today on and off and he still has rough patches of matts. Clyde and I are very annoyed with James today.  |
| Hey Jill, do ya want me to bring over Bentley's souvenirs . . . put the fear of matts into James??
I'm starting to think I'm a bit disturbed for still having them. |
| Lol-- you mean the ones he didn't eat? I had forgotten all about the giant matt blankets that came off poor Bentley. You should frame them in a shadowbox or something. |
| Yup, the ones he didn't eat! He's still doing that, BTW. It's as if he thinks that if it came from him, it stays with him, one way or another.
I bet IKEA has shadowboxes . . . |
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