Grooming A Double Coat On A Scar Line...

[MadWoofter]

Fleming is a Belgian Shepherd and he's got a double coat, so I bought a coat king specially for him which I use regularly to get rid of clumps in his undercoat. It works a treat, and he loves standing out in the backyard and getting combed. Fleming had a hind leg amputated about 12 months ago and while he's healed perfectly and his hair has grown over the scar line really well, I find that the area around his scar line and on his stump gets really quite matted, and the dead clumpy hair doesn't pull free very easily. He's not very comfortable having the area brushed or combed and while it doesn't appear to hurt him it seems to have an impact on the nerve endings in his stump.

The problem is that this hind area gets really matted and yucky and very quickly becomes like dreadlocks. On a personal level I'm not worried - he's not a show dog, and I am very adept with a vacuum cleaner, but I do notice that he tends to 'worry' the area, in that he bites and chews and pulls out chunks of hair himself. OK that sounds bad - he isn't overly worried by it but I can tell it gives him the shits - a bit like having dandruff and wanting to scratch the area but not that bad that it really drives you mad.

Occassionally I sit there and try & get into the undercoat and slowly works the real clumpy bits out, but I would love to hear if anyone has got any suggestions on what I could use to get rid of the clumpy undercoat. I've tried a normal comb, a soft brush, my hands, the coat king..... I wouldn't be bothered by it myself except that it does seem to cause him a bit of distress.

Any suggestions gratefully accepted

[Mim]

Hmm I really have no idea except maybe just trim that spot down? That would make it easier to get the loose hair out too as there would be no knots to get in the way :S

[Shelby]

When brushing, do you brush "against" the coat? ie against the way the coat grows. Sometimes I find a slicker brush seems to get the dead coat out better & also spraying a little water on the coat to just mist it. Pants can be a pain sometimes