I'm In Love

[mumof3]

My lovely Brittany puppy Molly, now about 10 months old, was getting a little scruffy.

She was not as sleek as the lovely dogs in the photos, and was beginning to resemble a small brown and white polar bear.

I emailed her breeder for advice on coat maintenance and got a swift reply - the Mars fine thining comb, and Isle of Dogs.

My thinning comb arrived today. WOW!!!!!

How ADDICTIVE! What an immense difference. Knowing nothing about grooming other than how to hold a brush (and I probably do that wrong too), I googled "how to thin a dogs coat" and got lots of weird and wonderful ideas. I tried these out and found out how to create a bald patch. So, I just sort of combed her with it. And WOW. It pulled out so much hair. I sat there for an hour, she didn't flinch. ACtually, she got quite relaxed and smoochy. The difference is incredible.

I'll do some more tomorrow, until I think it's done. Then I'll try out this new shampoo and conditioner that costs about 10 TIMES what I use on my own hair. Hell I might even try it in the shower tonight myself!

It has really pulled out all that residual dead puppy fluff. The result is a much more mature looking coat, so much softer with the dead hair gone. And less fluffy. I can only imagine that she will be much more comfortable in the heat now too, and that she will shed less on the lounge so my OH will whinge less (he wanted a JRT). I didn't do her feathery parts, her chest or her ears. I might do her chest later.

Any suggestions from people who know all about grooming and particularly grooming Brittanies - she and I both enjoyed it so much, I'm keen to learn more.

[RallyValley]

Have a look at this site :D

http://www.brittanygrooming.com/

Plus I am sure you are aware before and after pictures would be appreciated!!!

[Dogsrawesome]

before and after pictures would be appreciated!!!

Photos would be a great idea :D

[Dogsfevr]

The most important tip is don't over do it .

You won't get it all out in one hit & over use can cause skin rash or start to cut the coat .

The key is your not thinning the coat but removing the dead under coat so all coat removed should look dead/dull & fluffy ,if it isn't then your stripping the wrong coat out.

Make sure you grab the slack of the skin & hold tight so the blades can't dig in.

I do now of a person who wanted to get the coat out in one day & ended up with 24 micro stitched where she sliced it open

[mumof3]

Thanks all for your replies.

The Brittany grooming site was interesting - but a bit full on for me (all that shaving and trimming). If I can get a sleek topline and smooth body, I think I'll be happy with that. I like all the feathering. I did like the idea of towelling them overnight to get the hair to sit flatter - that will be quite useful in achieving the look I am after.

Thanks showdog for your advice on using the tool. I think I am not taking too much at the moment - the hair is definetely dull and fluffy. The longer shinier hairs are staying behind, with the occassional exception.

As a guide to when I've finished an area, I'm kind of going with, if the comb runs through the hair effortlessly and removes little hair, then that spot is done. Do you think that is about right? I definetely went overboard when I tried the technique I saw online of using your thumb to hold the hair and pulling. I can see the skin in that area is slightly reddened. I'm also learning about holding the skin taught - for safety and for access to looser areas like the neck ruff.

I've also been pulling the hair back and combing with the lie of the hair, so that I get under the coat too, not just over the top - is that right?

I wish I had taken a before photo, but sadly I haven't. To tell the truth I was a little embarrassed about how she looked and thought everyone would think I wasn't feeding her properly or something. Wish I had taken that photo now - after only one hour the coat is soft and you can see the shine in it. Wait till I wash it with this flash stuff. It is like the barbie I never had!

[Dju]

I'm using the Mars Coat King on my Hugo and it's amazing, it just removes so much undercoat! Definitely recommend Mars grooming tools, they're so worth the price

[dog geek]

"It is like the barbie I never had!"

LOL!

I so know what you mean - same for me!

[Danielle]

If the puppy hair is just sitting in the coat loosely id be inclined to take her to a groomer and get a thorough bath and blow dry. Force dryers remove most of the loose undercoat by blowing it out. Best of luck!

Edited January 27, 2011 by Danielle

[mumof3]

If the puppy hair is just sitting in the coat loosely id be inclined to take her to a groomer and get a thorough bath and blow dry. Force dryers remove most of the loose undercoat by blowing it out. Best of luck!

Unfortunately, the nearest groomer is at the very least 350km away. Possibly closer to 500km. Thanks for the tip though.

Yes, the Mars tool I've bought is definetely worth the price. It has such a lovely good quality feel to it, too.

I think I've finished for now, after another 1/2 hour this morning. Had little luck with hair under her throat. Not much fluffy puppy hair left there. Took quite a bit off her ears but not too much. Just haven't done the backs of her legs, which have feathering, think I'll just brush that out for now and giver her a break. She is even shinier this morning.

[helen]

Hi, glad it has worked so well. Did you get the Mars Coat King or the mars stripping knife? I have a coat king and a furminator. I prefer the furminator and never use the coat king any more, but it depends on what the dog's coat is like as to which is best I think.

The brittany grooming site is american and is grooming for the show ring. It is a great guide but I never bath before I groom and don't use towels either. It is a great site to show parts of the hair to groom.

I wouldn't tend to strip out any of the feathering. If it is too much then just cut it a little shorter with scissors.

Funny thing after all the shampoos I have brought over the years, one of the best shampoos I have used is the shampoo they have at the car wash, they have one of those dog washs there and it is probably cheap as LOL. I also have some Paw High Shine Moisturising shampoo which is just beautiful on the dogs coats and not so expensive.

[mumof3]

Hi, glad it has worked so well. Did you get the Mars Coat King or the mars stripping knife? I have a coat king and a furminator. I prefer the furminator and never use the coat king any more, but it depends on what the dog's coat is like as to which is best I think.

The brittany grooming site is american and is grooming for the show ring. It is a great guide but I never bath before I groom and don't use towels either. It is a great site to show parts of the hair to groom.

I wouldn't tend to strip out any of the feathering. If it is too much then just cut it a little shorter with scissors.

Funny thing after all the shampoos I have brought over the years, one of the best shampoos I have used is the shampoo they have at the car wash, they have one of those dog washs there and it is probably cheap as LOL. I also have some Paw High Shine Moisturising shampoo which is just beautiful on the dogs coats and not so expensive.

Hi Helen,

Thanks for the reply. I love the photo. Your dogs are always beautiful. What a great bathing set up you've got. Much to my husbands disgust, I now bath Molly in the human bath / shower which has one of those shower heads on a metal hose, so much better for getting water into the coat than just a normal hose.

I've got the stripping knife. It is just terrific. Fiona recommended it. I did strip out the feathering on her back legs a little before I read your post. I didn't take much, she didn't like it. Must have been a bit sensitive there. She's all finished now. If I run the stripping knife through her hair now, pretty much nothing comes out. I was using Fido's before I tried the Isle of Dogs. Can't say that I've found THAT much of an improvement. The main improvement came from stripping the coat. I'd love to get the hair on her back to sit a little flatter, and I was hoping a really good conditioner would help that. It has helped, but there is some quite dry hair in a liver patch on her back that probably just has to come out when it is ready. So, I'm a bit frustrated now, no more stripping to do. It was so satisfying and it was lovely to spend that time with her. She really seemed to enjoy most of it.

Take care.