Useful And Not-so-useful Dog Grooming Implements

[samoyedman]

ok, so a lot probably depends on whether you have a long or short hair breed.

For those of us with long haired breeds, which type of grooming brushes/combs/rakes etc. do you find the most useful, and which ones do you never use and think are gimmicky?

Yesterday I learned a valuable lesson. While brushes are good for buffing up and styling a coat, they don't remove much hair. I forgot to comb my Samoyed after brushing him and all the loose hair the brush brought up was on the surface and he was leaving fur all over clothes and carpets!

When at a recent dog show at Castle Hill, I was fascinated to watch the President of the NSW Samoyed club give me a demonstration on using a comb ONLY (never uses slickers, brushes etc.) on his Samoyed once a week for about half an hour (more often in shedding season).

It makes you wonder how many of these implements on the market are truly necessary!

Several people have mentioned to me a dual 2-line comb is the way to go with long haired breeds and its pretty much all you need. I hope this is true because it would be great for us long-haired breed owners if there was only one type of implement needed to groom our dogs! So far I haven't found a shop that sells any.

[kamuzz]

Yes, great question.

I'd love to know what it best for the "feathers" on my Springer Spaniel Cross. He always winds up with knots / matts very close to the skin, especially round his ears. We wind up using the clippers to get rid of them but I'm sure there has to be a better way.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

This is an undercoat rake which I would use on a Samoyed:

http://www.vetproductsdirect.com.au/vetpro...amp;eq=&Tp=

For the feathers on a Springer, and behind the ears. Also behind the ears, when combed out, pop a little baby powder to keep the area dry.

http://www.vetproductsdirect.com.au/vetpro...amp;eq=&Tp=

[MTD]

I use a mars comb on Maggie. A Size #10 on the feathers and a #20 on the body.

[samoyedman]

This is an undercoat rake which I would use on a Samoyed:

http://www.vetproductsdirect.com.au/vetpro...amp;eq=&Tp=

Out of curiosity what can a rake do that a slicker can't?

Don't they both remove dead hair and undercoat, only the slicker removes a heap more?

[kaywoman68]

I have a Mars Coat King (26), slicker brush and tooth comb (like the gripsoft medium comb in the link Hesp posted).

I mainly use the slicker on my 2. I probably dont need the tooth comb but anyway

ETA: From my experience of using both a slicker and undercoat rake on a Rough Collie, I could get more with a slicker. Maybe it's the way I used it....The slicker seems to do a lot of upper layer work and not so much on the undercoat......

Edited January 1, 2007 by kaywoman68

[tramissa]

On my lowchen I find a 2 sided comb (one size with larger comb than the other) and a slicker is all she needs. A bit of potato flower in case it's wet and we're right to go.

(of course, then there are the clippers etc involved )

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

The undercoat rake does what the name suggests, gets into the undercoat of long and double coated breeds. Whilst the slicker can be used for the top coat.

IMHO the undercoat gets out more than the slicker on a samoyed

Edited January 1, 2007 by Hesapandabear

[Vehs]

Samoyedman - you should PM angelsun, she was a fantastic help to me when I was grooming samoyeds

Kamuzz - I would start by simple combing behind his ears regularly

There are a huge range of coats out there, so it's just a matter of finding a tool that works for your breed and that you can use properly.

[samoyedman]

The undercoat rake does what the name suggests, gets into the undercoat of long and double coated breeds. Whilst the slicker can be used for the top coat.

IMHO the undercoat gets out more than the slicker on a samoyed

ok, see what you mean re the rake. I find the teeth on my rake are fairly wide apart so while it grabs some undercoat a lot slips through and is later picked up by the slicker (no doubt this is the way its meant to happen).

I also have a rake with sharp edges on one side of the teeth (see image).

I presume this is for seperating heavy matting?

And is brushing basically just for decorative purposes and removing some hair? I've pretty much found brushes to be useless which is ironic considering they are probably the most-used grooming tool.

Lastly, I'm thinking of purchasing one of these:

Any feedback on this implement? Supposedly they are great for removing loose hairs...something my Samoyed has in spades!

Edited January 1, 2007 by samoyedman

[Vehs]

I've found those two tools ^ you've posted to be completely useless, but so many people I know swear by the shedding loop, they have Labs and Rotties

Regular pin brushes are something I use on OES and Afghans

[samoyedman]

I've found those two tools ^ you've posted to be completely useless, but so many people I know swear by the shedding loop, they have Labs and Rotties

Regular pin brushes are something I use on OES and Afghans

How do you find shedding combs as compared to regular combs?

Ive been told about (here at DOL by a Sibe owner) a double-row rotating pin comb that supposedly is all you need to use to groom your dog. The brand is Evolution. Does anyone know where these can be bought in a Sydney shop?

Here's the link:

http://www.pet-shop.net/html/comb.html

and here is what they look like:

Edited January 1, 2007 by samoyedman

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Samoyedman, the rake with the sharp edges on it is a de-matting rake and can be very harsh on a coat. The Evolution is similar to the undercoat rake, and the rotating teeth stop the pulling. When you do comb mist the coat with water from a spray bottle as this will help. We also use Lustreaid which is a coat conditioner mixed in the spray bottle and it has a pleasant cologne

The shedding loop is better on the short coated dogs.

If you can afford to then suggest you send your boy in to a grooming salon on a regular basis as the high velocity dryers really do get a lot of coat out.

[Dogsfevr]

i would suggest you just go by what your breeder says.IWe sell the tools with our pups but some still insist on going out & buying useless items with no idea what they where designed for prior to purchase plus many buy things from places that havent a clue.

Generally for a well maintained long coat all you need is a good comb,quality brush(coat specific) & a good soft slicker.If its a shedding breed then a shedding rake can come in handy but even with the sibes etc a comb will just as good a job providing it is maitained prior to the big shed.

As already said on of those is a dematting rake used for severe matting,used on a good coat in can thin out an area but also damage the coat.

The idea with a sammie & similiar is to brush in sections .

For any sammie we groom we use an undercoat rake to get the bulk,then a comb & slicker.

[Staff'n'Toller]

I use an undercoat rake on my double coated dogs.

Kamuzz - for the feathers on my Toller I use a moulting/shedding comb for the ears, and the Plushpuppy Silver Bullet Brush, daily for leg feathers and tail. :D

Mel.

[shmoo]

There are a huge range of coats out there, so it's just a matter of finding a tool that works for your breed and that you can use properly.

i second this.

i have some samoyeds i use a matt comb and some i use a slicker brush. the samoyed coat can vary alot, so i tend to try different things out until i find the best one that works.

it also depends on how well one can groom. some people have no idea how to use a slicker or matt comb properly.

samoyed man, i take Harvey (malamute) to the DIY dog grooming place in Castle Hill. if you like i can meet you there one Sunday and show you how to groom your samoyed :D

[polarpeak]

If you go to Castle Hill showground again you can purchase the double rowed rake you are talking about from Don's Bus

[Ashka]

A couple of very good, smooth tooth stainless combs are all I use to keep my dogs' hair coat tidy and the majority of the hair off the furnishings, gave up on brushes for grooming 30 odd years go :D

Brushes are OK for a quick tidy up before going into the show ring or for a special blow dry job.

(Chows, Springers & Cavaliers etc)

Some very heavy coated dogs need a good quality rake to keep their coats in good nick.

Brushes should be taken away from all new non shedding oodles & SWF owners ~ give them a good quality comb & scissors instead.

Edited January 1, 2007 by Ashka

[witheverythingiam]

We use the deshedding loop as displayed on page 1, but we have a Labrador :D It was only purchased last month when we went on holidays, and dog was majorly shedding in the unit we hired. So thought, right, must go buy a grooming tool for her. So we popped down to PetStock, and purchased one. In Labs at shedding time, It's much more simple than a slicker, and much quicker too, and she LOVED it - even my cat wanted a go, and she hates being brushed!!!

We generally don't brush the Boxer. Occasionally we'll use a zoom groom, or a rubber glove, but generally they're a wash n wear breed, and hair is too short to "brush".

-WithEverythingIAm

[smisch]

Okay I don't show my dogs or anything, but My sheltie X still gets alot of grooming and he malts alot! I absoloutly love the MARS Coat King, In my opinion they are the best thing snice sliced bread, it looks painful but the dog loves it and we get <b>so </b> much hair off him