GROOMING TOOLS

[Chris & Boys]

I know - this should go under the grooming discussions, and that is where I originally posted it. BUT, it didn't show up in the main page forum, and it didn't show up in the Grooming forum either. So, I am posting here.........
My 8 month old GD has recently started to mat. His coat is increasingly difficult to bush and combing he no longer tolerates. He has a silky coat, that before I cut was shaggy, but now looks like it is growing in curly and it is roughly 2" long. I cannot imagine trying to groom him if I let him get shaggy again since it is getting so difficult to get a brush through him, even though I love that look.
When I try to brush him with a pin brush, the backing that the pins are in alway comes apart from the brush handle, and renders itself useless. I have gotten cheap brushes, and mid range brushes and am afraid to get the CC brushes and find that they will do the same thing. And it is not in my budget to get a Les Pooches brush right now. My slicker brush does not get down to his skin. His coat is so thick it is extremely hard to get a comb through it and use the combs mainly for the de-matting.

My questions are:
Do the CC brushes come apart when brushing through very thick coats?
Can you use a slicker on very thick coats or do they just get through the surface?
Is it worth the money to get the staggered tooth CC comb? Or is it just as hard to use?
Does anyone know of a good spray-on detangler?

Thanks!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I have lots of information about matting dogs because Ned mats. I use Cowboy Magic products (shampoo, conditioner, detangler). I use the LesPouchs slicker brush and a steel comb. I also have a slicker brush from MGT that was cheap and works almost as well as the LesPouchs. I haven't tried the CC products so can't tell you about them, but a flexible slicker brush is the ONLY way to go. I use the Original Horse Mane and Tail Spray in Detangler and spray Ned before brushing. I brush an area and then comb it. I use the Cowboy Magic detangler on bad mats. You put the stuff on and wait a bit then begin brushing or working the mat out. I also use a pair of nail scissors sideways to slice through a bad mat. We get Ned groomed professionally also. I brush him as well as I possibly can before taking him to the groomer.
There are groomers on the grooming site that are really helpful. My advice is as a lay person with a matting doodle.
I also have had trouble posting a discussion on the grooming page - it just disappeared somewhere!

[Chris & Boys]

Does the MGT slicker brush look like the Les Pooches or a regular slicker?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

MGT looks like the LesPouchs except my LesPouchs has bent "tines" on both sides and the MGT has straight ones on one side. The straight ones are useless as far as Ned's curliness is concerned. Both of them are flexible and bend as you brush. Regular stiff slicker brushes just don't do the job at all. I am thinking of getting a fancier steel comb when my budget allows. MGT brush is about 12 bucks as I recall. Neither of these brushes comes apart as you use them. There are videos that tell you the right way to brush on u-tube. Look through the grooming discussions and there is a link in there somewhere. What you do is brush a leg the wrong way (i,e,up) and then down. You take a little spot at a time holding the upper hair out of the way - brush and comb that area then go higher and higher. I do not explain this well but what I mean is that you don't just go over the surface like you would with a lab or a spaniel. When you comb you take you bit of area and comb from the ends and work closer and closer until you can comb from the skin to the ends - like you would do with a person who has tangles. You need to just brush and then comb in parts - not brush the whole body and then comb the whole body. Also we are keeping Ned pretty short. We are experimenting with how long we can go before the matting gets too much. He has curly fleece fur - it is very soft. The parts that mat are the cottony (I hope baby fur) feeling parts that are less curly.

[Janie]

The best tool I have found for splitting mats is a plastic letter opener that looks like a business card, with a single tooth and a blade in the corner. It works like magic...I read about this somewhere on the net tried it and love it.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

That sounds cool. I will keep my eyes peeled for something like that.

[Janie]

Any office supply store will have them.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you. I am always uncomfortable using scissors unless the ends are blunt - and the only pair I found like that are lost :(

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I use a pair of blunt-tipped scissors that are intended for cutting a baby's nails. They work perfectly for trimming around Wally's eyes. They also work for snipping out mats.

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

Here is the video that Nancy was referring to, its very helpful! :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnandSully#play/uploads/12/szIij_zknNs

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for finding this for her. I am not computer saavy enough to go back and find it. Nancy

[Chris & Boys]

Ok, thanks. I never would have known not to drag the Les Pooches across the skin.