kristinavb Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Seamus is extremely fluffy and thick haired. I've never seen a Border Collie with such thick long hair before him. I try to be sure and brush him at least every other day to get the majority of the mats out and to keep them from forming. Doesn't do much good though... Would it be beneficial to get him professionally groomed and "trimmed" or "tidied up?" I'm very wary about groomers, and have never taken my Huskies out of fear they'd shave them. Something i definitely don't want for Seamus. Could he also be so thick because he lived in colder weather for 4 years? Could it possibly not be as thick when he sheds it out? (Do Border Collies have shedding seasons like that?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Crowder-BaaramuLuke Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 The last thing a groomer wants to do is shave a husky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Crowder-BaaramuLuke Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Sorry if I was being flip...just hit my funny bone. I just hate shaving dogs that just need time and elbow grease. He looks handsome, and some dogs inherit a full, thick coat. Most of mine tend to not be so thick, but they definately have seasonal sheds, and dogs that are neutered seem to get thicker coats than they had before neutering. I kind of doubt climate has much to do with it, but won't swear to it. If you do try a groomer, try to be specific about what you want, but trimming, to me, isn't going to solve "thick". A good bath can help blow out extra coat, and they have equipment that can help blow out more than you can at home. You could even invest in a blower for home, if I didn't have one, I don't know what I would do without it. It is to die for on huskies. The one I have is a forced-air thing, costs around $150 new and lasts forever. You need to give any dog time to get used to it, but mine enjoy it once they do. Just an ordinary slicker brush does it for me, other than that. I prefer the cheap "Franks Universal Brush", I get them from catalogs. I also have a killer Resco combination comb, can't find them anywhere anymore. Your dog looks very well maintained! I'm pretty lucky, mine don't need much brushing, and I do it mainly because they like it and I can check for lumps and bumps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I find a "Furminator" works well to take out loose undercoat. I use them on my Border Collie and my cat. It's unbelievable how much hair you can comb out in a very short time. But you need to be careful on the less furry areas like lower legs and elbow. They can scrape the skin if you're not paying attention. Both my critters love them, and they are super-soft when I finish. They are less desirable with slick-haired, single-coated dogs, because they can irritate the skin if not used carefully. But there's nothing like them when a "furrball" starts to blow coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I second the Furminator. Also, I find bathing my dogs will loosen up a lot of hair. Every so often, we have a Furminator week where the dogs are bathed and then Furminated 3 or 4 times in a row. Don't go too long or you can end up with bald spots. Quinn's coat is only medium but he is the worst shedder in my house. My Shelties have not shed much at all but that is with baths every month or two and brushing at least 3 times a week. I Furminate my Sheltie to make brushing her easier. I Furminate Quinn to cut down on the shedding. The Lhasa is sent out for his serious grooming. Seamus may simply have a high upkeep kind of coat. But with regular grooming (which probably is every other day), he should have a gorgeous high upkeep kind of coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I have had a couple of girlies with gawdawful spaycoat. I have also had a Sibe....my thoughts: 1. Get him off of the crap food. As soon as he gets a good amount of protein and fat and less grain, I bet you will see slicker, smoother fur. I read elsewhere that you plan to start him on raw soon and I bet that will help. Consider supplementing with fish and/or virgin coconut oil. 2. get an undercoat rake...learn to line brush with the rake and a fine tooth comb to pull out the dead coat. It helps a lot, and you don't have to do it all at once. I would divide each dog into 8 sections and do one each night. 3. I second the recommendation of a forced air dryer...it get them dry to the skin (your huskies will benefit from it too) and it will separate the hair and help blow off the dead coat, less to comb out. 4. consider a convenience trim at a groomer or do it yourself: shave his belly, the area around his anus (keeps feathering poo free as well) and if he is prone to mats in his armpits or behind his ears you can use a thinning shears to remove some hair there, keep his pads trimmed clean. 5. finally, if his hair is really hard to deal with consider a grooming spray with silicone: The Stuff, GloCoat, Chris Christianson's Ice on Ice. It will coat the hairs and make them slicker, making them less prone to mat and making fine line brushing a LOT easier. Its usually sold as a concentrate which you dilute, but you can fine some ready to use as well. Be careful using it...if you get it on the floor or your table it will make those surfaces superslick! I have known a groomer who fell on a floor that got that stuff on it. I use Ice on Ice on the grossly over-coated-spay-coat Papillon I have no and it helps big time with the matting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinavb Posted May 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 MMmm i love me a High Velocity dryer! We have one at work so i don't have to invest in my own personal one. They get blown out everyday before we leave. Leaving a nice cloud of white undercoat behind... Seamus doesn't shed really. I wish he did... get rid of the insane amount of fur he has... I have the slicker and the furminator. Seamus is scared of the sound the slicker makes against his fur So it's a big ordeal to get him into "relax" while i work through his coat. Haven't tried the furminator on him yet, will do that tomorrow. I've tortured him enough with brushing today But it does seem that he'll have a high upkeep. Just a shame, i've taken 5lbs of the bugger and you can't even tell because his fluff. When he's wet, he looks like a totally different dog. And actually i've read a few people raging on Husky forums about some groomer here and there shaving their Husky when they took them in for a groom. I can't imagine anyone thinking that looks good (or that it's good for them.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I have the slicker and the furminator. Seamus is scared of the sound the slicker makes against his fur So it's a big ordeal to get him into "relax" while i work through his coat. Haven't tried the furminator on him yet, will do that tomorrow. I've tortured him enough with brushing today My dogs seem to like the Furminator better than the rake. Less pull on the fur is my guess. But I use the rake and slicker for regular grooming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivia Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I didn't like how the furminator left my dogs coats looking (couldn't get down to the skin and broke the top coat leaving it dull and feeling rough) but I love, love, love the Mars Coat King!!! Not cheap but worth every penny. I can take an hour, sit down with the 3 border collies and almost completely shed them out in the spring. Takes some time but that brush gets out all the undercoat and loose hair and then I don't have to worry about shedding for the rest of the season! Olivia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I didn't like how the furminator left my dogs coats looking (couldn't get down to the skin and broke the top coat leaving it dull and feeling rough) but I love, love, love the Mars Coat King!!! Not cheap but worth every penny. I can take an hour, sit down with the 3 border collies and almost completely shed them out in the spring. Takes some time but that brush gets out all the undercoat and loose hair and then I don't have to worry about shedding for the rest of the season! Olivia Yeah, I didn't like the Furminator either, love my Coat King and also my Mattbreaker, it pulls out cottony undercooat (I *hate cottony undercoat) without hurting the dog or damaging the guard hairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogs & Dogs Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I recently bought a curry comb (I got the Kong brand - "zoom groom"). It works wonders to help get out some of the undercoat on Kit - she's shedding a lot right now. Best of all, it doesn't seem to be messing up her soft sleekness. I make sure to use it outside only, and I've actually seen birds come by and grab clumps of hair for their nests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivia Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Yeah, I didn't like the Furminator either, love my Coat King and also my Mattbreaker, it pulls out cottony undercooat (I *hate cottony undercoat) without hurting the dog or damaging the guard hairs. The Mattbreaker is awesome too! I have one of those too and love it as well. I hate cottony undercoat as well and those two things pull it out better than anything I've ever used. I think the Furminator works pretty well on thinner coats but the thicker the coat the less it seems to do simply because it can't get all the way through the coat and to the skin which you have to do to get out that undercoat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Try using an undercoat rake, then a brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Brody looked a little like Seamus when we got him, overweight and very fluffy. He slept indoors but I think they used to leave him outside during the day (in Mass.) He has never got as thick a winter coat again, he still has an undercoat just not as dense. I did use a furminator on him that first spring, it did really help but I have not used it since as his coat does not need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Moon Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I'll give a third to the Furminator with the cavaet that Cerb is a smoothcoat. I read all the cautions before I started using it and have had zero problems. One of the folks that runs their dogs at the park is a professional groomer and she was pretty knocked out by cerbs post Furminator do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinavb Posted May 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 So this Coat King... What size should i get? It recommends 10-12 for "Collies." The real problem is the back leg area.. tons of cottony fluffy coat. Which is gorgeous, but totally unnecessary in South Florida lol Also, how does the coat king work? It looks like it pulls out the hairs instead of removing loose hair... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack & Co. Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 If you do try a groomer, try to be specific about what you want, but trimming, to me, isn't going to solve "thick". A good bath can help blow out extra coat, and they have equipment that can help blow out more than you can at home. Debbie is a pro and I have always found her advice to be right on the money! I have had good experiences with groomers--I make sure we are both in complete agreement/understanding before I leave. I have Jack's coat taken down several times a year because eventually everything gets so long that he starts bringing in dead sticks, weeds, leaves, pine needles, etc., on his fur. It helps me to be able to keep up with the brushing better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Could he also be so thick because he lived in colder weather for 4 years? Could it possibly not be as thick when he sheds it out? (Do Border Collies have shedding seasons like that?) I don't know. Daisy has a medium rough coat and it's pretty fine. We give her fish oil and it's helped with the shedding quite a bit. Not that she was a big shedder to begin with. (she's also a cross) Riley is a rough coat and had so much fur when he 'moved in'. I couldn't believe it when they weighed him. He actually looked bigger than Daisy but was 10# lighter! Anyway, one day 2 weeks ago the fur just started coming out. It was ridiculous! I'm talking, pulling clumps of under coat out in handfuls! He's still shedding. So, it seems, he does have a shedding season. He looks his size now too. I'm going to assume, that because he was rescued in November and had been an outside dog his entire life, he built up quite the coat. Now he doesn't need it, so he's loosing it. I'm kind of hoping that he does not grow the winter coat back next winter, but we will see what happens. It's hard to tell what's going to happen with your boy though... but I kind of hope he looses some of it... living in Florida and all! FWIW, I've taken Riley to a groomer. Told them specifically all he needs is a bath and a really, really good brush out. I will likely do it again here in a week or so, the were more than happy to do as I asked. But that's the only groomer experience I've had. Riley just has too much fur and my back can't handle bending over for that long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Riley just has too much fur and my back can't handle bending over for that long. I highly recommend a grooming table for this reason. Makes grooming easier for you and the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I just got a Coat King knock off from WalMart. It was made by Oster I believe. Anyways it cost about $20 and did a really good job Of thinning down Kenzi's coat. I have a furminator knock off, too. That seems to work great on Kipp, but he's a smooth coat dog. I didn't really like the results using it on Kenzi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I highly recommend a grooming table for this reason. Makes grooming easier for you and the dog. Or do like I did last night and sat on the floor with Ouzo standing in front of me while I plucked away at his incredibly shedding coat. Then he got pissy and I had to get him to lay down while I continued the brushing - I only have a rake brush, and it was scary the amount of almost WHITE fluff coming from his BLACK thighs and butt!!! He doesn't have an undercoat on his back, but I think his pantaloons are thinsulated He doesn't like brushing, but this spring it's ridiculous, the hair on his back legs and lower back is coming out in brownish clumps, like an old molted blanket I have the feeling there will be a few more evening sessions of plucking and raking that he won't enjoy but he won't have a saying in the matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I HATE the furminator, it did nothing for us cept make the top coat look like crap. Mine are all think long coated. Yes food does make a huge difference. Since living in CO for the last year I have been amazed at how much more coat they all have. They're all blowing the coats right now YEAH for US! so I take about an hour each night and do a section of each dog with a rake. plus I pluck them all the time. Lilly the Akbash is losing hair like a hair sheep. in giant clumps, I rake her (all my dogs love being groomed as long as I'm gentle) she just eats it up, plus I pluck her all the time. You can always tell where I plucked her last as it looks like an animal laying around. I walked last night with my boys(real kids) they came across a spot where Lilly and I had a pluck fest and freaked out thinking something had died right there. I love it when they get all raked out and look so purtty. Lilly is oging to be like a smooth coat bc when we're finished! I hate hair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Well, this is a "duh" moment for me! I use the Furminator all the time on Alex, and you guys are right! It leaves his top coat looking rough and umm, patchy, I guess it is. Why didn't I realize this before? I'm gonna get me a Coat King or something similar instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 I highly recommend a grooming table for this reason. Makes grooming easier for you and the dog. Yes, that is something I am going to seriously consider now that I have a high maintenance dog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 Well, this is a "duh" moment for me! I use the Furminator all the time on Alex, and you guys are right! It leaves his top coat looking rough and umm, patchy, I guess it is. Why didn't I realize this before? I'm gonna get me a Coat King or something similar instead. Maybe because I use the furminator sparingly (it is not part of routine grooming), I haven't had this problem other than when I first got it and used it too many times in a row. I think it was the Sheltie who ended up with a thin spot. But used for times when shedding is bad or the coat is getting too thick, it's been great. Both my dogs have gorgeous coats so no complaints there. Is the Coat King something that is used routinely then? Or is it also a special use type of grooming tool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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