Best Grooming Tool for a Bernese Mountain Dog

[dressagetraks]

I got the “rake” thing at Walmart, looks the longest teeth of the brushes, but it still never quite seem to get clear through Hannah. She is a walking bear skin rug, basically. I always get some hair out with it, and I think it might help her in summer to get all the loose hair gone, including deep (might help my carpets, too :lol:). How do other owners of long, thick-haired breeds deal with this?

Fortunately, she dislikes mud and ick. She was a bit muddy when I first went to check her out, but she lived outside 24/7 in a run, and weather had been rainy. Now that she is an indoor dog, outdoors only with me under direct supervision as I have no run or fenced yard, she has turned into a weather diva. She carefully walks around mud puddles, and even when the grass is wet, she snatches her paws up with a shake just like a cat does. I was having images at first of constantly washing those tufted white feet, but nope, she likes them clean and dry. She obviously thinks she’s had her life’s quota of wet and mud and should have no more. So keeping her clean isn’t the problem; just keeping her thoroughly combed out.

[wendy]

I use a horse shedding blade on dogs- works really well to rip out the undercoat.

[CobJockey]

Husky owner here. A combination of the Furminator and a shedding comb made specifically for dogs ($4.99 at Rural King) work wonders. The shedding comb is even better than the Furminator for most things, and will literally rip hunks of undercoat out of Tucker. My groomer suggested it after I expressed displeasure with my undercoat rake, like you’ve described. Turns out the tines weren’t long enough to get down into the undercoat.

[tarynls]

Love the shedding combs. With my Husky (and my Samoyed), we would take one hand and push the hair against the direction of hair growth, then with the comb, comb it down little by little (like teasing an old lady’s hair!). It will take you a long time but it’s well worth it. We had to shed out the Husky twice a year with this method and he needed minimal coat care in between.

[LauraKY]

I used a shedding comb for my collie once a month. It took an hour or two. She was trained to lie on her side while being groomed. Then I did touch-ups once a week. Anything that cuts will cut and fray the coat.

[tradewind]

A Mars Coat King could be your very best friend.