Brushes for a very short-coated dog

[msj]

I’ve always had larger dogs 50 to 90 lbs and pretty thick or heavy coats. Now I have a very short-coated terrier mix. Like almost no hair on her belly and the length of the rest of her coat is maybe 1/4" to 1/2". I know my Furminator doesn’t work (goes back to the horses now).

So far I’ve used a really rough washcloth (think no fabric softener) but that’s really not doing it.

I really need to go to Pet Smart and ask but when I’m over that way, I never remember (old age is a BWITCH!). We’ve got a Tractor Supply really close so I’ve attached a page of pet brushes. Can anyone with a short-coated dog suggest anything they see on the TSC page? Muchly appreciated if you can.

http://tsc.tractorsupply.com/nav/cat3/petcare_petgrooming_petbrushescombs/0

Obviously if you can suggest anything else that’s great also!

[Rubyfree]

Rubber curry & a cactus cloth MSJ. Bet you’ve got 'em already.

[msj]

Hm, I might have a small rubber curry, but the cactus cloth is long gone. I’ll go check on the rubber curry. Thanks for the suggestions.

[equinelerium]

I use a jelly scrubber on my dalmatian. It does the best job of anything I’ve tried so far:
http://www.smartpakequine.com/jelly-scrubber-607p.aspx?cm_vc=Search

[Bicoastal]

Ditto rubber curry or curry mitt with the little nubs to brush in the direction of the coat if too thin/sensitive for circles.

[GraceLikeRain]

The shedding blocks made for horses are a Godsend. Seriously. They are great at getting short hairs, undercoat, and pretty much anything even thinking about falling out. It makes a huge difference on my roommates rhodesian mix who has 1/4" hair on her sides.

http://www.sstack.com/product/ultra-shedding-block-black/

If you can find a company that sells grill cleaning equipment sometimes they are also labeled as a grill brick (and you can score 10 for $5).

[Simkie]

This thing is my go-to tool for my Ridgebacks. Pulls out the loose hair like none other.

My breeder (um, sounds a little odd…the woman who breeds the dogs I own?) also recommends anhydrous lanolin during shedding season. Apparently it just pulls the coat right off. You can get it from the pharmacist, and I’ve been told it’s quite sticky–apply, kick the dog outside for a bit and then bathe?

[tallyho392]

the only thing with a small dog and most of the tools previously mentioned , is that the tool…rubber curry comb for example, is too big for the contours of a small dog body…well, that’s been my problem,anyway…if your hand can fit a child sizd rubber curry, that works better, but i find that even that size hits places where it hurts when trying to get other spots…ihave a tiny face brush from the horses, and that works well, and one of those nubby mittens made of cloth(so it curls more gently around legs,etc than the all rubber ones)…i guess it all depends on the size of the pooch,too…“small” for some may be 30 lbs, which still gives a substantial size body …my “smalls” are 8 -10 lbs, which means their legs and feet are sorta like grooming a chicken leg…lol…

[msj]

Wow! Some great ideas here. Thanks all. I already figured out the rubber curry was too stiff. I even have one of the kid sized and that’s no good.

The jelly thing looks great and I like the shedding block idea. Never used it on a horse but if it doesn’t work on the dog, the horse gets it come spring. Love the furminator for shedding the horses though.

The brush that Simkie recommended is something like a brush I use for the horses so I may try that. My only worry on that is that it might not be supple enough for my little girl. She lets me know that she’s very thin-skinned. Course so does my horse and I ignore him but he’s 1200 lbs and she’s only 35 lbs.

I’m heading over to TSC today and will check out what they have for the horses and the pets.

If I can’t find anything I’m heading to the mall that has Pet Smart in it and I’m sure I can find something there.

So far any of the soft horse brushes I’ve tried on her have too long a bristle to really get much hair off.

Thanks so much for all your suggestions and help.

[Houndhill]

If your dog is thin-skinned like a greyhound, some of the tools mentioned are going to be much too harsh. They have skin like Kleenex, mine would have gone through the roof with some of these things!

I had a very soft, nubby thing that was awesome, got out all his extra pointy little hairs that wanted to embed everywhere. Small and flexible enough for a little dog,
too. Trouble is, I have not seen one in ages.

Find out what the Italian Greyhound people use!

[rmh_rider]

I have Toy Manchester Terriers and they have the shortest hair out there, also it is not bunny soft, it is more on the stiff, coarse side, tight fur which lays down close close to the body.

I use a soft grooma.

Pretty much like this one

http://www.jefferspet.com/velvet-grooming-brush/camid/EQU/cp/56-N2/cn/2511/

and I use this one also

http://www.jefferspet.com/grooma-broadstroke-brush/camid/EQU/cp/13127/

[msj]

[QUOTE=rmh_rider;6685218]
I have Toy Manchester Terriers and they have the shortest hair out there, also it is not bunny soft, it is more on the stiff, coarse side, tight fur which lays down close close to the body.

I use a soft grooma.

Pretty much like this one

http://www.jefferspet.com/velvet-grooming-brush/camid/EQU/cp/56-N2/cn/2511/

and I use this one also

http://www.jefferspet.com/grooma-broadstroke-brush/camid/EQU/cp/13127/[/QUOTE]

Hum, I have the broad stroke one, the 2nd one you showed, at the barn. Will try that.

I did find a brush at Pet Smart on Black Friday and that seems to be OK too.

I saw the National Dog Show on TV and my little girl is a mix of Chinese Shar-Pei and terrier. After watching the terrier division, I decided the terrier part was probably the Manchester terrier due to the build and appearance.

[SAcres]

I’ve used the shedding blocks on my cats and they work very very well for that. I imagine they would work for your dog too!

[My_Two_Cents]

I just went to Walmart and bought a cheap people hair brush. Worked fine.

[msj]

[QUOTE=My Two Cents;6686025]
I just went to Walmart and bought a cheap people hair brush. Worked fine.[/QUOTE]

No way am I going into Wally World until after New Years!!!