The Undercoat Is Gone!!!!!!!!

[vacation1]

After reading about undercoat rakes on that recent thread about dog groomers, I googled around and saw a YouTube video about grooming collies. They mentioned slicker brushes, and how to use them. I went out and bought both and now, at last, my dog has been freed from her undercoat. The pads on her hindquarters, the lumps on her ribs - all gone. She’s sleek and lovely. Still a shaggy, furry dog but that excess feather-fine layer underneath is thinned down appropriately at long last.

And all it took was a $9 slicker brush, a small, round one, from Petco. I took a week, because Dog has arthritis and doesn’t love standing for long periods, and went over her in small areas. And took off a ton of hair. The undercoat rake did some good too, but I swear, that slicker and I will never be parted:lol: How did I not know about this before?:no:

[GraceLikeRain]

Lol. I’m sorry you just now discovered it. Slicker brushes are my favorite for dogs blowing out their coat (flea combs are also nice for targeting small areas).

I bet she will be much more comfortable this summer and you’ll be a lot happier without having to chase down undercoat tumbleweeds.

[Hannahsmom]

Where’s my like button? Good for you for figuring out the right grooming tool

[LauraKY]

Interesting…I’ve always been told to never use (and haven’t), a slicker brush on a collie. It breaks the hairs on the coat. I use an undercoat comb to get the undercoat out. I will use a pin brush with the protective coating on the ends.

[Bicoastal]

Slicker brushes and ‘brush burn’

Vacation1, that is awesome! Any before and after pics?

I do not like the slicker. I have never seen a dog tolerate it without pain (though clearly vacation’s was fine). Maybe other dogs’ dislike was due to amateur zeal, poor quality, and brush burn The bristles are painful to my touch and leave the skin red. Even the noise it makes sounds painful :no:.

Having said that, is this a brush I need? Does it reduce overall grooming time? My current regimen several times a week to get the undercoat out:

1. Spray ShowSheen or a custom conditioner and massage in
2. Comb -with long tines and widely spaced teeth- paying extra attention to culottes, ruff, thighs, and behind elbows
3. Repeat comb -with shorter tines and closely spaced teeth-
4. Pin brush body and extra attention areas
5. Fine comb ear and leg fringe
   — that is a lot of strokes which I now worry over thanks to COTH teaching me about brush burn :o

My breeder, an experienced and successful handler, uses slickers (like on fringe & mats) but this inexperienced amateur frowns on them. Is my time-intensive routine satisfactory for a pet? Or is the slicker a tool I truly need? I want to break down my dog’s negative associations with grooming and make the process at least not scary and neutral.

[Emryss]

I’m not scared of a slicker, and I haven’t brush-burned a dog in forever. (The few times I did, I was a beginner and the dog was severely matted.) You don’t touch the skin - you just go down enough to grab some undercoat and flick it up and out, from top of the coat down to the depths, one section at a time. It takes a little practice, but you can get down to the skin without actually touching the skin.

A slicker does reduce time spent brushing, and it grabs double the volume of coat a pin brush will. As a matter of fact, I prefer a slicker over a pin brush that has those little knobs on the tips - those knobs snag and break coat more easily than a slicker will, in my experience. The difference is, you can’t get as vigorous with a pin brush as with a slicker - it’s just not as ergonomic. (For those curious, I like Madan pin brushes - no coat-breaking tips. The tips are ground and polished. My younger son, who has texture issues, snagged one for himself - that’s how nice they are.)

I doubt you will brush-burn your dog with your routine. You’d have to dig pretty hard and spend a long time in one spot with your tools. Even with a slicker, you sound like the methodical type that won’t burn your dog.

You might try a soft slicker (Chris Christensen makes the best, but they are $$$) and see if it suits you. In my opinion, though, what works, works.

[vacation1]

[QUOTE=Bicoastal;6222150]
I do not like the slicker. I have never seen a dog tolerate it without pain (though clearly vacation’s was fine). Maybe other dogs’ dislike was due to amateur zeal, poor quality, and brush burn The bristles are painful to my touch and leave the skin red. Even the noise it makes sounds painful :no:.[/QUOTE]

I always thought slicker brushes looked brutal, with those short, sharp bristles. But the way it was used in the YouTube video made sense - like a curry comb on a horse, kind of scuffing out the loosened-but-not-totally-free hair; it wasn’t pressed down and into the skin. I did take it very easy at first, and only did a little bit at a time, in very small areas that were less sensitive, like her hindquarters. Apart from some protests when I was cack-handed and tried to brush through a big area of hair instead of taking it in parts, she doesn’t seem to mind the slicker more than the pin brush.

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=vacation1;6223464]
I always thought slicker brushes looked brutal, with those short, sharp bristles. But the way it was used in the YouTube video made sense - like a curry comb on a horse, kind of scuffing out the loosened-but-not-totally-free hair; it wasn’t pressed down and into the skin. [/QUOTE]

Can you share a link to this video?

[vacation1]

It’s here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2qMrsvKx0c&feature=relmfu

[Emryss]

@vacation1;6225656

It’s here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2qMrsvKx0c&feature=relmfu

I watched the first few minutes and grinned - she’s doing pretty much what I do. I approve.

Her “pin brush” is just a different kind of rake, though.

“There’s no real trick to this…it is just work.” :yes: Yep.

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=vacation1;6225656]
It’s here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2qMrsvKx0c&feature=relmfu[/QUOTE]

Thanks!

There is a grooming noose and a dedicated second person holding Collie up while she goes at it with the slicker. The dog repeatedly tries to sit down -probably an evasion- while she works on the hind.

The way the skin is snapping/moving from the pull of the brush, my 10lb fluffball would be thrown across the room! I did not see this as a technique I can use.

[RaeHughes]

When I need to groom my collies (in between visits to their dog groomer :)), I use a horse’s curry-comb, a rake and then i get into the wide-tooth and narrow-tooth combs.

Albeit I use the same on the labs as well. People seriously under-estimate how much grooming labs need - my groomer reckons they are “hairier” than the collies and take 50% time more to groom 'cause their coats are so dense

[Emryss]

@Bicoastal;6226486

The way the skin is snapping/moving from the pull of the brush, my 10lb fluffball would be thrown across the room! I did not see this as a technique I can use.

The technique is the same…you just have to modify for size.

[LauraKY]

You really want to look at part 4 of 5. It’s line combing…which is how I get out the undercoat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjNNh_1iNWY&feature=relmfu

[candysgirl]

I’m a groomer and while I don’t groom show dogs, I do groom a fair number of collies and other similar large, hairy breeds. I use a slicker brush on all of them. If its damaging their coats, it certainly isn’t enough for the average pet owner to notice or care about. I’m not sure what show people use, but I groom a rough collie every two weeks. I use a slicker and a Mars comb (see below) on him every single time to keep his undercoat under control.

I use a hard slicker brush on just about every dog that comes across my table. Yes, they can be very harsh on the skin if you rake it really hard, but they are one of the most effective tools on dense or tangled hair.

I also cannot live without my Mars comb. http://www.groomersmall.com/coat_kings.htm It really gets all the way down to the skin and pulls out all that dead coat.

[LauraKY]

I didn’t think I was crazy. I checked with all my collie friends. They all line comb. They will use slickers on a pet, never on a show dog because it breaks the coat.