The Hairiest Dog in the World... grooming help!!!

I have a few questions...

First, how often do you bathe? I generally just brush after walks because I heard it's not great for their skin to bathe too often, and I didn't want to upset the balance. I might only actually give him a bath every two months or so.

Second, who clips? I really love Dougal's full coat, and I'm into a routine brushing it every day now but my God he is HAIRY. The worst parts are his armpits, which he won't let me brush. Usually because it does get knotted under there and obviously hurts when I brush! Also I worry about the hair interfering with his feet and his nails. I find it hard to find his dew claws for example! Is there any health reason to clip or should it be ok if he's regularly brushed??

Third, what sort of a brush do you use?

Finally, here he is in all his glory (we did trim his ears because they were just going into EVERYTHING! They're at a manageable length at the moment)


Punk rocker style...


Hairy legs

Heh heh, half teddy bear,half dog!
He's still got to grow some hair to catch up on my mother's dog parker.She wants to clip him, Dad says no!
All I can suggest is professional groomer about three or four times a year for washing and dematting.A good groomer can dematt without too much traum and hair loss.Personally I wouldn't trim him, he is a real looker with all that lovely feathering.
For my own lassie I think I'll get a drying coat for her as I wash her approx every three weeks.She's a real mudlark in the woods.
Sins

Ha Ha..and I thought my Pippin was hairy! Dougal looks so cute like a little teddybear.

Pippins underarms ara a nightmare the other areas that knot are his ears and bum.

I had to cut his bum hair quiet short as he used to suffer from colitis...no need to go into disgusting detail!

I usually brush everyday,bath every couple of months or so( thats the dogs not me!) and when I want to do underarms I wait until evening when he is lying beside me tired out then I use the comb and the scissors to cut out bad matts, he has so much hair you don't notice it missing and it grows back pretty quick.

I wouldn't trust any groomer with my dogs!

I'm still smiling at how hairy Dougal is...so cute.

Oh my goodness I LOVE him, send him over here for a big cuddle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lotsaluv: :lotsaluv: :lotsaluv:

Dougal has the sort of coat I worship from afar but know I couldn't cope with long term

I give my guys a proper bath every couple of months but I wash their feet and feathering at least twice a week because they tend to pee on them selves, I keep their 'trousers' short for the same reason

It is hard to tell from the pictures, but have you used something to strip out the dead hair? This is so much nicer looking than a shave down and it makes their fur glisten.

Good point Sandy. I've noticed that black & tans are sooo hairy!! My little black & tan foster a few months back had to be the hairest little girl I've ever seen. A furminator or mars coat king would help thin out his coat a bit. Jake hates having the knots at his backside combed, so I keep his backside trimmed. Easier on him and easier on me. When Abby (b&t foster) came to me she had horrible mats behind her front legs. My groomer cut them out and you'd never know she'd been trimmed. She was so hairy it all just blended in together.

Wow....Dougal is gorgeous!!! :lotsaluv: I have a 14 week old blk and tan and really really hope she gets really hairy like him.He is soooo handsome.....u lucky soul!LOL

My blenhiem is fairly hairy too and i also had the armpit problem with her so i trim under the arm pits with scissors when she sleeps on my lap on her back!I am sure her harness aids in the matts under her arm pits!!!

I brush twice a day religiously and esp after walks in the trails we go to. I bath once a month and try to stick to it....but seeing as she is blenhiem and has lots of white i sometimes have to rinse her in the shower if she is really dirty.

I use a sensitive pin slicker brush and a comb....and any knots I just cut with scissors.Although Lucie hates being brushed.....alot!!!

I also trim between the toes and the hair on the bottom of her feet as she slides along the laminate with it.....infact she went to the groomers for a "trim" and asked to take very little from her feet and I collected her 2 hours later with NO SLIPPERS around her feet....i so wanted to cry but hopefully it wont be long till they are bak


Oh and a wee bit of perfume doesnt go a miss too take away the doggie smell!!! lol

Oh, Dougal has a lovely fluffy-foofy coat! He is adorable.

OMG - Dougal is sooooo cute! Id love to give him a big squeeze

I think his paws in the last picture are hilarious - he's such a big furmonster :lotsaluv:

I would fid it very hard to resist cuddling him all day long :lol:

I must look into a furminator or that other thing you mentioned Cathy.
I wonder if you can buy them over here? I'm sure they're available on the internet anyway.

Ste, luckily he doesn't pee on himself, that I know of!! He usually squats as he's been neutered, and when he does cock the leg he's pretty good with his aim Thank goodness for small mercies, eh?! :lol:

:w*w: I LOVE his coat! His legs are just adorable! I have a 9 month old B/T and his coat is much thicker than Miles' coat. His slippers are really long too - he's going to be a little furry monster pretty soon. I wouldn't trim Dougal if you didn't have too...I just love their long coats, but I know it's a lot of work to keep them clean and tangle-free. I bathe my boys every 2-3 weeks and brush/comb them every other days. I use a straight metal comb or a pin brush...

My Ruby boy has fur like that , that I attribute to being neutered. My black and tan has a wash and wear coat, needs very little brushing. About twice a year, I take Graham to the groomer and tell her I can't stand it . He ends up looking like a cocker spaniel (that is her breed) but it's sooooooo much easier for many months.

before

after (the one on the left)

I feel your pain. Holly is shocking that way too. Amber's coat is much thinner and would be of the 'wash and wear' kind if it weren't for her habit of chewing her hair. I have to admit they're both clipped at the moment - Amber more so than Holly, since oddly Holly has a lot of coat but its silky more than anything and it doesn't knot anywhere near as badly.

Try the furminator and if that doesn't work get him clipped - but tell them exactly what you want! I personally rather like the skinny look (for a while) and it's certainly easier. If you have a dog with really long ear leathers then it looks cute cos they look like puppies again. But if you do that it's really better to get it done all over rather than in bits if that makes sense.

Daisy Boo has exactly the same coat and it is just unmanageable. I would never have sent her to the groomer but nowadays it's a necessity - she is just too hairy. About twice a year I get her groomed professionally. I ask them to take all the hair on her legs including her feet because everything gets caught in them. I also get a trim aroung the rear end and a groomer can generally comb out the knots under their arms. I think it's easier when they are tied up on the grooming table. She was just done on Saturday and I can tell she feels great. Word of warning though, they look really weird for the first few days because the legs look so skinny. The hair and slippers grow back though and they look fine after about a week.

Yes, sanitary clip is a must for hairy dogs, I think!!! Otherwise the back end just gets so matted and ewww... Smelly too sometimes, I find with Holly. Much easier to keep them fresh and clean if they're short there - especially if you have a dog with a tendency to tummy trouble.

What a mars coat king can do

http://www.groomersmall.com/ck_results.htm

and yes you can buy them in the uk but make sure you have the right disk number.

I love his hair-- he is just the cutest little guy ever! I wouldn't trim it, but that's coming from another owner of a super hairy girl who leaves her au naturale. Daisy's tummy feathers touch the ground when she walks, and her leg feathers are about 8 inches long (or maybe more)! I love it.

I've had more than one Cavalier puppy owner say "Oh my gosh! Is my (insert puppy name here)'s hair going to get that long?!! Although I'm never sure if it's a compliment (I suspect not), I always think "Only if you're lucky!" I think Daisy's a glamour girl and I wouldn't trim her for the world. Her hair doesn't tangle too badly, though, so it might not be as thick or as fluffy as your little guy's. I give her a good brushing about every other day and that keeps the tangles managed pretty well.

When she lays down, her feathers go out on all sides and lay flat out on the floor. I always think she looks like a little Lhasa or something when she lays like that. My husband calls her "the mop." I'll have to try to get a picture of her doing that.

Mars coat King works great on the black/tan coat-I use this on Annie and it makes a nice grooming. Using a thinning shears also does wonders for the heavy coat, I esp like to use this on her ears, hips and rump. The thinning shears I use infrequently, the Coat King fairly often it seems.

I much prefer them hairy too and it breaks our hearts to cut it. However, the weather is just so bad here that she gets soaked every time she goes out and she drags allsorts back in with her coat. Plus, we have a baby crawling around now too so anything that helps towards keeping the floor clean is a must.