[ Post a Response | Ripley's Retreat ]
Posted by Chinook's mom on 6/26/2008, 5:09 pm, in reply to "Summer cuts...WHY?"
Unfortunately, there is a huge difference between correct Aussie coat and the soft fluffy monstrosities that are inflicted on innocent dogs and their people.
I love correct coat. It lies flat, it's shiny and hard, and dirt and burrs slide right off. The undercoat comes in just as winter hits, and falls out just before the hottest summer months. Give 'em a good brushing once a week to remove dead coat and remove any mats that might have formed (unlikely), trim the feet (maybe) and you're set. My Belgian has correct coat and that's all I need to do. I get complimented all the time on what a wonderful job I do with his coat.
Then there's Chinook. Luckily, it sounds like he does not have as much undercoat as Nickel, though with him it's hard to tell what's guard hairs and what's undercoat. His hairs have an almost supernatural ability to stick to everything, including itself. It is a constant, losing battle against mats with him.
Pin brushes leave too much of the dead hair behind, and while combs can be effective, it takes a good hour or more to do his entire body because I have to go so slow. The Mars Coat King somehow ends up snagging and pulling his hair, very painful with little effect.
I've found the "best" way to groom him is to "hand-strip" him like a terrier: I take a clump of his fur, and gently pull at it to remove the dead hair. I keep plucking either until Chinook is too annoyed or I have too much hair in my mouth and eyeballs to continue. I finish off with a pin brush so he doesn't look like he is about to explode in a flurry of fur.
The boyz went for a good run this morning along a sandy/muddy forest trail with repeated plunges into the creek running next to it, which afterward required a 2-minute brushing for Cuan and an hour of careful brushing, combing, plucking, consolation cookie-feeding, a little scissoring, and some more plucking and brushing for Chinook.
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