# Dumb grooming question



## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

Can you brush your dog too often? I brush Ranger for 10 to 15 minutes every 1 to 2 days. I use a rake and get a bunch of fur out everytime so now I am wondering if my brushing habit is actually encouraging fur growth and increasing shedding in the long run?

See, I told you it was a dumb question.


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

Not at all  I also brush my dog daily and I use a rake also (after a massage with a rubber curry comb, then the rake, then a body brush). My dog enjoys it and it keeps his coat looking nice. I'd rather do it daily and have less hair to pick up, as it is going to grow and shed regardless.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

Mary Beth said:


> Not at all  I also brush my dog daily and I use a rake also (after a massage with a rubber curry comb, then the rake, then a body brush). My dog enjoys it and it keeps his coat looking nice. I'd rather do it daily and have less hair to pick up, as it is going to grow and shed regardless.



Thanks! I will have to look up "rubber curry comb" and "body brush". Do you remmeber where you got them?


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I got one at Petco on sale. They were discontinuing them.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

The question makes sense. To be honest I don't brush mine often at all, more during shedding time but still not even weekly and the coats are great. I mainly try to remove the dead fur. Someone recommended the equigroomer(I think that is the name). I ordered it and used it the other day, it worked great and the dogs liked it.


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

Rangers_mom said:


> Thanks! I will have to look up "rubber curry comb" and "body brush". Do you remmeber where you got them?


At a farm equipment store like Tractor Supply, Runnings, Fleet Farm in the pony & goat supply area. They can be ordered online from Valley Vet and KV Vet Supply. They are smaller than the full size ones used for horses. I use the curry comb in circular motions light to medium pressure to loosen the hair and to massage. Then the rake. Then the body brush, I brush in the direction of the coat with soft smooth strokes. I use a dog comb to clean the hair out the body brush but a regular wide tooth comb would work also.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

llombardo said:


> The question makes sense. To be honest I don't brush mine often at all, more during shedding time but still not even weekly and the coats are great. I mainly try to remove the dead fur. Someone recommended the equigroomer(I think that is the name). I ordered it and used it the other day, it worked great and the dogs liked it.


I just really started brushing everyday in the past month or 2, ever since it warmed up and I started working in the garden everyday. I just started adding brushing to my daily routine while Ranger was out there with me. Prior to that i would brush roughly once a week. It doesn't seem that Ranger's coat is any nicer since I started brushing everyday. He had a really nice coat and he still does. But I am amazed that no matter how often I brush I seem to get an amazing amount of fur out everytime. That is what got me to wondering if the daily brushing was stimulating hair growth and making things worse.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

Mary Beth said:


> At a farm equipment store like Tractor Supply, Runnings, Fleet Farm in the pony & goat supply area. They can be ordered online from Valley Vet and KV Vet Supply. They are smaller than the full size ones used for horses. I use the curry comb in circular motions light to medium pressure to loosen the hair and to massage. Then the rake. Then the body brush, I brush in the direction of the coat with soft smooth strokes. I use a dog comb to clean the hair out the body brush but a regular wide tooth comb would work also.



Thanks. I'll check it out.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

Update (as if you care)

It is now a month or so later and I can say without a doubt that daily brushing has made his coat gorgeous. We went on vacation for 10 days so he did not get brushed then. When I got home I noticed that his fur was getting very thick and fluffy again especially around his neck. I have been home about a week and daily brushing has gotten it under control again. His fur is so sleek and soft now. I have also noticed that I can pet and hug him without getting covered in fur. My experiment in daily brushing is a big success.


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## MoxyPup (Jun 12, 2016)

Thank you for your dumb question. I had it too. :grin2:


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Varik has a pretty tight coat (has a battle ruff though) and he is shedding like crazy now since hot weather has arrived here in Texas (and a million percent humidity it seems like). I can brush a guinea pig sized pile of hair out of him every day. I worry that with his short coat, he'll be bald if he keeps shedding like this!


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

Galathiel said:


> Varik has a pretty tight coat (has a battle ruff though) and he is shedding like crazy now since hot weather has arrived here in Texas (and a million percent humidity it seems like). I can brush a guinea pig sized pile of hair out of him every day. I worry that with his short coat, he'll be bald if he keeps shedding like this!



It has been really hot and humid here in Philadelphia as well. I know it is not as bad as Texas but still the 90's and high humidity are still very unpleasant. When I started this experiement I was getting a ton of fur everyday. That lasted about a month. Now I still get a lot of fur each day but it is not nearly as much as I used to get. Now Ranger really does look and feel beautiful.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

MoxyPup said:


> Thank you for your dumb question. I had it too. :grin2:


Thanks for confirming that I am not the only one with some crazy questions.


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## Bramble (Oct 23, 2011)

As long are you aren't irritating the skin or using a lot of force daily brushing won't hurt. I wouldn't use any of the furminator type tools daily because these are meant to strip out dead hair and can damage the top coat. I've had double coated breeds come in with their top coat all choppy because the owner used a furminator. They keep getting fur so keep "brushing" and often end up cutting the coat. I personally just use them on terriers or spaniels to remove the dead undercoat. For shepherds I prefer an undercoat rake, curry type brush, and slicker that will just remove the loose undercoat and not damage the top coat. If they have mates I will use a dematting tool to break them up and brush them out.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

Bramble said:


> As long are you aren't irritating the skin or using a lot of force daily brushing won't hurt. I wouldn't use any of the furminator type tools daily because these are meant to strip out dead hair and can damage the top coat. I've had double coated breeds come in with their top coat all choppy because the owner used a furminator. They keep getting fur so keep "brushing" and often end up cutting the coat. I personally just use them on terriers or spaniels to remove the dead undercoat. For shepherds I prefer an undercoat rake, curry type brush, and slicker that will just remove the loose undercoat and not damage the top coat. If they have mates I will use a dematting tool to break them up and brush them out.


Thanks for the advice. I don't really like the furminator so I don't use it. It irritates me that I spent so much money on it and I don't even like it. I use a rake. I think I am being gentle enough because Ranger seems to enjoy it. He just sits there as long as I am willing to brush him.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I have a love hate relationship with my furminator. It works to well but I never know if I am over doing it. Worries me less on my heavier coated dog. I don't use it that often because it makes me nervous. I prefer curry comb and pin brush but I do have to brush kind of aggressively with the pin brush to get the undercoat out.....


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## maxtmill (Dec 28, 2010)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> I have a love hate relationship with my furminator. It works to well but I never know if I am over doing it. Worries me less on my heavier coated dog. I don't use it that often because it makes me nervous. I prefer curry comb and pin brush but I do have to brush kind of aggressively with the pin brush to get the undercoat out.....


I also have a love- hate relationship with the Furminator tools. I used a small one on my Ragdoll cat's britches only, when he seemed to be in a shedding period. I used one on my shepherd, again ONLY on the britches during a heavy shed just to remove the fluffy white undercoat -if used too vigorously or too often, it will destroy your pet's coat. I still prefer using an equine shedding blade on any shepherds I have had.


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## Bramble (Oct 23, 2011)

I like slickers with longer pins that reach past the top coat to grab the undercoat. Tuffer The Tangles works well, though I have moved onto the Chris Christensen long pin slickers, high quality and doesn't irritate the skin like cheap slickers can. Best piece of equipment is my high velocity dryer to simple blast out loose undercoat and break up impacted undercoat. 

Furminator design is based off of a #40 blade which groomers will use to strip out dead coat on breeds that get hand stripped. Top coat and undercoat grow differently and damaging the top coat can mean that is does not grow back, or comes back very slowly. 

I was worried I'd have crazy shedding machine with Finn since he is a long coat, but he really isn't that bad. I brush him a 3-4 time a week, he loves it, and he seems to be tolerating the heat well. I do keep an eye on his britches since that is where I tend to see the most impacted undercoat, and the fluff behind his ears since he likes to stick his head into the burrs.


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