# What is the best brush for a GSD?



## rapnek74

I have tried a couple different types of brushes but I am not happy with any of them. 

Any ideas? I'm tired of all this brushing and not seeing any results.


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## onyx'girl

I like an undercoat rake, that is what I use mostly. For the tender areas a bristle brush works well. 
I don't feel that a furminator is necessary, though others love it. To remove so much of the fur that is there for a reason, to me seems unhealthy. When they are blowing coat, though is another story.
My dogs do not really shed as I see many other GSD's doing, if I run my hand down their back, I never come up w/ a handful of loose fur. I think it is the RAW diet, eggs and oil supplements that helps w/ such a healthy coat.
BTW, I don't bathe them often either, that can add to the unnatural shedding.


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## listening.eyes

Great question!! Im going to try a soft bristle brush sometime this week.I tried some other kinds and my GSD acts like im brushing him with rusty razors,lol he whines and bites it and carries on.And I dont even press down,but I figured a soft bristle brush would gently brush off the fur and be soft enough to feel good.I will let you know how it goes...wish me luck!! lol


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## GSDSunshine

What have you tried? lol Not being short, just don't want to recommend something and you have already tried it. I would say the furminator... but I know some people are not fans.


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## Samba

I use a rake to remove undercoat. After the coat is kinda brushed through, I use a metal comb to really get it groomed. When blow drying, I use a pin brush for fluffing. 

I don't use the fuminator. Hated what it did to the hair. If you do want to really get at the shedding, I use a Mars Coat King with 10 blades. It is really nice, but you can end up with a bald dog if you do it too much.


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## rapnek74

I don't know what they are called... One is a regular brush with polymer looking bristles.... 1000's of them. One is a short skinny steel brush with a couple hundred of them I would guess. They are short (1/2 inch) and about the size of angle hair spaghetti. (Yes I am hungry) The last is one of the undercoat brushes... Or that's what I was told when I was buying it. They are pretty long... maybe a 1/2 inch and they come to a point at the bottom. 

I have seen one that is 2 rows of bristles like the undercoat brush... I have also seen one with 1 row that spins when you pull it through the coat. 

The furminator is like $50 here. Didn't want to spend that kind of money for something I don't know works.

Trauma is shedding like mad. He should be hairless by now. We usually brush him a couple of times a week. We have to vacuum a several times a week and could do it every day. 

He didn't shed much at all until he was about 8 months old. Now it's a never ending shed. I have never seen nothing like it in my life. 

Is there any tricks to this thing? I feel like hooking him up to the vacuum cleaner and letting him wear it on his back. His hair is every where. I keep a blanket on the back seats in my truck and if I roll all 4 windows down while riding you are blinded by the amount of hair flying around.


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## Samba

Feed a good food, groom a lot, I use doggie blow dryer outside when I can. But, still, mine remain decidedly German Shedders.

If I am getting a big undercoat blow, I do get as much undercoat with brush as possible, then bath. During the bath I use a conditioner as this will really help loosen undercoat. Then the blow dry, and a hurricane of hair. Often this loosens more so a second round is sometimes needed to really finish within a couple weeks. This lasts quite awhile with mine but if I fall down on regular brush and comb, we need it sooner.


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## rapnek74

You mean Ol' Roy is not a good food? The guy at Walmart said it was the bomb!


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## onyx'girl

Trauma may be losing that puppy undercoat, I know Karlo had a bit of an undercoat shed at 8 mos, I think he was also getting in the winter undercoat(which is denser) as well. 
Seasonal temp change, location, humidity or lack of, may be the reason, or a change in diet.
If Trauma continues to shed unnaturally, I would get a vet check(thyroid) to be sure it isn't medical.


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## Samba

My pup is 8 months and doesn't have much to shed. He hasn't put in any appreciable undercoat yet. I did work hard to get his puppy coat out though. Maybe it is the loss of the puppy fuzz you are experiencing? I did grooming and baths and with the conditioner a lot of loose puppy fuzz when down the drain over the months.


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## rapnek74

I don't want to talk about bath time... I have been told if I bath him one more time in the house I will be finding a new home. Like you said, when I put the conditioner on him that's when the hair really seems to break loose. The more I rub my hands through his hair the more hair I get. I only bath him about once a month to a month and a half. We did it together time before last but I did it by myself last time, without permission. You know how those women can be when they come home and find their bathroom is dirty. 

I watched the video on the Furminator... Amazing but are you really suppose to get that much hair off a dog?


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## onyx'girl

Karlo has only had one bath in his life... He is very soft, and has no doggy odor at all. Though his nose is always dirty!!
And no I don't think you should remove that much hair, unless they are blowing their coat. They have a coat for a reason, to protect them from heat and cold. To remove it unnaturally is just not right, IMO.


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## rapnek74

The Ol' Roy was a joke... Thought I better clear that up before I get the bad parent look from some people. 

I feed EVO... Only treats he gets are pig ears or bully sticks. 

At this point I would just about be ready to do anything if I thought it was the food or treats. I am switching to the EVO fish. It's got a good bit more Omega 3 in it. Thought that may help with coat???? I am going to start mixing in a little tomorrow. I have about 2 weeks worth of the Red Meat EVO left.


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## rapnek74

> Originally Posted By: onyx'girlKarlo has only had one bath in his life... He is very soft, and has no doggy odor at all. Though his nose is always dirty!!
> And no I don't think you should remove that much hair, unless they are blowing their coat. They have a coat for a reason, to protect them from heat and cold. To remove it unnaturally is just not right, IMO.


Trauma has a bad habit of trying to play in any mud he can find. He doesn't have an odor so to say... Smells like any other dog. I just have never owned a dog that required this much grooming. When you talk to a groomer they want a ton of money to touch him and then you have to get on a list. I don't know anything about keeping his coat up other than the brushing part... and according to the amount of hair he has I am not too good at it. I see all kinds of sprays and waterless shampoos but I don't know what to get or what not to get. All the stuff to stop the tangled hair... Just confuses me more.


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## Samba

I bath dogs a lot and show them often. Proper bathing and grooming actually keeps the coat turning over nicely and improves quality. You have to use the right products. 

Now the bathing in the house is a problem! Is there a place where you can pay to bath the dog yourself? We have those "do it yourself" stations going in around here. 

I have to help many people who have their GSDs in the house try to tackle the problem. The Furminator does remove hair and so does the Mars Coat King. A powerful dog blow dryer can put a lot of it into the air outside.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN

http://www.petedge.com has good prices. 

I use the rake and the comb too. It is amazing what you can get with the comb after you think you have everything. It's a large, stainless, fairly big toothed comb. 

I'll use a Zoom groom kind of as a massager/way to get the hair moving. 

I have a Furminator that I use on some dogs, in some places. 

If I am going to do a bath, I like them to go to the groomer and I bring Earth Bath shampoos. I feel like she gets more of the coat out, I just kind of wash dead hair. I like them to go 1x a year for a good grooming, and then I do maybe 1 other unless more is needed. I will use Kiehl's or Earthbath wipes/no water wash stuff. 

And hair makes me skeeve so...not sure why I like my dogs so much!


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## Samba

The Furminator people make a good shampoo and conditioner for removing hair. 

I am a nut for dog coats so I love products. I like Miracle Coat shampoo really well too. The dang Isle of Dog products are wonderful but quite pricey. 

I forgot that after undercoat rake and then comb, I also use a slicker brush to pick up loose hairs.


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## rapnek74

I don't know what a dog blow dryer is... I use Susie's hair dryer. 

I hate to take too much hair off him. He stays inside with us but we do go for walks/runs and it get's cold up here from time to time. 

Trauma has a cowlick... or that's what I call it right about his hips in the middle of his back. It stands up all the time. Anything you can do to make that lay down or am I out of luck?


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## Samba

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


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## Raziel

I have like a "rake" brush
AHAH
Its like metal & looks like a small rake.
Sorry, dont know what its called.


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## rapnek74

I have one of these..... http://www.petedge.com/product/Grooming/...c/276/43794.uts

One of these..... http://www.petedge.com/product/Grooming/...c/276/43791.uts

And one of these..... http://www.petedge.com/product/Grooming/...c/276/44209.uts


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## MajicForest

I use a german rake and a regular spiked human hair brush.
mine hardly ever get a bath
I feed Flint River Fish and Potato and the dogs smell great and hardly shed.
when they do blow coat, I sit on the floor with the vacuum noozle next to me, comb and rake.


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## Samba

You have some good tools. Maybe get a metal dog comb with fairly wide teeth spacing. One end wil be wide, the other closer.
The final going over with the comb really helps.


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## Elaine

I use only two tools: an undercoat rake and a soft rubber curry.


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## Northern GSDs

I also only use a rake and metal tooth comb. Works like a charm - rake 1st then comb. Amazing tools, esp the comb.


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## Martie

I use a metal comb with narrow tooth spacing for Luther, who has a coat length somewhere between short and a full stock coat. If he is shedding heavily, I lightly go over him with a slicker brush first. 

For us, the key is to groom very often - almost every day here - and to feed a good food. Only takes a few minutes and rarely gets any tough spots that way. 

We get plenty of hair out each time, which we save for Grandpa's garden (he says it keeps deer away), and do plenty of vacuuming.


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## AbbyK9

I primarily use the undercoat rake on my Abby, who has a plushy coat, and then finish up with a soft brush to add a little bit of shine. During heavy shedding season, I also use the Furminator to help thin out the hair.

For my Malinois, I pretty much just use a soft brush because she has a very tight coat. She also doesn't shed nearly as much as my GSD.


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## Jax08

I like the rubber Zoom Groom.


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## smyke

We got one of these (puppy coming home in a week) at the dog show. Paid $20 for it and hope it was worth it. now I see similar stuff at Walmart for $5.









http://www.ccpdogs.ie/images/276-098.jpg


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## Jax08

Any rubber curry would do the same job. 

I have a rake, slicker brush, deshedder adn I think the one that works the best is the zoom groom. It's not as harsh on their skin so they aren't squirming and doesn't pull hair. And after I use that then I take a regular fine took comb and gently rake it thru to get the hair the zoom groom loosened.


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## mjbgsd

These are my three favorite tools.


















The first one is the main one I use and I HIGHLY recommend anyone to buy one. The 16mm pinbrush was like it was made for the shepherd's coat. I bought this a long time ago at a show and it still looks brand new. It will take the dead hair out so cleanly that your dog will hardly shed, at least my dogs hardly shed because all the dead hair comes out with this brush.

The second one is there just in case there are knots in the tail or around the neck, etc. 

The last one, the rake, is there when they are blowin coat like crazy.


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## sunnygirl272

I have a rake, a Furminator, and a self-cleaning big slicker type thing from Target. Use them all, depending on what my needs are...


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## Cassidy's Mom

I LOVE my undercoat rake! It's pretty much all I use, and it works great on my longcoat dogs, my Maine **** kitties, and today I used it to clean the cat tree, lol!


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## onyx'girl

I use it on the carpet where the cat lays. It pulls the hair right up,where the vac doesn't reach. Undercoat rakes rock!

Smyke, for a baby puppy a slickerbrush works good, that one you posted would be a bit harsh on his tender skin til the pup gets the thicker adult coat in.


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## Cassidy's Mom

Jane - yes! The cats' fur sticks to the carpet on the cat tree like it's glued there. I've tried vacuuming it, but it does nothing. Maybe if I cleaned the cat tree more than once a year....


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## Kruzayn

I havent used it yet (I get my puppy in a few weeks), but I was recommended this double row undercoat rake: http://www.petedge.com/product/Master-Grooming-Tools-Ergonomic-Double-Row-Undercoat-Rake/44175.uts


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