Need LOTS of Advice

[mantine]

OK, I am taking on a nice little dog grooming project. My dad and his fiance own 3 big dogs. A Great Pyranees, St. Bernard and a Newfoundland/chow mix, they are outside dogs and always matted, they do so much for us I told them I would take on the grooming of their dogs. I hate to see them all matted, I know this can be painful for them so Its my goal to keep them brushed and trimmed properly. Its a good time to start because the great Pyr was just shaved bald (in my post about the Furbuster brush I explained that the groomer must have had their 2 year old do the grooming, he looks awful and my dad was pissed, it was thru a vet and he will never be returning there) but at least he is mat free and clean, and the other 2 just had baths. I would love any advice on good websites to go to for learning how to keep these 3 dogs in shape, any advice you all may have, how often should they be brushed so on and so forth.

ETA: Also if anyone knows of a good website to see all the different types of brushes out there and the purpose for them and how to properly use them.

Thanks so much for helping me and the 3 doggies.

[IcyHound]

The main tool I would use is an undercoat rake. The coat on these dogs is not hard to take care of most of the time. It is during the shed that there is a problem.

A pin brush and an undercoat rake are all you need. As well as a lot of time. They are not used to being groomed so set reasonable goals for yourself. Do a quarter of the dog at a time. Things like the ruff should be an entire project in itself.

Make life easy for yourself. Clip the hair behind the ears short on the pyr and newf. You will know what I mean because it will constantly develop into a small balled matt.

Once the dogs are fully brushed out, its just a matter of maintaince every few weeks or so to clear out the dead hair that is caught.

[The King Pup]

Here's a great page I found which gives specific grooming advice by breed:

http://www.petgroomer.com/groomingbasics101.htm

[grab01]

Also, if you have any access to a forced air dryer (I use the one at the local self service dog wash for a very small fee) they're a godsend for heavy coated dogs. The dryer really gets the loose undercoat (which can cause tangles/matting when not brushed out) out. Otherwise, as said, a pin brush and an undercoat rake. I also like a metal comb for areas like behind the ears and the back of the 'ankles'.

[jv17]

http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/do...g-grooming.cfm
here's mine..i use to visit this page once in a while..

[Gena]

The main two brushes we use on mom's pyrs and saint are an undercoat rake that looks like this (picture from groomers.com) and a dematting rake that looks like this (picture from petedge.com). We killed a lot of pin brushes so we gave up on them. The rakes do a lot more with a lot less effort IME.

I'm sure you know to brush before bathing to get the matts and tangles out. It is a shame they shaved the pyr! Watch him for sunburn since he has no coat to protect his fair skin. Someone else mentioned a high velocity dryer. Those are FANTASTIC! We use them to blow the dogs off after brushing to get rid of what we've loosened. If you can build a table of some sort so the dog is more at your level while grooming it will be much easier on your back. Oh, and there is a product called "The Stuff" that is a detangling spray that you spray on after a bath but before drying. It also helps dirt and gunk from getting as caught in their fur. Expensive, but very very worth it.

[youbetcha1018]

Well I would buy a dog grooming kit at walmart for nails, and get clippers for like $20. But I would also get a muzzle for like $5 as this is will make it a lot easier to work with the dog.

[corgi_love]

Just an FYI, it's really not a good idea to shave a Newfoundland because their fur protects them from sunburns and such. Why do they have to longhair dogs and not brush them? Maybe you should give them some brushing tips to avoid further pain for the dogs.

[eagerbeaver24]

If you want you can learn to groom your pets like a professional witha few lessons on a distance learning course like on http://www.inst.org/dog-grooming-courses/index.htm , or you can google dog grooming courses if you like. Great job on grooming them yourself, kudos to you!