Grooming routine on big coats

[RBark]

So, I've recently started grooming Kobe myself rather than sending him out to a groomer. It's been at least 5 years since I've done it myself haha.

I'm wondering how you groomers deal with a thick double coat (Malamute-type, medium length).

I was under the impression that with a high velocity blow dryer, you could bath the dog to loosen up the fur, then use the blow dryer to blow the loose fur out. However this had an opposite effect.

All of Kobe's loose undercoat got tangled up in his topcoat rather than getting bl own out. As a result, I've spent the last few days having to comb him a little bit at a time, rather frustratingly and somewhat painfully for him, trying to comb out all the tangled mats under his coat.

My first thought is that I should have combed the bulk of the undercoat out before bathing and blow drying him to get rid of the rest. Which is fine with me. I'm just a little confused because I've been under the impression that my groomer just blew out most of the coat without combing him. So I may be doing it wrong or missing a step of some sort.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Upendi&Mina]

With Adele I generally use an undercoat rake and the dryer on her before I bath her and then throw her in the tub and then blow her out again.

 

[*blackrose]

You also have to be sure you're using the dryer correctly. There is a certain angle and distance to hold it to prevent it from really tangling that top coat and getting the undercoat out. Don't know what it is...but play around with how you're drying him and see how it helps.
Brushing with a rake while blowing is also a good idea.

 

[Emily]

You also have to be sure you're using the dryer correctly. There is a certain angle and distance to hold it to prevent it from really tangling that top coat and getting the undercoat out. Don't know what it is...but play around with how you're drying him and see how it helps.
Brushing with a rake while blowing is also a good idea.

This. Also, if he has a longer top coat, don't the rapid, back and forth zig zag pattern with the dryer - that works for shorter coats but not longer ones. Do looooong lines, mostly with the direction of the coat. At least IME.

 

[Fran101]

I do rake, blowdry, brush, bath (with zoom groom), blowdry again, and soft brush.
Does the job!

I have no blowdryring style lol just whatever seems to be working/makes my wrist hurt less.

 

[RBark]

It sounds like my mistake was mostly not brushing him before bathing. I will have to try that next time. Thanks!

 

[AmberD]

I don't generally brush before bathing unless I am trying to NOT make a mess. I will use the velocity dryer first to remove a lot of the loose coat and also forcing the rest of the dead coat away from the skin. Removing as much excess coat as possible before the bath (and loosening the rest) allows soap and water to better penetrate the coat and reach the skin - brushing or blowing, it's still beneficial. It also reduces the amount of coat you have to blow out later.

How were you holding the dryer? I'm guessing that has a lot to do with the tangles.

 

[Saintgirl]

I'm betting that the use of the dryer was what caused the tangles. Neither my huskyX or my Saint get a brush out before I groom them (and I own a grooming shop). I always use my HV dryer in the direction of their coat. So many people think that moving the dryer around will dry the dog quicker but typically you tangle the coat and push water from one area to another which actually takes longer to dry and makes much tighter tangles. If a dog has an impacted coat I use Chrome coat and that helps the undercoat slid right out! It also cuts your dry time down.

 

[ThreePs]

What dryer? Did you condition?

I know it's been a month. Have you tried again?

What dryer are you using? Maybe it is underpowered for the job. What conditioner did you use? How did you rinse?

 

[RBark]

I know it's been a month. Have you tried again?

What dryer are you using? Maybe it is underpowered for the job. What conditioner did you use? How did you rinse?

It's a husky coat, he doesn't need to be bathed more than 2-3 times a year. I've just been brushing weekly to stay on top of it. I used the Air Commander dryer, definitely not underpowered haha. I am fairly sure I just shouldn't have used the dryer without first removing most of his undercoat.

 

[samshine]

You are right

If the dog has loose undercoat you need to get most of that out before bathing. Also any tangles or matts need to come out because they will get worse after wetting. If there's a lot of coat packed in there, when you get it wet it basically becomes felt. You can either brush it out or use your blower to get it out before the bath.

With a malamute type coat, I doubt that it is long enough for the dryer to cause the tangles. Those are called whip knots, and if the ends of the hair starts folding in on itself as you are drying it can tangle. Then you need to back the dryer further away, and not flip it back and forth. My Samoyed girls that have a shorter working coat never had any problems with this, but a regular coated Samoyed would.

Oh, and your groomer surely had a dryer that was much much stronger than yours. A dryer so strong that it really can get out all that undercoat without brushing.