# What is the best way to groom my Portuguese water dog mix?



## MrJohnFWilliams (Sep 20, 2010)

I have a Portuguese water dog mix and since we had a baby we haven't had the money to get him groomed regularly and he has a lot of matts. I'm taking him to the groomer to get him cleaned up then I want to do the maintenance, only taking him back to the groomer as needed. After spending a couple hours searching and then reading through several various grooming forums I found I like this one.

What's the best equipment for the money to do the job and how is the best way to go about grooming him? I plan on standing in the next trip to the groomer to ask a few questions, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend yet. We usually just have him shaved fairly short (1/2" as most) since we don't brush him as much as he needs to be and he in indoors 24/7 other than trips to the park if the weather is nice, we live in the Midwest. I also have an American Eskimo Husky, but his coat looks great all the time and when it starts to look flat or dirty we brush him good. Our PWG just gets dirty so fast it's easiest to keep his coat short. Also I was wondering how great of a product the "Furminator" is, if it's the right tool for my dogs and if it's worth the $55. 

We love all of our animals very much, we just don't have enough time to devote to them and adopting them out isn't an option for us.

Thanks in advance!


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

The furminator is not going to do anything good to either dogs coat, so forget that.

If you dont have the money for a grooming. how will you buy the tools? tools alone to buy even just basics is going to run about 400 or so bucks off the bat.

-good clippers tleast 100bucks.
-#10, #30, #4 (sounds about the length you want, you like to keep him long) all blades run about 50 bucks a piece. (I just -bought a new #3 today and was almost 60 bucks for that)
-Then you need scissors, thinning sheers for matts, small straight sheers and probably curved sheers. all about 60+ bucks a pair.
-Slicker brush, comb, nail clippers, hemostats, ear powder, quick stop, shampoo, and anything else I am missing will probably be together around another 100 bucks.
-Blow dryers are key to a good looking cut. and a "good" HV one will run about 100 bucks.


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## bartleby (Aug 18, 2010)

The Furminator is probably the wrong tool for the job if your dog inherited a Portuguese Water Dog coat. 

Some breeds shed pretty much continuously. These breeds can get mats when the shed hairs get tangled up with the live hairs and any dirt in the coat. In theory, a Furminator could help the matting situation if you are dealing with this kind of dog. The Furminator is supposed to pull out the hair which is loose anyway, just more effectively than other tools. No loose dead undercoat means no partially shed hairs sticking to the rest of the coat and causing mats. Glory Hallelujah, sing praise to the marketers.

The Portuguese Water Dog, alas, is not one of those breeds which sheds continuously. The breed scarcely sheds at all. Therefore, the mats are NOT being caused by loose undercoat hair which just needs to come out. Using a Furminator will at best waste your time and at worst will torture the dog as you pull it through the curly coat and any mats which exist. You are better off controlling the mats through standard grooming and shave downs as needed.

A number of people feel that the Furminator is overly aggressive and will damage even the kind of coat it's designed for.


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