# St. Bernard grooming tips



## BostonBull (Dec 9, 2007)

I am looking for tips on brushing/grooming so that I can keeping shedding to a minimum, or non existant. What brush, what method, etc etc. 

She is a short hair, and we feed her an excellent diet of Orijen and raw food. Her coat looks great and doesnt smell. But makes a wicked mess of the house daily.

I have tried a few local spots, and noone does a good enough deshedding job. She always comes back with loads of loose fur on the top of her outer coat, and plenty of loose undercoat still in there. I then have to spend an hour out back brushing her.

Any recommnedations for groomers in the Merrimack Valley, or North Shore of Massachusetts would be great too!


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## kazuldra (Jan 4, 2010)

For such a large dog with a thick coat like that, I would use a "molting" or "shedding" rake, like this at home. Those are designed to pull out dead undercoat all the way to the skin, which is the bulk of your shedding problem. I choose the rake over a comb to take stress off of the wrists.

If you bathe at home, you can also try some shampoos and conditioners formulated specifically for dealing with shedding. I like Furminator, personally. Their De-shedding tools also work very nicely, though they are on the expensive side.

Hope that helps!


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

If she is a true short hair Saint, then a rake isn't going to be of much use. A Stripping knife and/or a furminator, a slicker brush (coarse firm pins) and a metal fine tooth greyhound comb are going to be your best tools. When searchhing for a groomer, ask if they use a high velocity dryer. Also specify that you want a GROOM and Deshedding..many places (esp. the petsomethings) will cage dry these "bath and brush" breeds. You want them hand dried with the high velocity dryer. That loosens and blows out 90% of the shedding coat!


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## BostonBull (Dec 9, 2007)

Thanks for the responses! 

Money isn't the problem. i ill pay top dollar for top of the line tools that do a great job. I know how important using a good tool is as compared to a mediocre tool.

I never bring my dogs to a petsomething, or shop at one for that matter. i support the little guys in my area. Trouble is the best I have found is a 40 minute ride.

Graco
yes she is a true short hair, see attachment. Can you post links to some of the tools you spoke of please?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

BostonBull said:


> Thanks for the responses!
> 
> Money isn't the problem. i ill pay top dollar for top of the line tools that do a great job. I know how important using a good tool is as compared to a mediocre tool.
> 
> ...


Aww..so cute. She sure is a true short hair. Don't see many of them..its the longhairs. ugh..lol You may do well with a rubber curry on her coat rather than a Furminator too. Here are some links to what I would say would be best for getting coat of of that short coat. Nix the comb and slicker brushes, as her coat is too short for them to be effective. This horse curry below, and maybe a shedding blade (just google shedding blade for pets) are going to be your best bets IMO. You could try a furminator on the thicker areas, like neck and sides of cheeks. 

http://www.horse.com/Rubber-Curry-Comb-BJI17.html

You can get these currys at local horse supply stores too. Many dog people prefer a "grooma" but I am not a fan of them, and find these to work better for me. You can use it with hair growth, against, sideways, circular, etc. And its soft enough to use on head, ears, legs, belly, etc. 

And if you want to splurge, you can buy your own high velocity dryer for when you bath at home. I would recommend a K9II. That will make the biggest difference in the amount of hair any dog sheds in the house.


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## BostonBull (Dec 9, 2007)

Thanks for the quick reply!

Do you think that Curry comb will do the trick? her coat certainly isnt as short as my OEB, but she is a true short hair. Her coat is roughly 2.5" long, and thick! LOL Shes a good sport, I hardly ever bathe her. I let her natural oils do the trick. if she starts to smell like dog then I take action. So far its been 3-4months between groomings. I am just sickof using the brush that I currently own. It fills up within seconds!

I wonder if she would stand me using a high velocity gas powered blower on her......? Only joking, kind of.


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

just last night I bathed my Bernese, towel dried her really well and then blew dry her with a high velocity grooming drying and brushed and brushed. The amount of hair that come off was incredible (tuffs of hair flying all over) and that wasn't even using it on high power. The difference of what she's leaving behind now is extremely less than before


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## kazuldra (Jan 4, 2010)

Oof. I totally missed the "short coat" part of your post. I was going on the assumption of a typically long-coated St. Bernard. I apologize.

Looking at the pic (wow, she's a beauty!), I agree with Graco22. A rubber curry may be your best bet.

I like the Zoom Groom rubber brush, made by Kong. It seems to pull dead fur up and away pretty well. I defer to more experienced groomers, however, as to whether or not there are comparable curries out there.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Bostonbull, yes the curry or "grooma" or "zoom groom" curries will work great on your dog. If she's really thick you can try a Furminator. Judging on the pics, I don't think it will be your ideal tool, but sometimes pics are decieving. And you can use a HV dryer on a dry dog too..just wear a mask so you don't breathe in the dander.


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## rubberduckey273 (Dec 30, 2009)

i have yet to see a dog that has a shedding problem completely stop shedding, and honeslty, the short haired dogs seem to be the worst when it comes to "constant" shedding. 

try the cong and the rubber curry brush, and if those don't do enough, i reccommend Pet Kiss Shed Control to my customers. i use it with my own dog, although not during the normal seasonal shedding when she blows her coat, and i've seen great results with her as well as many of our other customer's dogs. its a spray that you put on the food, and it helps strengthen the hair folicals to reduce non seasonal shedding. 

another great product to use in conjuntion with a shed-less tool is nature's specialties Ez shed (its a purple conditioner). it also has vitamins and proteins that strengthen the hair and speed up the shedding process so that it doesnt come out all over your house. this is also a product that i use on my own dog, and love the results.

fyi, if you have any treatment, like the furminator, done for your dog, your dog will continue to shed heavily for up to 24 hours after the treatment is done. the reason for this is that the special products and brushes used, as i mentioned before, speed up the shedding process so that it happens all at once rather that gradually over time. the furminator treatment and others like it show the best results if it is done about once every 3- 4 weeks, with regular bathings in between as needed.


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## BostonBull (Dec 9, 2007)

I am going out to get a Kong brush or something similar tomorrow. is the furminator worth the $$$, or will weekly/bi-weekly brushings with the kong brush be enough?

Thanks again!


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

BostonBull said:


> I am going out to get a Kong brush or something similar tomorrow. is the furminator worth the $$$, or will weekly/bi-weekly brushings with the kong brush be enough?
> 
> Thanks again!


The Furminator is well worth the money..but only on the right coats..its best on labs and dogs with coats like labs. If there is no undercoat, its not the best tool. I don't find it very helpful on Huskies either..unless they are pretty short smooth huskies..

I would try one (maybe find a groomer willing to let you try the tool) before you buy one to see if its going to be effective or not..When they are effective, they are VERY effective, and you can find them reasonably priced online. 

I woiuld recommend using the rubber curry/grooma, etc at LEAST weekly...maybe more than weekly to catch up on the shedding and at heavy shedding times.


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## BostonBull (Dec 9, 2007)

Thaks for the fast response! Ill see if I know someone with one to try.

Any recommendations on a groomer in my area?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

BostonBull said:


> Thaks for the fast response! Ill see if I know someone with one to try.
> 
> Any recommendations on a groomer in my area?




I can't help you there. I don't know any groomers in Massachussetts.


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