# ACK- someone help me with puffy fur!



## Rescued (Jan 8, 2012)

So Grey is the dog that I never intended to keep. Am SO glad I did, but point being that I didn't research her grooming and coat needs because she was just a foster, and then she was supposed to pass away before she ever got any coat soooo I didnt get her accustomed to being groomed when she was a puppy like I should have >.<

I'm not even sure how to describe her coat as I've never had a longhaired dog. It is downy soft, super fine, and in the last few months has come to look like she put her paw in a socket. Its just the undercoat so gets matted and tangled INCREDIBLY easily, and is so freaking dense its unreal.

Have been fighting with her to comb out (wide toothed comb) the whole thing like twice a week, and then once combed i go through the whole thing with a little pin brush.

Is there anything else I can do, short of shaving that will make this easier? How often do pom people groom their dogs? Not sure if i'm not using right tools, or if a special shampoo or bath schedule would make this easier? Anyone have any suggestions?


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Kabota is not a pom, but his coat is downy soft, super fine and can matt within 24 hours. Mostly, the key is brushing daily, especially his tail, the fur there is 8" long and it will knot if there's any wind during a walk. Kabota is really tolerant of handling and I use a lot of treats during brushing, which helps.

Using a conditioner when you wash can help. I wash him about once a month.

I also cut off some of his fur. The fur under his ears is really, really prone to matting. Even with daily brushing, my groomer (I miss her!) was finding matts every time she groomed him. (His fur hides matts, it's weird.) So she cut the fur under his ears really short. When she was doing it, it looked natural, I don't have that talent. It doesn't look horrible, just not as natural. So if you find an area is always getting matted despite your best efforts, I'd just cut that area short.


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## chimunga (Aug 29, 2014)

Watson's puppy fur was like that. Since then he's grown into med-length border collie-ish fur. But it's still super soft and downy behind his ears and elbows, and on his chest. I try to brush it with a slicker every other day or so, because it will mat like crazy. I also have some spray on puppy conditioner for when it gets bad. The pink Earthbath stuff. I'd definitely try a tiny slicker brush.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I think line brushing is going to be your best bet. Basically just getting a comb, parting the hair, and combing it out in sections. Sheltie and collie people do it, so maybe you can find a website that describes the process. She's little at least, so it should go quickly if you can get her to cooperate.

Have you tried an undercoat rake? Get some of that undercoat out of there?


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

I think Grey and Meeko have similar fur. 

The best thing for me is a soft slicker. The hard ones hurt him, but the soft ones do a great job brushing out all the tangled fur. I use some coconut oil before a bath if his fur is matted.

I would also maybe invest in a detangling/conditioning spray. It seems to help with the brushing as well


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

If you want a super soft slicker for a tiny dog, look for those sold for small pets like rabbits and ferrets. I have one for the bunnies that was great when Watson was a baby under 15lbs. They are usually softer than dog slickers in addition to being small


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> I think line brushing is going to be your best bet. Basically just getting a comb, parting the hair, and combing it out in sections. Sheltie and collie people do it, so maybe you can find a website that describes the process. She's little at least, so it should go quickly if you can get her to cooperate.
> 
> Have you tried an undercoat rake? Get some of that undercoat out of there?


I found the undercoat rake to be totally useless on Snowball. It gets caught on tangles easily and the teeth are too wide to really get any of the coat out anyway, compared to pin or slicker brush. For Snowball, I find a slicker brush does better at getting undercoat out, but the pin brush works better for knots. I usually start with the pin brush, and then either comb or slicker, depending on whether I'm brushing his body (slicker) or feathers (comb), and/or my mood and/or which one I can find first.

How often do you bath Grey, Rescued, and do you use conditioner? I thought coat conditioner was silly and only for fancy show dogs, but we conditioned Snowball the last time and he was SO much easier to comb out... it was crazy.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Max's fuzz wasn't but 1/10th as thick as a Nordic breed but it was horribly sticky and light weight. His coat matted a little. A lot of matting is because there is loose hair in the coat and before I started pulling it out I wasn't getting the about to drop dead hairs. That plus feeding a huge amount of fat from a raw diet is what worked. A rake didn't work on him at all but using a Mars Coat King to pull out the oldest coat helped took care most of that dead nasty sticky fuzz. You cannot use a MCK on a coat with snarls however!

I'd try line combing and once she isn't so squirmy I'd go to a metal flea comb to pull out the oldest undercoat. If her fur is that dense it is really hard to get down to the skin to get the hairs out properly.


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

A good conditioner really is a godsend. Samwise's coat is very different than Greybear's, of course, but it's overly soft and mats like crazy once it gets over half an inch. If I'm being good and bathing him with conditioner ~2 times a month or so, it's a lot easier to manage. We use a metal greyhound comb to do line brushing almost exclusively. It's a lot easier to get down to the skin that way, and he'd hated every brush I've ever tried. Though I'll have to look at small animal slickers. The one I have now is supposed to be 'soft', but it clearly hurts him. He tries to steal it and 'bury' it in his bedding so I can't find it...


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