Grooming basics for my great pyrenees

[wordcrafter]

Hi, I’m just looking to maintain basic grooming for my pyr at home. Not looking to cut or shave, obviously. Would love to hear your input. Right now, i just brush her with a regular pin head brush. It works okay, but i feel like it pulls too much. According to r/greatpyrenees, the essentials seem to be a slicker brush and undercoat rake. The hertzko self cleaning slicker brush and oster 18 tooth undercoat rake are particularly popular in the GP community. I was planning on getting the andis pet steel comb as well.

What do you guys think about these tools? Have you used them personally? Would you recommend them? If not, what would you recommend instead? What‘s your advice on brushing a pyr in general?

My poor girl also suffers from matting behind her ears How would i go about tackling mats? Would this safari dematting comb work? Should i also get some of the stuff or cowboy magic? I’ve heard they work wonders on mats. Or is brushing them out not a good idea? Should i be using a clipper? If so, any specific products recommendations (affordable, preferably!)? More importantly, how do I prevent mats from forming in the first place?

Also, what do you think about at-home trims? Generally not a good idea, i know, but i’m just looking to clean up her grinch feet and possibly doing a sanitary trim...? Would a pair of blunt tip shears suffice?

Ok, last one, don’t kill me. This millers forge nail clipper is good quality right? What are your thoughts on them? My pyr’s nails are thick; the safari pair i have must be the wrong size or too dull bc i feel like it crushes her nails! She tolerates it, but i’d rather not have her go through that.

Oh, actual last one, promise. What shampoo and conditioner would you recommend? Her coat is a bit coarse so i’m mainly just trying to get soft and not stinky; don’t care too much about whitening or anything like that.

Thank you so much if you made it this far lol im so sorry this is long this was just meant for brush advice

 

[livelifeliving33]

@wordcrafter Ear mats are really tricky and can be dangerous to brush out. The skin there is very thin and there are a lot of folds that you can accidentally catch with a dematting tool. I always shave ear mats out with a #10 blade. You should probably invest in a basic clipper like an andis 1 or 2 speed for ear mats, foot pads and sanitary. The blade will be much safer to use in those areas that scissors.

To prevent mats, you just have to brush. That's the bottom line.

The rest of the tools you linked all look pretty solid. I'm not entirely sold on that slicker, it looks like the bristles are fairly short but as long as you're line brushing it should get the job done.

Another thing you might want to get is a high velocity force dryer. If you're bathing her at home and have no means of drying her, it can be bad for her skin if she has a thick coat. The force dryer will also help with de-shedding, you will be able to blow some of the undercoat out rather than having to rake it out.

 

[trinityeze]

@livelifeliving33 Are there any good ones you recommend? I'd like to get one for my Golden Retriever to use at home too!

 

[tmur]

@trinityeze I really like my Chris Christensen big double k for those thick, longer coated breeds.

 

[tmur]

@trinityeze I really like my Chris Christensen big double k for those thick, longer coated breeds.

 

[trinityeze]

@livelifeliving33 Also how do you use an undercoat rake? They never do much when I use them on my Golden.

 

[madbird]

@trinityeze I’m just a bather here but in my experience, if a rake isn’t working the undercoat hair is probably sticking to the skin maybe due to dander or built up oil in the hair. You can try brushing with the slicker first to loosen that up and then go in gently with the rake. Most important thing to note with a rake is that it can pull on the hair which in turn pulls on the skin and it’s easy to get brush burn if you apply too much pressure or pull too hard or go over an area too much.

 

[trinityeze]

@madbird Thank you!

 

[shadow2]

@wordcrafter The orange Chris Christensen slicker brushes with their L shaped bristles are amazing for dematting double coated dogs. I used on a Samoyed husky mix that hadn't been groomed in 4 months.

 

[johnny1217]

@shadow2 Tougher than Tangles and Yento make similar brushes that are cheaper than that brush too!

 

[haley009]

@wordcrafter Groomer of 9 years here, I only use the red Miller's forge nail clippers. Love them. That orange pair would work good as well.

 

[yabu]

@wordcrafter I’d also invest in a home use velocity dryer! They run about $50-200. You can use it to check for mats too, and check on the skin.

 

[mrsest67]

@wordcrafter I like a wide tooth 10inch comb for these guys. Slicker and rake are good.
Look at Dr Cliff faver videos on youtube for more help with shampoo and maintaining a nice coat.

 

[thomasik]

@wordcrafter The Millers Forge clippers are fantastic. After you get your dog comfortable with clipping his nails, consider investing in a Dremel (specifically the 8050 model). I use the sanding drum on my 70lb Bernedoodle and it keeps his nails short and rounded.

 

[fromissouri]

@wordcrafter Those brushes you mentioned are great! For behind the ear mats on my own double coated dogs I usually just cut out the knot with shears right away. If the mat get to the skin of the ear, a groomer should remove it.
For at home feet trims arent too difficult to learn there are good videos on YouTube that can show how to use the shears if your main concern is cleaning up the look of the paw. Inbetween the pads are best with the clipper though.

Sanitary trims take more experience and require some good clippers. The sanitary area is very tender and the skin could be easily nicked with clippers, so I would reccomend occasional trips to the groomer for those. Even with training and years of experience knicks can happen and are painful for the dog. There are very informative videos of those on youtube as well though if you want to learn how they are done.

I love the millers forge nail clippers! Theyre probably my favorite pair. Good price, they're good for the big and thick nails, and they seem to last forever.

My favorite shampoo that I use to soften the fur on my own double coated dogs is the Zymox shampoo. It's great for the health of the dogs coat and the skin, it leaves their top coat silky soft, and I love the smell compared to many perfumey shampoos. The price tag is a little steep but a little bit goes a long way with this shampoo. It's a very thick shampoo. If you get the 1 gallon it will last quite some time.

Otherwise my second shampoo for soft healthy fur would be the Bark2basics oatmeal. Conditioner is also an option. But how thorough you are with the bath and whether you use a blow dryer makes a big difference on the outcome of the fur as well.

 

[dave3b]

@wordcrafter I love The Stuff (the smell is not my favorite, but it disappears when dry).

I buy the concentrate and dilute it heavily to use as a brushing spray. It's not great to brush a completely dry coat, and static builds up pretty fast on coats like that. I lightly mist the dog before brushing. (Be VERY careful spraying it over tile, hardwood, or linoleum. It makes smooth surfaces slicker than snot on a pumpkin.)

Find a YouTube tutorial on line brushing, it makes a huge difference.

I agree on the CC coral (pink) brush and getting a small hv dryer. Same with your choice of nail trimmer.

I'm pretty attached to Tropiclean brand shampoo/conditioner.

 

[akilah]

@wordcrafter I always trimmed behind the ears. That super fine hair tangles easily, is somewhat moist since it is close to the skin and it hurts to brush it out.

A wide tooth comb and I use a shedding rake without blades. Just two rows of straight teeth. It would work so much coat out so fast. Slickers were nice but they could not get in there and get the coat out.

Dremel for the nails to keep them short. Big nails are hard to cut effectively.

A forced air dryer will also be helpful with getting coat out.

Also, add some salmon oil to their food every day. It will really decrease the shedding.

 

[auwebber23]

@wordcrafter Personally I love using a straight pin undercoat rake without blades during the conditioning portion of the bath, it really helps pull the undercoat out without it flying all over the place. They basically look like a teensy tiny garden rake and it works really well.

I love the small red millers forge nail clippers for every dog, but if you have larger hands the orange ones may work better for you. My hands are teeny so small nail clippers are best for me

For mats around ears I would recommend shaving those out and then keeping them brushed out really well when the hair starts to grow back, be sure you have a metal comb for checking for mats. A large wide tooth metal comb would probably be ideal.

For a small, portable, relatively inexpensive hv dryer i like the metro air force commander. I used it on everything from chihuahuas to my massive akita deshed jobs and it works really well and isn't too loud.
Good luck!

 

[crimsonking1]

@wordcrafter I use the stuff for dogs right after towel drying him), Chris Christiansen coral slicker brush, bark2basics Dmat conditioner -it smells great, but the smell disappears). I also use an undercoat rake and a metal comb ( I use the wide tooth part to gently do behind my dogs ears & work my way up to the finer part).