Help keeping poodle coats detangled and cutting down on brush time?

[tomdrew]

Hey all. I have about an inch and a half of coat on my two standard poodles, I brush and comb them daily (CC Karben and Big G followed by greyhound) and bathe them in full lather of Smartwash 50 or Chi Moisture shampoo every one to two weeks followed by high velocity dryer and a few spritzes of finishing spray.

That said, I’m spending a pretty big chunk of time each evening on their brushing—possibly 45 mins to an hour each per session. Their backs especially seem to get tangled—no matting but more like small loose knots that need teased out each time—when I line brush through I always feels he hair is giving more resistance than it should given how often I’m brushing them.

I was wondering if anyone’s got any recommendations or insight into what might help keep my pups’ coats more detangled between brush sessions so their coats stay in the best condition possible. Thanks!

 

[rachelr15]

@tomdrew How old are they? 6-14 months it could be coat change. How often are you cutting their hair? Even just tipping the coat to maintain length but removing split ends does wonders. I'm not personally a big fan of ether of those shampoos but they aren't bad, just a little on the drying side for smartwash and the chi is just not great at cleaning in my opinion.

That being said this is odd. My one is in full show coat and the other I'm growing out for a grooming competition and I don't spend that much time daily on brushing. I wash my show pup weekly and the other dog is every other week. I don't really do any maintenance other than on bath day.

 

[tomdrew]

@rachelr15 I’m thinking you may be onto something with damaged coat. I haven’t been trimming ends save for when I’m doing full grooms. Their last cuts were 5 weeks ago. One of my two is 6 years old but has an EXTREMELY dense coat, the other is two years old and some change but she had her first heat right at 1 year 9 months before we had her spayed and I’ve noticed more coarse hair and guard hair coming in on her since. She already went through puppy coat change to her curls before then—closer to 7-9 mos. so I thought I was mostly through the woods with that, but my pup is always full of surprises lol. Is this possibly just another temporary coat phase?

 

[rachel24]

@tomdrew Are you using conditoner ?

 

[tomdrew]

@rachel24 No, just shampoo and a detangling finishing spray. Do you have a good conditioner that you recommend?

 

[rachel24]

@tomdrew If you're not using one then honestly any. I like Biogroom Gentle Creme Rinse for just a basic condition especially if your pet has allergies or sensitivities, hydrosurge dermasilk is also a great lighter weight one. For a deeper conditioning I love the Hydra extreme moisture conditioner and if the matting is pretty bad I've used Furminator conditioner on poodles and doodles, since it's super moisturizing to deshed it also helps dematt. Shampooing slightly raises the hair cuticles. If you're not closing the hair cuticles, the hair shafts become open and almost hooked like and it allows the hair to easily catch onto the other strands. Conditioning after shampooing will close and smooth the hair shafts so the hairs can easily slip past each other allowing for the hair freely move without it becoming tangled. I hope that's a good explanation, trust me just use a conditioner once and you'll notice a difference already, especially after repeated use you'll notice the hair growing stronger.

 

[tomdrew]

@rachel24 Thank you so much for the help!! I’ll pick some up.

 

[vanerahelson]

@tomdrew Do you use a detangling spray when brushing? I find that really helps.
If they wear a harness or coat that might be causing friction and tangles. Could be worth it to brush those spots out right after a walk.

 

[tomdrew]

@vanerahelson Sometimes I use the finishing spray as I brush since it also says it’s a detangler. I just ordered some Ice on Ice detangling spray, though—do you think this will give me better results?

 

[ohgemma]

@tomdrew You could try blowing out the coat first with the hv dryer before you go in with the brush & comb.