Totally Hairifying!!!
- Lisa Vaught
- Jul 6, 2015
- 2 min read
Hello,
Seems that Frax's short hair has gotten away from me. A daily regular brushing just wouldn't do today. People are always surprised that such a short-coated dog sheds. A lot. However, it's true. It seems he has a big shed at the beginning of the summer, then about mid-way, about now, has another big shed before Fall finally tiptoes in and follicles turn to growing in a nice puffy coat.
Years ago, when we had Dalmatians we used a shedder blade to groom them. Again, you would think such a short-coated dog wouldn't shed much, but they do. Dals also have a barb on the end of each hair, making it really easy to cover any piece of clothing their owner wears with hair. The only thing their hair wouldn't adhere to was jeans. When Jet came home we tried the shedder blade on him and it worked great. I didn't think Frax would need it...but wrong again. It does wonders getting all that dead hair out, and keeping him cool.
The shedder blade looks like a mini hand saw that is doubled over on itself. You run the toothed side gently down the fur the way it grows and it pulls dead hair out, leaving the growing hairs alone. Frax loves either the brush or the blade on his tum, and rolls over for that part of the grooming readily. He really doesn't have much of a coat on his tum, so I just scratch him with the short brush!
The first episode of grooming I filled an entire shopping bag with beige short fur! Too bad this stuff can't be woven, I would be rich! The second go round, we got about half a bag full. Frax is a bit annoyed at all the brushing, but I can tell he is more comfortable. It's especially important to brush around his neck and shoulders where the harness lies when he is working. Getting dead hair out of there makes him much more comfortable working.
After a brief nail trimming, he is spiffy, and ready for any trips out we might make this week. He is wonderful about nail trimming. After years of running around after Dalmatians that couldn't stand anyone even touching their feet, taking care of Frax's has been a true joy. He is just so Zen after his big brushing he doesn't even care who touches his feet...maybe I can sneak in a pink bow on his head...whaddya think? Naaah, he would NOT appreciate it in the least! Lol.
Later...
LV, FX & JT
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