COMMON-SENSE GROOMING
The Haircoat:
Tools and Technique, Part 1
by Fred Lanting,
GSD Breeder, AKC and International Dog Show Judge
Although characteristic of the German Shepherd Dog (which I have
bred and judged almost since they walked off the Ark), the double
coat is not unique to the GSD and the grooming techniques I have
found to be best are applicable to many breeds.
The soft, fluffy undercoat is very light and somewhat flyaway, while
the topcoat is coarse, heavier, usually straight, and imbeds itself
into your clothes. Your Whippet’s coat may be a lot
shorter than a Saint Bernard’s but dog hairs are of the same types. Tightness of curl in some breeds throws
another characteristic into the recommendations for coat care but the hair coat
of German
Shepherd Dog’s is considered to be “normal” or intermediate,
compared to the short hair of the Boxer and the long hair of the
Newfoundland.
Hair
loss (shedding, blowing coat)
This is an ongoing process, peaking
annually. At those times, the undercoat is most noticeably affected
first, and then the topcoat is lost one or two weeks later, as a
rule. It is most obvious in the breeds that are commonly called
“double-coated”. Click Example to enlarge) In bitches about two months away from an estrus cycle, the undercoat
often is released in great hunks, especially if she is not
regularly combed during this period.
Shedding Cycles
This can take approximately two months for the
female dog to go through its photon-induced hair-loss cycle. Males
go through their own coat-loss cycles and are equally affected by length of daylight changes.
The high summer temperature is not the cause; otherwise, they’d only lose the
insulating undercoat and not in winter.

For grooming your dog all you
need for most breeds are three simple, economical tools, so forget
all those made-in-China multitudinous gadgets or expensive visits to
a grooming shop. Do it yourself.
Undercoat
Hairs Type, Texture
Undercoats vary
from short, fine, and wavy to thick, longer with a slightly more visible bristle and
waves in the bottom two-thirds. All coat types are best groomed
with a good undercoat comb. These combs are usually
chrome-plated or stainless steel but all should have rounded points
so as not to scratch the skin,and smooth teeth for low friction, as
the wavy nature of the hair is sufficient for the comb to remove the
dead strands and not pull too hard on the healthy live shafts. Look for a good welding job where the teeth are held
in the spine of the comb.

Hold the comb so the teeth are perpendicular to the dog’s skin, or,
if the coat is a real mess, slanted a little so the teeth may be
dragged like a lawn rake over the coat but not stuck into it like a
shovel. Comb one small section at a time, in the direction of hair
growth, using very short stokes. You will
usually build up a “bank” of fuzz, fur, and some guard hairs. Pick up the mass of soft hairs with the comb
and put that in a bag. When there is not much fuzz
coming up and no drag at all on the comb, move on to the next section.
I find it best
to start near the tail and work toward the head, so you won’t comb
into the thick, uncombed areas. It’s more comfortable for the dog
that way. After
the entire coat has been combed through then comb backwards against the direction of
hair growth, being sure the comb is perpendicular to the skin. Back
combing catches undercoat hairs you will miss even with the most
fastidious first combing. By removing the
dead undercoat, you are also cleaning your dog because a lot of
dirt and debris is loosened and removed in the grooming process.
Frequent combing will generally prevent this dirt from accumulating
and a regularly groomed dog may never have to be bathed in his
lifetime, barring a run through a sewer, skunk’s nest, or herd of
goats.
Grooming
Care Of The Topcoat
Your
dog may not be a show dog but he should look like one. If you
have to remove topcoat you will need different equipment than you used on the
undercoat. The hard, straight guard hairs which are long enough to extend through the
crinkly undercoat, usually defy combing. The teeth of the comb slide
between these hairs, which are held in place not only by the skin,
but also by friction or static electricity with the adjacent hairs,
so the comb catches only the wavy undercoat.
The dead topcoat hairs
lie side by side with the live coat, but because they are not
receiving oil from the follicles, they are microscopically ragged, and
have different resistance to friction.
During my employment in the elastomer/polymer industry, I discovered that certain blends of
natural and synthetic rubbers have the proper hardness, resilience,
and frictional properties to draw out those dead hairs with no pull
at all on the live hairs. This rubbing of the live hairs stimulates
oil flow, as does bristle brushing. I used to market a molded rubber
grooming tool shaped like a thick doughnut, having the exact properties of
friction and toughness.
You
may do as well with the toe of a sneaker or a
piece of shoe sole, if you can find these made from natural
rubber. Substitutes made of vinyl and other polymers are not satisfactory.
Stroke the dog firmly in the direction the hair
lies. Working from the head toward the tail, one
section at a time, moving on to the next patch only when no more
straight topcoat comes out. Unlike combing, use of the groomer does
not build up a bank of fuzz unless the dog has not been combed at
all and is losing his undercoat. Rather, the stiff, straight hairs
of dead topcoat collect in a pile at the end of each stroke. On the throat, use gentle, upward strokes so you
don’t make the dog uncomfortable with too much pressure over the
trachea.
The third tool is a fine-tooth hacksaw blade. You’ve seen those
curry-comb tools with the ends of the looped blade held in the
handle. The main reason I don’t like those is that part of the commercial blade is drawn across the
coat in the same way a knife is used to cut a rope or a piece of
food. However, if you hold the straight hacksaw blade perpendicular
to the direction of the lay of the hairs, and drag it like a rake
toward the hair tips (generally, this is from head toward tail or
torso toward toes) the fine teeth of the blade grab the split ends
of dead topcoat as effectively or even better than the rubber
groomer does, and you drag the hairs out from between the live
non-split hairs. If you haven’t used the comb first, it’s a bigger
job, so comb and get rid of what undercoat you can before tackling
the topcoat.
After combing out the undercoat and grooming off the topcoat, clean
the dog by wiping him off with a damp towel to remove any remaining
static dust and dandruff. If you have a show coming up right away, a
lanolin spray might help, but wipe it all off before entering the
ring.
Copyright © NetPlaces Network #1491512 2004
http://www.thedogplace.org/Health/Grooming1-Haircoat_Lanting-105.asp
Fred Lanting is an all-breed judge with experience in over 30 countries.
He is a well-known Shiba breeder and GSD authority. He handled Akitas in the 1960s and `70s, and was named an official JKC
judge, a rare honor. He has lectured around the world on breeding, judging,
canine movement, and CHD (canine hip dysplasis). Be sure to peruse these Dog Books by Fred Lanting
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