[erin smith]

Hi everyone, I just had a quick question in regards to my Bernese Mountain dog and her undercoat. She is just over a year old making this summer the first one where she is experiencing shedding. I typically use the Oster Combo brush on her coat, which has a side for the top and undercoat, and is a bristle brush. This has been working well but there is still a large amount of hair coming off her every day even though I brush her every day. I recently got the Safari Shed Magic De-Shedding Tool which removed a good amount of hair. I have only used it once and am curious if this product will cause damage to my dog's coat. The website that sells the brush says "the stainless Steel blades GLIDE through the hair as it gently cuts the furry undercoat out of your dog’s coat". I just don't know if this is a brush similar to the furminator where there will be damage to her coat. Any advice is welcome!!

 

[ClanWorgen]

I don't believe that brush would damage the coat, but I can't say I have much experience with them.

I would HIGHLY recommend investing in a quality high velocity dryer! It will blow the hair out without damaging it and coat texture is much nicer if dried completely with one after a bath!

 

[Addctd2Dogs]

I've had Leonbergers for 20 years, which are very similar to Berners. If you get a Metro K-9 II dryer and bathe her every 3 weeks, with a good conditioner, you will only need to use a brush the day after the bathe and maybe once in between. ClanWorgen is right, the dryer will blow all the dead coat out. If the coat is one that mats, try human shampoo called Finesse and get the separate conditioner. I worked for a vet giving baths. Although we had dog shampoo, the Finesse was what we used for coats that tangled. I've tried every dog conditioner out there and none smells as good for a full 10 days, and none makes the coat so soft and silky. My Leonberger that came from a show breeder had a stunning coat, but it was so thick I would have lost my mind without that shampoo and conditioner. People used to ask me about how I could have 5 giant dogs in the house, but I had very little hair in the house. It was the bathing , and blowing all the dead coat out, that saved me!