Dog Community

Shedding Boxer

Posted : 6/10/2006 11:07:01 AM

My one year old Boxer sheds quite a bit. We have tried about six or seven different kinds of brushes and nothing will get the hair off her. We brush her and it all ends up on her butt and then we have to pull the handfuls of it off. Anyone have a good brush for the short hair?

kennel_keeper

Posted : 6/10/2006 8:54:02 PM

Use the rubber curry combs [linkhttp://www.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-BJI17.html]http://www.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-BJI17.html[/link]
These are THE BEST when trying to get those dang short hairs that brushes won't touch!

You can get tremendous amounts of shedding hair out of short, hard coated breeds.

Also, if your boxer is shedding excessively, you might want to consider adding Omega 3 and Omega 6 to the diet or possibly switch to a food that is higher in the EFA's than the one your using.

Good luck!

skyehi

Posted : 6/10/2006 9:48:16 PM

I know some Pug people swear by a shedding blade - it's the big round blade that resembles a saw. You can also look for the Furminator or Shed-ender, which have tiny teeth that really get down to the skin and grab the hair. Before you brush, spritz with a leave-in conditioner or even water... this will help the static electricity and release the hair, rather than leaving it stuck to her like you describe.
Bathing will help, too. In my grooming shop, I shampoo the shorthaired breeds and then let them soak in a thick conditioner for a few minutes. It loosens up all the dead hair, and makes it just fall out! And ditto what K_K said re: food.

starsenchis

Posted : 6/11/2006 2:31:47 AM

What are you feeding her?
Diet is a very, very important factor in shedding.

BestShot has a 3 step system designed to reduce shedding.
[linkhttp://www.bestshotpet.com/aboutus.html]http://www.bestshotpet.com/aboutus.html[/link]

You can get all 3 products for $16.50 on this website:
[linkrodID=169]http://www.groomstar.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&

rodID=169[/link]>http://www.groomstar.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&

rodID=169]http://www.groomstar.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&

rodID=169[/link]
(they're usually over $8 each, so it's a good deal!)

As far as grooming tools, I use a flea comb on my short coat chihuahua to get all the dead hair out. Flea combs are the finest tooth combs you can buy and are good for much more than flea removal! I haven't tried the Furminator, but have heard good things about it.

griffinej5

Posted : 6/11/2006 7:00:33 PM

I have a furminator, a shedding blade, a slicker brush, a grooming rake, and a kong zoom groom, for use on the two dogs in the picture in my signature. Out of all that, the ones that remove hair the best are the shedding blade and zoom groom. The shedding blade, if you bring it all the way down, will actually take the hair off the dog, and because it is curved, the hair comes off in neat little piles. The furminator works, but the hair goes into it, and you have to stop every once in a while to pull the hair from it, it's not difficult, but I just prefer my shedding blade. With the zoom groom, if the dog is wet, then it picks it up into it. When dry, it just pushes the hair in one direction, so you get a pile on the end of the dog that must be removed. I don't find it that annoying, and I think it works rather well.

C K

Posted : 6/13/2006 9:13:20 PM

I use a stripping comb on many smooth-coated dogs. It cleaned up Ben the Boxer really well. It's pretty much a furminator, but I like the handle better. The only problem is that you have to make sure you're not using it backwards. I used a shedding blade on Jessie (pit bull in avvie) and it was hard on her skin. They're good for horses, I don't know if that makes a difference. Maybe Jess just needs a better diet. I'd go with either a furminator or a stripping comb, whichever is more comfortable for you to handle.

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 6/14/2006 10:47:46 AM

this is a little OT but...

kennel_keeper mentioned a rubber curry brush... we just bought a zoom groom and like it really well, but it looks very similar to the curry comb in the link kennel_keeper posted. are they actually similar? i liked the price ($0.93) for the curry brush as opposed to the $6.99 i paid for the zoom groom at petsmart.

kennel_keeper

Posted : 6/14/2006 6:47:20 PM

I really like the curry comb for short, hard coated breeds. I raise beagles and it works better than anything I've tried (including the shedding blades).
Shedding blades seem to be a bit rough on the skin of short hair breeds (they are sharp) and also tend to cause more hair breakage.
You can also use the curry comb in the bath for extra de-shedding power. My boss had never used one before and I brought mine from home and she's hooked now, [

]

The zoom-groom and the curry are VERY similar in concept. The curry was originally used for horses, but dog people have since found use for it. You can buy them so cheap at almost any horse/livestock store.

swamper

Posted : 6/15/2006 8:08:18 PM

I'm a huge fan of the zoom groom on my boxer. After I gather the hair on her butt I use a regular brush to get it off.

Kara

Posted : 6/20/2006 8:14:18 AM

My dog has that really short haired coat as well. I use the Zoom Groom made by Kong on her. It is so easy to use, gentle on her skin and she loves it. When she starts shedding I get so much hair off of her that it looks like a snowstorm!

Here's a [linkhttp://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=190344+RAS&Cat=]link[/link] to the zoom groom.