Sorry, I have a quick silly question I guess. Amber is shedding ( a whole dog it seems), I've been brushing her daily. I brush in the direction of her fur. I seem to remember hearing years ago that you brush a dog against the fur... I' m just wondering which is correct; brush with the fur or against it?

I do this:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-brush-your-dog.html

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I do this:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-brush-your-dog.html

I do that too. If dogs have an undercoat you can get a lot more of the loose fur out going against the grain!

Two GSDs. One long, heavy coated and one short, heavy coated.
I brush with the grain with a Furminator, Steel Greyhound comb and a German rake.
I'm not a huge fan of the Furminator since using it to much seems to break top coat.

 Quote: Jodi Moen

Sorry, I have a quick silly question I guess. Amber is shedding ( a whole dog it seems), I've been brushing her daily. I brush in the direction of her fur. I seem to remember hearing years ago that you brush a dog against the fur... I' m just wondering which is correct; brush with the fur or against it?

IMHO, this is "breed-specific" and/or Coat-Dependent ... With my Akita who HATES grooming & blows her entire coat out twice a year, but otherwise does not shed at all, I will GENTLY use the Furminator in the direction her fur grows (never against the grain) -- This removes her MASSIVE AMOUNT of wooly undercoat, without breaking any of her Stiff Topcoat of guard hair (finger-plucking all the loose tufts of undercoat, en lieu of Furminating, also preserves the topcoat intact while taking ALOT longer to do).

With my Borzoi who LOVED being groomed, I used a two-sided brush with "Slicker" wire on one side & regular "polishing" bristles on the other side -- His undercoat would turn into actual felt, and his Long-Silky topcoat would tangle, if he weren't groomed weekly ... Borzoi are brushed WITH the coat, except along their topline, where they are brushed AGAINST the grain (which trains the fur on their back to lie front-facing instead of rear-facing).

With my Basenjis, Greyhounds & Whippets, I used a "hound glove" in the direction of hair growth -- With my Irish Wolfhounds, I finger-plucked any excess undercoat, and "Slickered" the topcoat WITH the grain

I hate to sound dumb, but the info states " go against the fur where appropriate" I'm not sure what this means, are they talking about large areas, ie, ribs, chest, or do they mean the lay of the fur? She has shed out the majority of her undercoat. Ii have a furminator somewhere, I stopped using it because my last dog had lumps, and skin tags and found it uncomfortable. Right now I'm using a fur comb, can't find the slicker brush. Amber probably hid it.
Thanks everyone.

"Against the grain where appropriate" could mean grooming for show.
When I was showing terrier breeds I back brushed the Kerry's legs and also where the neck meets the back. This was all for a "look". Some of the heavy coated dogs want the leg feathers to "look" full so they back brush the feathers. Nothing more.

With mine, even after a good brushing, I find you can get a whole lot more loose hair off with a bath. Using some kind of made-for-dogs conditioner/cream rinse as a final step makes all that extra loose hair rinse off pretty easily.

You can't beat the Furminator for removing undercoat from a double-coated dog. (Works great on my Corgi, and also did a great job on my GSD.) But it doesn't work on every coat. My Leonberger's top coat is baby fine, and the Furminator will break the top coat before removing any undercoat. On her, I just use a fine-tooth poodle comb. With a whole lot of patience, you can also remove a lot of undercoat on any dog with a flea comb.

Sadie is a double-coated sable GSD. The only time I find it practical to brush against the lay is when there are some extra-tough tufts of undercoat. I will sometimes brush against the lay if she is about to blow her coat, and I just want to get it over with and have an hour free for cleanup. Typically, I brush her regularly (daily, if she's blowing) and am able to keep all of the loose hair off by brushing with the lay using a scotch comb.

The scotch comb is he best tool I've found for undercoat. The furminator works great when the fur starts to fly, but overusing it (when there is no loose undercoat) will cause it to break the topcoat. I would say that I use the furminator most when she starts to blow, but much prefer the scotch comb for regular brushing and shedding.

Also, like Tracy, I find that a good vigorous bath is excellent for loosening up those stubborn tufts.

ETA: The scotch comb is very much like a flea comb, but a touch more course. It is shaped like a rake and has a comfortable handle, making it a little easier to hold than a flea comb.

Edited by Duane Hull (10/04/2013 12:22 PM)
Edit reason: eta

Thank you for clarifying.