# Use a comb, not a brush?



## Dogwriter (Jul 3, 2010)

Hi, 
on the advice of this forum, I'm using the pink Maden brush on my fluff. Last week we went to the groomer, and she said she got TONS of hair off her (she showed my husband this big pile). I do keep her coat long, but I groom her every day. 

So I called the groomer and said what is the problem and she said *not to brush my dog, but to use a comb.* :blush: I am, but it is taking like 20 minutes to get her groomed. She doesn't want to stay still that long, and frankly I don't blame her. Is she right? Am I just doing something wrong? In the past, I only use the comb for her head/face/beard. Of course, her coat is still growing out....maybe what she got out was puppy fur, as the coat changes over to silky/adult?  (I'll try to upload a newer pic, the old one is from 4 months ago)


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## wooflife (Aug 8, 2007)

Very curious on this one I'll be watching for the answers. I use a purple madan brush then go back through with a CC Buttercomb to get the pin knots out.


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

I always use both a Maden brush and a CC comb when grooming. I know that I'm getting out all mats, etc.


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

Your groomer is half right. Both brushing and combing are necessary. Use the Madan brush first, then follow with a stainless steel comb. I have always done this with my Malts.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

aprilb said:


> Your groomer is half right. Both brushing and combing are necessary. Use the Madan brush first, then follow with a stainless steel comb. I have always done this with my Malts.


Me too. You get the majority of the tangles out using the brush, but to make sure there are no matts or little pin knots, plus removing dead hair, you need to follow through with a stainless steel comb. I find with mine, I'm pretty much just using the CC Face/Paw Buttercomb. After I brush with the pin brush, I start with the side with the wider set teeth and then go through with the side with the fine set teeth.


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## Johita (Jul 10, 2009)

Crystal&Zoe said:


> Me too. You get the majority of the tangles out using the brush, but to make sure there are no matts or little pin knots, plus removing dead hair, you need to follow through with a stainless steel comb. I find with mine, I'm pretty much just using the CC Face/Paw Buttercomb. *After I brush with the pin brush, I start with the side with the wider set teeth and then go through with the side with the fine set teeth*.


Yep, same here. Brush then comb with wider set teeth and finally with fine set teeth.


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## Orla (Jul 5, 2009)

When Milo's hair was long I used both - now his hair is very short on his body and longish on his legs, tail and face so I mainly just use a comb now.


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

I am curious what the groomer was pulling off the coat into the brush? Was it matted fur? Was it breaking coat when she was brushing? 

Maltese shed very minimally, and so when we brush a show coat we look to see as little hair in the brush as possible after. However, a poor brushing technique will break coat and result in lots of hair in the brush. Matting of course would also cause this. 

I do use combs sometimes for specific tasks (face, feet & certain tangles), but on a daily basis for maintenance, you should be able to use a brush for the majority of the grooming. As others have said, going over with a comb afterwards can ensure you have addressed all the tangles; however, you have to be careful that when you use your comb you are not just tearing through matts. And combs have a tendency to do that. The more matts you "rip out" the more you will have later and the more struggle you will have with grooming.


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## Dogwriter (Jul 3, 2010)

CloudClan said:


> I am curious what the groomer was pulling off the coat into the brush? Was it matted fur? Was it breaking coat when she was brushing?


See, me too. I wish I had picked her up myself, but they have this little rule that if you don't get there within a certain time after they call, the dog gets put into daycare and you pay more. So I was busy with a customer and he went....

Anyway, I have been very careful NOT to break the hair, and I feel like when she comes back from them there is a lot of breaking. I like the way they groom her, don't get me wrong. Yesterday and today, I used what I call my "cheat" method, which seems to be what most of you are doing: use the brush, then the wider comb teeth, then the smaller if I find mats. She doesn't mat that much except on her belly....which they trimmed down this time (so maybe that was part of the hair? But I had already mentioned that and I asked them to trim it, so why fuss at me about it?)

Thanks for your help. Today I'm dealing with something that looks suspiciously like chewing gum in the hair around her mouth. :smilie_tischkante:


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

Dogwriter said:


> See, me too. I wish I had picked her up myself, but they have this little rule that if you don't get there within a certain time after they call, the dog gets put into daycare and you pay more. So I was busy with a customer and he went....
> 
> Anyway, I have been very careful NOT to break the hair, and I feel like when she comes back from them there is a lot of breaking. I like the way they groom her, don't get me wrong. Yesterday and today, I used what I call my "cheat" method, which seems to be what most of you are doing: use the brush, then the wider comb teeth, then the smaller if I find mats. She doesn't mat that much except on her belly....which they trimmed down this time (so maybe that was part of the hair? But I had already mentioned that and I asked them to trim it, so why fuss at me about it?)
> 
> Thanks for your help. Today I'm dealing with something that looks suspiciously like chewing gum in the hair around her mouth. :smilie_tischkante:


I am pretty suspicious of groomers as I have had a lot of bad ones or ones who thought they knew more than they actually did about my dogs. A lot of groomers do not really understand the unique qualities of a Maltese coat. They brush/groom them the same way they would brush a terrier coat or even a double coated dog like a Lhasa. 

I have a good friend now who is a grooming expert and she has shown me that there are some wonderful and knowledgeable ones out there, but they are few and far between as far as I can tell. 

Now, did she really get into gum? :shocked: If it is sugarless gum there is a health risk with that. A few of our friends here on SM have ended up in the ER following some gum stealing episodes. 
snopes.com: Xylitol Deadly to Dogs


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## Dogwriter (Jul 3, 2010)

Oh good grief. One more worry. It sure seems like gum. Problem is, when I tell kids to spit their gum out they put it in our trashcan....well I actually don't know where they put it. I've lprobably explained/lectured the same ones 3 times instead of all of them. 

I watched an adult spit her gum into a wrapper, put it in her carryall on the floor, and she watched Piper promptly pull it out -- without a word. I got it of course.....:smilie_tischkante:


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