Comb & Rubber Band Question

[CraftySam]

Thanks to a suggestion from Michele I tried a comb with a rubber band weaved through it today when grooming Barney.

I used the Coat King a bit last week, but I then read it could be damaging. I didn't think I would be able to handstrip him because of problems I have with my hands which is when Michele recommended the comb with rubber band. I have to say Barney looks much better today than he did last week after using the Coat King and I'm really pleased. 

Barney's puppy fluff started to come out about three weeks ago when I was combing him with the Spratts 76 comb so I thought it was ready to be stripped abit. He had lots of washed out wooley fur that was really thick.

My question is when using a comb with a weaved rubber band, does it just strip out the dead hair, or does it take out other hair too. I have to say the hair I got out did look like dead hair but I was unsure whether to carry on while the hair is still coming out or whether to stop for fear of having a bald cocker.

Can anyone advise me?

[Cob-Web]

I used the comb/rubber band method on Molo when he was a pup - as far as I am aware it only strips out the hair that would come out by hand - the band adds friction to the combing, but doesn't cut it or tug out growing hairs 

My experience was that there was more hair to come out than I had patience in one session ; at one point I was combing out a bagful of dead hair every day 

[CraftySam]

Thanks Rachel. 

Yes, the hair was still coming out two hours after starting. Thats when I was beginning to wonder if I was going to end up with a baldy boy! 

Looking at him this morning he looks so much better and his fur is now feeling really silky. His back legs are still really wooly though and the fur seperates into clumps an hour after brushing out.  Don't know if that's normal or just due to the puppy fluff thats not ready to come out yet. 

[AnnieM]

I am sooooo.... glad you asked this question I was panicking the other day when I was doing Amber as it seemed to be never ending.  Her legs are still really woolly too and clump up again almost as soon as I have put the brush away, I think it is just the puppy fluff though so hopefully we shouldn't have 3 year old fluff balls. 

[CAG]

no it only fetches out dead hair, if it was fetching out healthy coat pup would let you now.  i have used rubber band for 10 years , give it a week or so and you will see the differance in your coat . you could put some chalk on  it helps when fetching out dead coat. but you only want to be  doing this for 15 to 20 minutes with a pup , mine are usually about 7 or 8 months old before i start there backs, head and feet first this you will have to do old finger and thumb method , but remember plenty of chalk.

[CraftySam]

no it only fetches out dead hair, if it was fetching out healthy coat pup would let you now.  i have used rubber band for 10 years , give it a week or so and you will see the differance in your coat . you could put some chalk on  it helps when fetching out dead coat. but you only want to be  doing this for 15 to 20 minutes with a pup , mine are usually about 7 or 8 months old before i start there backs, head and feet first this you will have to do old finger and thumb method , but remember plenty of chalk.

Probably going to sound thick now, but can you tell me about chalk please. Is it a powder? Do you put it on the coat or the comb? Where do you get it? Sorry, so many questions but I'm a novice at this.

I can't use the finder and thumb method as my hands aren't up to it, thats why Michele suggested the comb and rubber band. Does it matter?

Barney is younger than you suggested, but I had ago because the Spratts comb alone was bringing a fair amount out. Its dead hair thats coming out, does it matter that he's younger or do pups vary in age as to when they start to lose their puppy coat?

Final question, I promise.  Both AnnieM and I have goldens that have washed out wooly fur in their coats and thats what we've been try to remove. Both Amber and Barney have this fur on their back legs that clumps up not long after brushing. What should we do? I have removed some of the dead coat from Barney's legs but they still clump up and I'm worried about taking too much off them. Will this clumping stop when the puppy coat has gone? If so, in the meantime do you have any tips?

Sorry for all the questions. 

[Colin]

Both AnnieM and I have goldens that have washed out wooly fur in their coats and thats what we've been try to remove. Both Amber and Barney have this fur on their back legs that clumps up not long after brushing. What should we do? I have removed some of the dead coat from Barney's legs but they still clump up and I'm worried about taking too much off them. Will this clumping stop when the puppy coat has gone? If so, in the meantime do you have any tips?

Is the clumping on the thigh or is it feathering ? The fur on Jimmy's thighs was naturally short and red coloured ( and once the puppy fluff had gone it didn't need any grooming ) but he used to get blonde clumps growing out down towards the hocks - the clumps stayed into adulthood. They were quite fine and wispy though so came out quite easily, like shredding candyfloss. I guess you have to try and strip it out but try and blend it in with the feathering - so that if you look at him head on there aren't any sticky out clumps visible... I think.   Can you take a photo to show us ?

[Kirstie & pup]

I used the 'rubber band' method on Daisy last week after reading the forum last week.
It is brilliant and I found it works better than the coat king.
Could have saved my money !!

[AnnieM]

Is this method ok to use if you are going to show them, or should I just wait until she is totally ready to handstrip, have done her head as that was ready, but her body isn't as willing to give yet, but she is only 20 weeks. 

[Jane S]

Yes the comb with elastic band is ok to use for hand stripping show dogs but you must wait until the coat is ready to give. This may not happen for a couple of months or even longer. We have 7 month old pups whose coats are not ready to be stripped out by hand yet - sometimes you just have to be patient

[AnnieM]

I can't get any to come out by hand, but it was coming out by the comb full using this method and she didn't seem uncomfortable.  Do you think I should leave her for a bit? 

[CraftySam]

For some reason the photo's are coming up really big, despite resizing prior to uploading or resizing using photbucket. 
So here are links:

Barney's back leg, it clumps together quickly after brushing. I've stripped some of the dead hair already and its a bit better but its still quite clumpy and there is still alot of the wooly washed out fur.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j93/samtrotter/dscf0978new.jpg

The back of his back legs. I think that this is ok, there isn't any of the washed out wooly fur on the back of his legs.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j93/samtrotter/dscf09713.jpg

His front legs. I think these are nice - is that how they are supposed to look? He has lots of feather on the back of them.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j93/samtrotter/DSCF0980-1.jpg

I removed alot of dead hair from all over his body using the comb and rubberband. It all came away easily and it didn't trouble Barney at all in fact he fell asleep. Does that mean it was ready to come out?

I could have removed more as it was still coming away, but I was worried about over doing it, should I continue until it stops coming out or should I leave it for a while?

Should the front and side of his back leg be like his front leg or should it be short like say my Labs, but with feathering at the back?

I'm still waiting for a date for my grooming course, so in the meantime I wanted to tidy him up as he had so much washed out wooly hair, which I assumed was dead hair, is that right? I've trim round his paws too when they get long.  Are these things ok to be doing, and should I be doing anything else other than brushing every day?

Hope thats not too many questions. 

[Colin]

Judging by the texture it all looks pretty much like puppy fluff to me - on his back, flanks and legs. I'm not sure how old Barney is but if it's not shifting it's probably best to leave it for now - Stevie is 7 months old and looks very similar, her coat doesn't seem even close to being ready to come out yet. Misty's started to come out at about 8 months, Jimmy's it was about 10.

It's hard to describe but when the adult coat shows through it is completely different to the fluff - it tends to be glossier, with a silky texture  and lies flat - in Jimmy's case it was a completely different colour too, the fluff was a kind of orangey blonde ( like Barney's) but his adult coat was a much darker reddy gold ( apart from the leg feathering). With Mistys blue roan coat it was a different colour too - the fluff made her look completely black but once it was removed the roan markings were revealed.

So far I've stuck to just trimming paws and ears on Stevie ( although most of the work had been done before she arrived  ). You may be able to trim the backs of the back legs with the thinners, I'm not sure - best wait for someone more knowledgable to confirm that.  You've done a good work on the paws though.

[CraftySam]

Thanks Colin. 

Barney's adult coat came through, just as you described, in a strip down the centre of his back a good six weeks ago and it slowly spread down his sides. When some dead hair came away when I combed him with the Spratts comb, when it previously hadn't, I switched to the rubberbanded comb, after a short encounter with the coat king. 

After using the rubber banded comb it revealed a more silky coat on his side. He's got a little bit of a skirt but that's still puppy fluff.   It is coming away on his legs and I've removed some, but I'm worried about over doing it as I'm not sure what should be left on his back legs.

Barney's almost 6 months old, so it does seem coming away fairly early. Though I saw his older brother when he was 8 or 9 months old and he had his full adult coat, so he must have lost his puppy coat fairly early too.

[Colin]

If the adult coat started to show through a few weeks ago and it's gradually been spreading, then you are probably OK to get stuck in as the comb and band method should just be removing the dead hair/fluff.

I hope Tracey doesn't mind me posting this link of her girl Scarlet, but it might give you some idea of what to aim for.

http://www.quintaviacockerspaniels.co.uk

Direct link to the page didn't work -  go to 'Our Dogs' then select Quintavia Wild Time.