In this post we’re taking a closer look at grooming combination coated dogs: tips for bathing and drying, brushing, combing…and so on. But first, let’s get more familiar with these type of dogs.

What Is The Coat Like?

• As the name suggests, coats of this type consist of a mix of a long flowing coat combined with a shorter, smoother one.
• Coat around the face and the front of the legs is short and tight. The body coat is a bit longer, while the furnishings on the underside, rear of the legs and tail are longer still.
• Care must be taken with the feet – the hair between the toes and pads can clump and tangle and trap grass seeds and other debris.
• Coat sheds quite a lot of hair in the molting season.
• More maintenance grooming is needed as some of the hair is of sufficient length to tangle and mat.

Bathing And Drying

Frequency

• Bathe from once a week to once every 12 weeks.

Pre-Bath

• Collect all items that you will need: cotton balls for blocking ears; shampoo and conditioner; jug for mixing shampoo; jug for rinsing the dog clean; towels.
• Place dog on an anti-slip mat in the bath.
• Put a cotton ball gently in each ear to prevent water getting into the ear canal.
• Before you start bathing, make sure that you brush over the entire body to remove any serious mats and tangles.

Bathing

• Make sure that the water temperature is suitable.
• Thoroughly wet the dog all over except for the head.
• Use a quality, regular, all-purpose shampoo and massage the lather thoroughly into all parts of the body, especially under the front legs, around the back of the ears, breeches and groin, and along the stomach.
• Rinse the lather thoroughly out of the coat.
• Now wash the dog’s head with tear-free shampoo.
• Apply a suitable conditioner on the fringing at the back of the legs, shirt front, stomach, rear of hind legs and tail fringes. Leave on for as long as directed in the instructions to gain maximum benefit.
• Rinse whole dog thoroughly until coat is squeaky clean.

Drying

• Start by vigorously toweling dry as much as possible. Brush hair with flow of the coat, ensuring that longer fringe hair is tangle-free.
• Then use a hand dryer over the body. The temperature of the airflow should be warm, not hot, and set to high speed. Be careful using the dryer around the head area.
• Brush in the direction that the coat grows to allow it to lie close to the skin.
• When dry, groom through the coat with a comb.

Body Checks

1. Feet: Check nails (trim if necessary) and the condition of pads, and clear dirt from between the claws. The coat here has a tendency to mat, so neatly trim the hair if it is long.
2. Teeth: Check teeth and gums for tartar or inflammation.
3. Ears: Overhanging ears like these should be folded back and wax or dirt cleaned out.
4. Eyes: Check the eyes and clean out any sticky deposits.

Brushing Sequence

1. Start at the head with the slicker brush. This engages you with the dog immediately. Lift the muzzle to stretch the skin of the neck to assist the flow of the brush.
2. Continue working along the body where the coat is longer and silkier. Brush with the flow of the hair in short sweeps. If you encounter any tangles, brush them gently out, starting at the outside of the mat and working down towards the roots of the hair.
3. Brush the underleg furnishings. The brush will pull out quite a lot of loose hair. Use fairly short strokes working with the lie of the hair. Make sure that the brush passes right through the full extent of the coat.
4. Lift the front leg to allow the leg furnishings to fall in an uninterrupted curtain of hair. It is easier to brush it this way than when the feathering is lying tight to the leg.
5. Pay close attention to the friction areas under the legs and near the tail, as they can harbor tangles.
6. When brushing the featherings on the hind legs, it helps to use your other hand as a support for the hair. This stops the brush pulling directly on the dog’s skin.
7. The tail and breeches are always heavily coated. Lift the tail to get access to the breeches, and work systematically bit by bit to get right down to the roots.
8. Lifting the tail allows the prolific coat to cascade in a downward curtain. This is easier to brush than if you try to work along the tail as it hangs naturally.
9. You will often find a lot of hair trapped in the brush.

Combing Finish

1. Start to comb behind the ears and under the neck.
2. As you are unlikely to encounter tangles, you can use longer strokes with the comb than you do with the slicker. Aim to comb in comfortable sweeps.
3. Work along the flanks of the body and around the hindquarters and rump.
4. Also gently comb the feathering under the stomach.
5. Lift the legs to allow you to comb out the leg furnishings as they fall towards the ground.
6. Lift the tail to get at the breeches and then comb the feathering on the tail itself. Then either turn the dog or move around to the other side to repeat the process.
7. The whole job should only take 10-15 minutes.

Required Grooming Kit

• Slicker Brush: The slicker is used for the initial work and should be used to gently brush out any tangles.
• Wide Toothed Comb: Follow up with a wide toothed comb, ensuring that you cover the whole body methodically.