kirstypiggies
Junior Guinea Pig
I've been told that I should brush my sheltie's hair daily, to keep the skin healthy - and from experience it helps to spot clumps that might be painful from pulling as he moves about.
I bought two of those small animal brushes with metal bristles that have little balls on the ends; a coarse and fine one. I found that the handles were so heavy that I couldn't feel when it was catching on knots, so ended up hurting him.
I managed to remove the bristled bit from the handle, (see attached image) and that really helped. Now I can feel when it's reached a knot, and I simply cut the knot off with sharp barber's scissors. But it's still not ideal. It still takes an awful lot of patience to avoid hurting him, and even then it seems almost unavoidable. I even trim his hair so that as little as possible touches the ground (so it doesn't get sticky clumps).
Are there any other brush you use for long haired breeds? Or any tricks? Perhaps I should brush twice a day? I wanted this to be a bonding experience, not a tortuous one!
I bought two of those small animal brushes with metal bristles that have little balls on the ends; a coarse and fine one. I found that the handles were so heavy that I couldn't feel when it was catching on knots, so ended up hurting him.
I managed to remove the bristled bit from the handle, (see attached image) and that really helped. Now I can feel when it's reached a knot, and I simply cut the knot off with sharp barber's scissors. But it's still not ideal. It still takes an awful lot of patience to avoid hurting him, and even then it seems almost unavoidable. I even trim his hair so that as little as possible touches the ground (so it doesn't get sticky clumps).
Are there any other brush you use for long haired breeds? Or any tricks? Perhaps I should brush twice a day? I wanted this to be a bonding experience, not a tortuous one!