Grooming a Siberian Husky

[magzs1112]

Kenya(Siberian Husky) she is 7 years old and last year she was attacked by a pit bull, and ended up having surgery on both of her Acls.  Well they of course shaved both of her legs, and now when her fur grows back, its matted and hard to brush.  Anyone have any ideas on how to keep this from matting?  I would hate to have her shaved.  Thanks for any input.

[lonewolf07]

We have had Siberian huskies for years and they are difficult enough to groom even when they haven't been injured.  Most of what I was going to say, Ghilly has already said.  We use a different comb for the undercoat.  It is "tough" enough to get through the coat without scratching the skin.  For the outer coat, we use a brush with long, medium strength bristles and then a softer brush to make the coat more shiny.  We also bathe them with a shampoo and conditioner that doesn't dry out their skin.

However, we don't cut the mats - we shave the matted areas.  We do this with our other dogs too - shave rather than cut because the vet recommended it.  Usually basic grooming keeps mats from coming back.  Just do what you feel most comfortable for you and your husky.  Always good to see other "husky people" here  = )

wolf

[Ghilly]

Huskies are double coated dogs, with that thick, downy undercoat.  That's what mats up.  There is a special comb called an undercoat comb.  It has only one row of teeth like a normal comb, but the teeth alternate between long and short.  This way it's easier for the comb to get down into that thick undercoat to keep it combed out.

If the hair is already matted, get a small pair (manicure scissors are good for this) of pointy, sharp scissors.  Use these to cut the mat into strips, and then you can carefully comb out the strips one by one.  It will be surprisingly easy once you get the mat split into several small pieces.  I think once you do this once and get rid of the knots, as long as you keep her combed with the undercoat comb, this should eliminate the problem of the mats coming back.

Ghilly

[ginger899]

Well, I've just rounded up your post because you didn't get an answer before, so I'll bump it up to the top again, and see if anyone can help. I am sorry it went down the list unanswered.

I am afraid I don't know! Let's hope someone here can give you an answer?