# Best Slicker Brush for "picky" poodle?



## dianaloren (Jan 6, 2014)

Hello folks,

I have been having a hard time brushing my mpoo. She's a rescue dog and HATES anything to do with grooming. I have a slicker brush that I picked up at the pet mart, but she wont let me anywhere near her legs with it. I can brush her back, but when I try to brush her legs, she squirms and runs away. As a result her legs matted up. The groomer also said to make sure to blow dry her after I bathe her because air drying will accelerate matting...But she also hates the blow dryer. So my questions are

1. I'd like a good slicker - one that works quickly and effectively getting out the tangles, but is also gentle on the dog. The slicker I have right now seems a little sharp. In searching this forum I have seen many people like the les pooches brushes, but I was somewhat assuming those were professional groomers who have an arsenal of tools. I am not opposed to buying one really good brush, but I need to be confident it will do the trick. Also there is so much selection, I need to know which one is right for her. I dont think her coat is that thick - but this is my first poodle so I have nothing to compare it to. Her hair seems average and a little thin in some parts.

2. Is what the groomer said true? Do I have to blow dry her after I bathe her. It seems like the dryer would be hard on her skin.

Thanks for all the help!


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## poodlecrazy51 (Dec 31, 2012)

I am not a professional groomer. Have just always groomed our spoos since 1985. I have tried all kinds of slicker brushes. The only one that my sensitive skinned cream spoo will tolerate is gray and black, with an oval/circular shaped pad area. IThe brand name is not on the brush. Then I have to go slow, parting her hair as I go, so I can see the roots, and not hit her skin. That is key to being able to brush my 6 yo. 

To help your rescue tolerate grooming, My advice is to have someone help you and start at the beginning as if she were a puppy that had never been brushed. Arm your helper with tons of teeny tiny high value treats you know your dog loves. Don't push her to her limits of tolerance to avoid her running away, or getting upset. Little steps. With our puppies, I do 1 or 2 minute brushings maybe 3-5 times a day. I don't brush deep at all. My goal isn't to get mats out, it is to get her trust. Hubby feeds her lots of treats, while I am brushing gently, and as long as she is calm and quiet. I am talking softly in a positive tone constantly, telling her what a good girl she is. If she shows one tiny bit of wiggles or resistance, I stop, sooth her, with my voice, no treats though, and I don't let her leave me. which she shouldn't want to, because I am really reading her stress level and quitting before she gets too upset. I keep up the soothing voice and gentle petting and tummy scratching to show her it is nice to be near me and be brushed. When she is settled, I start brushing again with the jack pot of treats... Over and over. All this extra effort pays off huge. It wont take forever. But it will depend on your rescue's past experiences with grooming. You may have some bad memories to erase. I now have a 4 month old spoo that lays or stands or sits, very relaxed, enjoying her brushing. She will come right beside me when I am brushing the 6 yo spoo, so she can have her turn. 
I train our horses. It has taught me to take smaller steps in advancing any learning.
When there is resistance, you have to go back a step or 2 and find the weak link. "back to basics". Don't expect too much too soon. patience and positive rewards make animals much smarter. 

Drying her as thoroughly as you can, will help with matting, as it straightens the hair. Done properly, it won't hurt he skin.

Regarding drying her. Same idea, start at the beginning as if she were a puppy. From the 1st day I had Jillian at 8weeks old, I had her with me whenever we dried our own hair. First, just being in the bathroom to hear it. Then day by day, as I watched her reactions and any signs of fear or stress, I would progress to blowing some not too warm air on her, from a distance. I made it a game. Lots of treats when she came near me and the gentle flow of air. I slowly had her come closer and closer, and she wanted to anyway, on her own, because she was understanding that it was a good thing. I dry her now with full power, temp set on warm, or cool, not the heat seating I use for my hair. I have not used my big noisy forced air dryer on her yet. But she is in there with me when Joon is getting dried with it.

I apologize if I am being too elementary. I hope I am not insulting your ability or knowledge. I just love working with animals and figuring out the process that works to teach them. 
And wanted to share what I have done that has worked for me.


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## percysmom (Sep 28, 2013)

I would like to know if there is a better slicker brush out there too as my 7 mo old spoo hates the slicker as well. I have to use a pin brush on him and it take FOREVER!

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## dianaloren (Jan 6, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice!
I have been working with my rescue poo in a kind of trial and error fashion, learning as I go, so I need the step by step advice. She was also scared of cars when we got her. She must have associated cars with going bad places. The thing that changed that was the dog park. She LOVES going to the dog park, and now she jumps in the car and is bummed when the car leaves the house without her in it. So Ill use the same principal with brushing and bathing, giving her treats every time she gets brushed/bathed.
Thanks!


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

Several people on the poodle forum have recommended LesPooches slicker as the very best slicker brush. It runs about $60 and I have been hesitating for months in spending that much. I don't know why they are so good except it appears the head is flexible so I assume it is less pulling on the hair, which might help your problem. Last week I finally decided to splurge and treat me and Callie to one. Wouldn't you know - I get an e-mail from them, informing they are now producing the brushes in the US but will not have them ready until April! Darn! I might look around and see if I can find a store or website that might have one!


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## poodlecrazy51 (Dec 31, 2012)

Almost as important as the slicker I have and love, is my comb. I had to order it online grooming type website. It is called something like, "buttercomb" or butter ..something..it was kind of expensive, but it is worth every penny. I have an oster metal comb and it is nothing like it and just doesn't perform as well. This butter comb is heavy, 2 rows of teeth offset, shiny metal, and just goes through the coat. I use it to get mats out by picking through the mat with a few teeth at a time. Faster than any other comb I have used. And more gently than a slicker.


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## dianaloren (Jan 6, 2014)

SusanG said:


> Several people on the poodle forum have recommended LesPooches slicker as the very best slicker brush. It runs about $60 and I have been hesitating for months in spending that much. I don't know why they are so good except it appears the head is flexible so I assume it is less pulling on the hair, which might help your problem. Last week I finally decided to splurge and treat me and Callie to one. Wouldn't you know - I get an e-mail from them, informing they are now producing the brushes in the US but will not have them ready until April! Darn! I might look around and see if I can find a store or website that might have one!


I have also been looking at the les pooches website and they have several different slickers, I am not sure which one would be the best for her though.
I am totally new to this.


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## Searcher (Aug 7, 2009)

Dancer's hair is kept really short in what I call a retriever cut. I have tried Les Pooches which didn't seem to last very long before they started losing pins & I also had a problem with them bending out of shape which shouldn't happen with her hair so short. Then I got the Chris Christensen which I really like. I also got Millers Forge on a PF recommendation which I think actually seems the softest. The off the rack ones are too harsh. Also, getting a good comb is just as important. I like the Chris Christensen buttercomb (both coarse/fine). I was told that if you rub the slicker on your arm it would tell you how it feels. I don't use the Les Pooch anymore but the other two I like.


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## PoodleFoster (May 25, 2013)

dianaloren said:


> my mpoo is a rescue dog and HATES anything to do with grooming. I have a slicker brush that I picked up at the pet mart, but she wont let me anywhere near her legs with it. I can brush her back, but when I try to brush her legs, she squirms and runs away. The groomer also said to make sure to blow dry her after I bathe her because air drying will accelerate matting...But she also hates the blow dryer.
> 1. I'd like a good slicker - one that works quickly and effectively getting out the tangles, but is also gentle on the dog. The slicker I have right now seems a little sharp. In searching this forum I have seen many people like the les pooches brushes, I dont think her coat is that thick - but this is my first poodle so I have nothing to compare it to. Her hair seems average and a little thin in some parts.
> 
> 2. Is what the groomer said true? Do I have to blow dry her after I bathe her. It seems like the dryer would be hard on her skin.
> ...


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## dianaloren (Jan 6, 2014)

Wow thanks for all the advice! To give you a little more info about our poo, she is about a year and half old and she was at the shelter for four months before we adopted her. the shelter knew nothing of her history other than she was dropped off pregnant. She had the babies in the shelter, but they died. 

As for grooming, I think the shelter kept her hair very short to avoid matts, and her hair was rather sloppy when we got her. She also itches severely and we are going to be trying different foods to hopefully get that under control. I am using orijen six fish now. It has helped her hair grow and she has had great energy and stamina on it, but I havent seen an improvement in the itching yet. But it has only been a month on this food, and I think she pulls a lot scraps out of the garbage can which makes it difficult to do a true allergy food trial. She is an extremely clever scavenger lol . She'll topple over a garbage can to get what she wants.

I think I am going to get a pin brush which I am hoping she likes better than the slicker.

Thanks again for all the Help!


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## JanL27 (Jan 19, 2014)

Thanks for the useful info on good grooming tools. Currently on the hunt for gentle but effective tools for my first poodle.

Standard slicker brushes seem awfully harsh. When I see some people going at their animals with them I shudder. I always try out any brush on myself first and with some of them it really hurts - no wonder the dog/cat squirms :ahhhhh:

A friend of mine wondered for years why her cat hated being brushed and would try to attack her. Then one day I saw how she used a slicker on him. I asked her to use it on herself with the same amount of force and she had a light bulb moment!

A trick I've use on matted clumps is to put my finger underneath, that way I can only hurt myself if I go too far.


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## loves (Jul 2, 2013)

Remember, when you brush on your arm, you are not brushing on top of hair, just bare skin. I love my Les Pooch Mat Zapper. All it takes is a "tap and pull" to brush out mats. Those that can be brushed out, all of them can't. I also love my Chris Christenson pin brush with wooden pins. Very soft on the dog's skin and I use it on my Terv and also on Sully my 5 1/2 month old Spoo. My tools are my Les Pooch brushes, CC pin brush, and my combs. One is a CC comb and the other is the larger "poodle" comb.


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## PoodleFoster (May 25, 2013)

JanL27 said:


> Thanks for the useful info on good grooming tools.
> Standard slicker brushes seem awfully harsh. When I see some people going at their animals with them I shudder. I always try out any brush on myself first and with some of them it really hurts -
> 
> A trick I've use on matted clumps is to put my finger underneath, that way I can only hurt myself if I go too far.


Hi
If you ever wonder if you're brushing too 'hard' brush your inside arm...I do this often when I'm workign wiht someone who is really matted. Helps keep me from getting to diligent, if you know what I mean.
You can always put a comb under the mat before brushing and that creates a space between the comb and the brush.
hope this helps!


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