SURVIVING THE SHEDDING SEASON

The voice on the phone had a frantic edge. "How soon can you groom Xena? I can't STAND all this hair in my house!" I had groomed this Akita four or five weeks ago, and she had not begun to blow her coat. I got the usual bushel of hair from her, but not the whole enchilada that I knew was waiting in the wings. Mother Nature has a saying, "Let no hair shed before its time." Suddenly its Furminator Time! This means extra money and hair all over the place. "Furminator" is the tool for the season!

Many groomers will recognize "Furminator" as the name of a grooming tool for deshedding. For years I marketed the service I termed "deshedding". Furminator has not only developed a clever tool, but a marketing concept as well. I decided to let them do the marketing and joined as a registered provider. I'm listed at their website and have their sign in my door.

I booked Xena as soon as I could. As she walked in the door, I could see that she was "moulting". Here she is in the tub, already losing hair. (Alright, I forgot to get a "before" pic and this will have to do.)



On the table after the drying, you can see the patches where the coat has already shed out.


What do you consider a successful deshedding groom? I consider it successful when I get a ton of hair out and the coat can pass the Pinch Test. When you pinch the coat, you get no more than a two or three hairs. That tells me I've got all that is coming out that day.

Deshedding success is achieved by a combination of products and tools. First the coat needs to be cleaned. Although you can often remove considerable hair before the bath, dirty hair will not totally release and is much more unhealthy for the groomer. I first learned of after-the-bath deshedding at a dog show in 1983 when I was camped next to a Keeshonden breeder. She told me she did her dogs in two days, bathing one day and grooming the next. A little light bulb went off over my head. "I can do that". I just needed to do it in one day. I started after-the-bath grooming the next week. Working on undercoated dogs after the bath was then instrumental to my opening up this option for many other grooms as well.

Xena got two cleansing baths, and a thick conditioner with added silicones for extra slip. Then a quick blow dry, and she finished drying in a pen under fans. The Furminator rinse product also works well.

Here is a close up of her hip before and after deshedding with the Furminator. The Furminator is a particularly good tool for these thick, plush coats.




The other tool I used on this coat was a medium teflon coated comb. I also used a finishing spray in the orange spray bottles. I work with two bottles because I'm always setting one down somewhere mid-groom and can't find it. You've got to work with your own quirks! Two bottles works for me. I'm not going to share the name of my finishing spray because they won't share the ingredients with me. A leave-in spray conditioner is helpful to release the last bit of static in the coat for optimum deshedding. Here is the shoulder area after deshedding.


Here she is finished. The coat passed the Pinch Test, and it looks to me like there is one more good deshedding groom in this coat before it is finished. I will probably be getting another call in about a month. I spent about 40 minutes table time on this groom, plus about 15 in the tub. Price of groom: $65.00



Not all deshedding is seasonal. This is Kota, a shepard mix that I "Furminate" every two weeks without a bath. There's another whole story behind that, but for now, let's just focus on the deshedding and dry clean. The spray product freshens the coat quite sufficiently, and the Furminator does a fab job on this short coat. In this photo, Kota had gone an extra week or two due to owner illness. I got a little more hair out than usual. The hair on the table is hair that is not in the home. "The hair stays here!" is another of my mottos.



In 27 years of owning my own business, I have always done deep deshedding and dead coat removal. To me it is just part of the job. Every dog is a "full groom" and for undercoated breeds and shedding dogs this means deshedding. It took me several years in business before I realized that I was offering a more thorough service than some of my competitors. It quickly became one of my first specialty areas. My extra results were due to my conditioning process as well as my commitment to make a difference for the dog and the people. I found the tools and products to do the job I wanted. The Furminator tool has not replaced all of my other deshedding tools, but it has become prominent in my toolbox.

Deep deshedding and grooming of undercoated breeds can become a profitable specialty for a groomer that is still developing styling and finishing skills. It is a great addition to any grooming service and an area where an ambitious bather can upgrade their position and make a significant contribution. The extra results of a Furminator Treatment should be worth a higher price than just a bath, and should be worth extra pay to the person doing the work. Oh yes, and buy a Furminator tool and the marketing kit - they are worth it! Market it. Make it a featured service.

How to survive the shedding season? Make a lot more money by outdoing the competition in your deshedding service. Use tools and products that allow you to achieve better results for less time and effort. Take home more money AND pay someone else to clean up the hair in the salon. Works for me!