Controlling shed hair when blow drying

[vlepouce]

Looking for ideas how to control hair when we blow out the shelties. At certain times after a bath, it looks like its snowing when we blow out one of the shelties. We use an air force commander to blow them out and in the winter do this in the basement. It gets everywhere. In the summer we are able to dry them outside, so its a non issue. Unfortunately winter is coming and trying to plan on building something in the basement before hand.

Thanks

 

[tofu pup]

As with so many things in life, there is no better cure than prevention!

I'd recommend thoroughly combing the dog out before the bath... start with a pin brush to set the line, mist with water, brush down so you can see the skin, then comb down even farther with a steel comb. You will see the little fluffy clouds of spent undercoat getting sparser and sparser as you draw them out, and you will know the line is finished when nothing else comes out. Then set a new line, and repeat, going all around the dog (including tail, feathers, breeches, and ruff).

I understand that the high-velocity dryer's ability to blast out undercoat is one of its selling points, but (as you have discovered) this isn''t usually welcome indoors. If you thoroughly line-brush and comb the dog before getting it wet, there will be much less undercoat blowing around after.

You will spend more total time grooming, but you will spend less time cleaning up, and less time scrubbing and blow-drying dead hair that's going to come out anyway. I suspect that you will find you like the look of the finished dog better, too.