My Young Lion

Zander and Kai are both "blowing their coats." Before we had them I had no idea what this meant... and then I saw it happening. So. Much. Fur. Everywhere. I had to brush out Zander's beautiful mane.. and now he looks like a young lion.

My young lion. Baby face.

Unlike most dogs who just kinda shed all the time, Zander and Kai only shed twice a year and when they do they "blow," or lose, their stunning undercoat all at once. Some nordic-style dogs have this kind of amazing double coat which allows them to enjoy the cold and be mostly water and snow proof. But when it comes out... it all comes out a once. So much brushing.... and it looks like the dog exploded.

Of course there is opportunity for hilarity. I brushed out Kai so it looks like she had a tiny little waist. Then I only brushed out her back quarter panels so it looked like she had a tiny little bottom and skinny legs and a huge chest. It's kind of like how you can groom a poodle in funny shapes.

Tribbles. Tribbles everywhere.

The one great thing is that Zander's undercoat is light brown/grey so when it comes out he is back to being mostly black. Now he's sleek and black and shiny...and very hard to see at night. Except for his teeth. That's why we call him The Black Death.

Today I'll be working on brushing Kai out with one of these. A normal brush can't handle this task but one of these is perfect. It's kind of funny to say you have to "rake out the dog" but this really works.

I usually brush her out in one of the gardens. All that fur from a big dog will scare off the bunnies... Or we do it out by the gate to keep the stupid neighbor's dog away. The other day we thought we still had some snow on the ground - but it was just Kai fur everywhere.

We don't use the FURminatoron Kai and Zander because it doesn't do a great job with their double coats... but we use it on Dog#1 and Dog#2....and also for Nicholas. Yep. We furminate the cat. Don't worry he loves it. I wasnt convinced about the cost of the FURminator until I saw it in action. But - wow! It really does a great job on our "German Shedders." And it makes them look all sleek.

Today I'll have to stop styling Kai into funny shapes and brush out her mane. She doesn't have as much of a baby face as Bubby tho. I hope all this brushing means that spring is here!

Happy Tuesday everyone - are your raking out your dog? Any body else have dog hair tumbleweeds everywhere?


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