PETZLIFE ORAL CARE GEL.
I'm not very good about brushing Willie and Tarka's teeth (using the
excuse that they get lots of bones), but this new product is giving me
more of an incentive to do so. When I brush, I can actually see
their teeth getting whiter. And apparently it's not just my dogs: if you visit PetzLife's website, you can see a lot of amazing before-and-after photos. It's a all-natural gel containing grapefruit seed and grapeseed extracts, thyme, neem, rosemary and peppermint oils, in a distilled water and grain alcohol formula. The boys seem to like the flavor and tolerate
brushing quite well. It comes in Peppermint and Salmon Oil flavors,
though they both smell pretty minty to me. So Willie and Tarka have
nice fresh breath and clean mouths, and hopefully will never have to be anesthetized for dental work again (both had their teeth cleaned during their neutering surgeries).
LES POOCHS BRUSH. Willie likes this brush so much he brushes himself! The only problem is, he gets sleepy and never finishes the job.
Well OK, not really, but we do think it's a brilliant discovery. The groomer who used to groom Muddy recommended I buy it for his sticky coat. I never got a chance to use it on Muddy, but with the immense coat Willie has grown, it's performing near-miraculous work. The pile in the photograph was produced in about five minutes of brushing one hindquarter. And he's not even blowing his coat yet - I can't wait for him to start!
The brush is quite unusual. The bristles are metal and a little like a long-bristled slicker, but bent. That's what makes this brush so effective at dematting and removing hair; the bent angle really grabs the undercoat and pulls it out gently; even though this is an expensive product, it is really a must for double coated breeds like Samoyeds.
The photo on the right shows the Regular brush, which has bent bristles on one side and straight bristles on the other. The Pro version has bent bristles on both sides and costs an extra $10. It's probably worth it, as the bent bristles are the ones you'll use the most.
The head is flexible, which makes it gentler on the dog, and less stressful on the groomer's wrist; I think it also helps the bristles "dig down" to the base of the hair.
The brush comes in three levels of stiffness - Soft, Medium and Firm. I've been using the Medium on Willie, but have just started experimenting with the Firm, and it's working better and will probably last longer. It's also the one the manufacturer recommends for Samoyeds and other breeds with heavy undercoat.
The brush pictured on the left is the Wide, double head brush; it's about four inches across. If you have a smaller breed (5 to 40 lbs), you can buy the single head brush shown on the right. It works well for Tarka, who's 40 lbs, and so far has a very soft, fluffy coat without much undercoat. He loves it and rolls over on his back to have his belly brushed.
CLICK HERE, OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW, TO LEARN MORE, OR TO BUY A BRUSH
RESCO COMB. We also love this comb. Even though it looks rather vicious, it is actually quite gentle, and remarkably effective. I used one for years on Muddy, who tolerated it quite well, as long as I was willing to sit outside
in the dirt with him. (The birds appreciated that too: any time a nest falls down, we see that it has a lovely, cosy, Samoyed fur lining). This comb also works very well on both Willie's and Tarka's quite different coats.
I often stick it in a pocket so I can do a little impromptu combing when we're out in the park. The photo below shows the nest-lining I combed out of Willie's chest (he's a very manly dog) one day recently. Again, he hasn't even started blowing his coat yet.
