BigRedDog

If you brush you dog systamatically, it will be easier . First of all use a grooming table so you won't get overly tired. You need a good slicker brush and a steel comb.
Start at the back and pull the coat up, so that you can see the skin. Hold the coat firmly so it does not pull the skin with one hand. With the other use the slicker brush in downward motion, section by section. (It will take a long time). When you think a small section is brushed, check it with the comb. The comb should go through smoothly..if not..brush again.
If the coat is matted, it might be easier for all concerned to clip you dog down short, and start all over. Their coats grow fast, so no worries.
Get accustomed to brusing every other day, if not every day to keep the coat in good condition.

mom24doggies

It does sound to me like perhaps you are brushing harder then you need to. Even when Trev had like 4 or 5 inches of hair on his neck and legs and at least 1" everwhere else I never got very much loose hair out when brushing. A little bit, yes, but certainly not a handful! It sounds to me like you are breaking the hairs off, especially considering that you say he's 2" long and doesn't have as nice of a coat. I would go with what everyone else is saying, use a spray-on conditioner and part the hair as you brush. Also, try using a "pat pull" motion instead of a "dragging" motion. Bring the brush down in a patting motion (using the full pad) and then pull slightly down and away. Almost like you are drawing loops going away from your body with the brush. Does that make any sense at all? Lol...it's much easier to show someone then to describe it. If you just drag the brush across the hair, then yes it pulls on the skin and hair, which is uncomfortable for the dog and breaks off the hairs. And when brushing out a mat, start at the tip of the mat and work inward, just like you would when brushing your own hair. Those mats come out sooo much easier when you combine starting at the tip of the mat and the pat pull brushing motion. Most dogs don't even mind me brushing them when I do that.

And don't force a comb through the coat...chances are, if you have to force the comb through, you missed mats. What I do, is brush the dog until I think I'm done, then I take a comb and go back over everywhere. If I can't slide the comb through easily in a certain area, then I go back at that spot with a brush. On some poodles with very thick coats, getting a comb through (even on a mat free dog) is very difficult. Try using a wider toothed comb, that should help.

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

Panda

Thanks so much for the tips! I was dragging the slicker and comb through his coat so was definitly pulling hair out and breaking it :(

I actually did this to him a few day ago though so I dont have to put him through my awful brushing skills, especially as he just matts up so bad when he gets wet (and we have had snow recently)

Before


After

Panda

his ears were a bit wet from going out in the snow but his boots and snow suit kept the rest of him dry

fjm

Poppy has been a bit neglected of late, and I've found much more fluff coming out than usual. I find the easiest way of getting through her coat when it has got a bit long and not been brushed for a week or so is to use a pin brush, followed by a comb. A slicker brush seems to hurt her, and the comb without brushing pulls too much, but a thorough brushing with the pin brush removes the worst of the tangles, then going over her first with the coarse end of a greyhound brush, and then the fine, gets rid of any snags I may have missed. If she starts getting really snarled, it tells me it is time for a clip! I am beginning to really lust after a CC Buttercomb, though...

PS Just seen your photos - love that old fashioned look from the floor!

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

Panda

I dont have a pin brush, do I need a particular kind?

Bass standard pin brush - dog pin brushes - Bass pet grooming tools UK

Is this one OK?

I will take all these tips and start a new brushing style as i have clearly been doing it wrong.

Ladyscarletthawk

My favorite brushes:

Wood Pin Brushes for Pet Grooming, Show Dogs & Cats

I use this brush on my show mini and doesnt pull out as much hair as the other pin brushes I have used including the metal pin brushes by CC.

If your dog is matted it is not uncommon to get lots of hair out.

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Laura, Eve, and Fergie

Panda

Not sure my budget can stretch to that much, especially as I have ordered 2 of the LP slickers in the group buy. I will have a look online for one thats about £15-20. I guess I am looking for one without plastic bits on the ends?