So Zelda (now 2 years old, around 45lbs) is CONSTANTLY SHEDDING. Even after blowing coat, it is an excessive amount of shedding. Not the pulling clumps off the butt type shedding, but kind of a constant top coat and soft undercoat shed. She was on Diamond Naturals lamb meal and rice which I supplemented with ShedX on top. I just switched over to Diamond naturals Skin and Coat (First ingredient is salmon with lots of pro biotics and omega 3s) but it has only been a week. She is not a huge fan of the groomer, and I use an undercoat rake and a furminator (average 3 sessions for at least 30 minutes). But she is squirmy. She also thinks the blow dryer is going to end her life (sigh), so when she does go to the groomer she goes into the little kennel dryer instead of a high velocity dryer. Does anyone have recommendations for a nervous, timid, excessively shedding husky?

First, ditch the furminator, it cuts their hair. You can try brushing with either a pin brush, slicker brush or a rake (on my wooly boy, the rake works better, my normal coated guy, I use the pin brush) both boys, when not in coat blow, work best with the slicker brush... Removes those stray top coat hairs as well as the downy undercoat. With my guys, even when they are not blowing coat, the floors still hair that needs vacuum.

There's definitely no stopping the shedding but the undercoat rake ( i use and love the paws pamper version) works really well for the undercoat and I then use a slicker brush to pull it out the remainder of the way. I also got her used to grooming by petting her with the tools first even when not trying to groom her. I always wait till she is relaxed and not playful or hungry. I keep the rake in a spot where she sees it all the time so she isn't afraid of it. It's important to start early though, changing a husky's behavior is possible but challenging.

A huge +1 to Amy's comment, I would like to add in that while the Furminator brush really isn't great for husky fur, the shampoo and conditioner are! It may seem silly, but it really does work wonders. I did a post about it earlier.

https://www.itsahuskything.com/t18196-furminator-shampoo-and-conditioner#263471

As a groomer in northern PA, (lots of huskies) I do see a big difference in the dogs that get regular (monthly) Furminator shampoo and conditioner vs those who don't.

Did someone say shedding?? I bought a longer-tined rake. This is only a couple passes:

And so it begins...

Spring coat blow! Last year was Lachlan's first big coat blow at about 11 months and caught off us guard. The amount of undercoat pube clouds floating around the house was unbelievable! I wasn't expecting it to start before the weather here in Portland starting warming up.

The last 4 months or so have been awesome with very little shedding. Now I'm recognizing the first signs of the next blow. I've got the Furminator shampoo, conditioner, and the spray stuff which I haven't tried yet. Can anyone tell me how it works? Do you just spray it on and it loosens up the undercoat? Last year the conditioner seems to be the most effective. I've got the rake too.

Please take the furminator back. The breeder we got our dog from told me that the furminators break the huskies guard coat and it can take years for the coat to recover

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@Windfishin The key to the furminator shampoo and conditioner is to let it sit for five minutes each! When you rinse the dog the clumps are AMAZING lol!

Huskyfollower wrote:

@Windfishin The key to the furminator shampoo and conditioner is to let it sit for five minutes each! When you rinse the dog the clumps are AMAZING lol!

Thanks, Huskyfollower! Yeah, my post wasn't very clear....I've used the shampoo and conditioner. The conditioner especially seems to loosen up large clumps of undercoat. Although getting my boy to chill out and just hang in the tub is not easy!

It's the furminator de-shedding spray I haven't tried yet. I saw a video where a person sprayed there dog down and used a blower on him to blast the fur off. Just wondering if the spray is supposed to loosen up the undercoat like the shampoo/conditioner does or what. If so it would be a lot easier than a bath.

I'm not too sure, since we don't use the spray at my salon. We just use the high velocity dryers to blow clumps of fur out of their coat.
Most huskies are shy of the velocity dryer, but it is definately possible to work your way up to it. At my salon, I take the time to work with each pupper so they know it is a positive experience. I'm not saying your groomer is doing a bad job, but maybe ask them to start off at the lowest setting, and then work up to the higher velocities. However, I don't know your girl, it might just not work out for her! Hope all works out!

Few more questions...

1. Last year after the coat blow crisis was in full swing, I got some Furminator conditioner and after the bath while he was still damp, I was amazed at the large shelf-like mounds of undercoat that seemed to fall away with the rake. This year I tried to get out ahead and bathed him with both the shampoo and the conditioner, letting each set for 5+ minutes about 4 days after the first signs of coat blow. After the bath, I didn't get the same result. The undercoat is still mostly stuck on.

So is it best to wait until they're a ways into the blow before doing the bath?

2. I've heard a lot about how the furminator comb/brunch is bad because it cuts top coat. But for us it seem far more efficient than anything else and what it removes seems to be nothing by white, squiggly undercoat....I don't see any brown fur at all. What am I missing?

3. I know he not a wooly, and I don't think he's a short, so plush?

You avatar looks like a standard coat. the Furminator cuts longer coats. If your dog was a plush or a wooly then you would be more apt to see the actual cut show up in your brushes. Being a standard coat you may only be cutting the very tips or more than likely it is just scraping the guard hair and not fully cutting it. A bit like when you run a scissor blade over a ribbon and it causes it to curl. Doesn't cut the ribbon but damages a side of it making for a change in behavior. Hairs can do the same. Unlikely to see a curl like with a ribbon but damaged hair will over time change how it feels or even fall out prematurely.

I tend to wait until toward the end of the blow to give mine a bath. Too early and it just clogs my shower up a ton. Toward the end I have the stubborn hairs to deal with and bathing encourages them to move on so I can get done with the blow rather than dragging it out longer. Now, I don't use a no-shed shampoo of any kind. Dogs have to shed. The undercoat is going to come out whether all at once (which is nice) or slowly over time.

Twister, so standard is not the same as plush?  What's the difference? This site makes it sound like they are the same.

https://pethelpful.com/dogs/The-Difference-Between-a-Siberian-and-a-Quality-Siberian


Coat Elaboration
The Siberian has three main coat lengths: short, plush, and wooly. Only the plush is breed standard, while wooly and short are not of quality. A wooly coated Siberian has a much thicker undercoat and much longer hair. This coat type hides the shape of the dog, which is why it is a disqualification. While woolies make adorable pets, they are not quality Siberians.

Also, Furminator "de-shedding" shampoo is not designed to limit shedding but to accelerate it, right?

I'm so confiused.

I'm not sure what the furminator shampoo is designed to do as I don't use it. Most shampoos claim to limit shedding, though I don't know how exactly they do it.

Lingo and expectations have changed over time. That is the only site I've ever seen a standard coat referred to as "plush". Anytime we here, and others that I've talked to, have referred to a husky as "plush" is when their coat is slightly poofier than standard but not wooly. They look like they have been blow dried all the time and not just after a bath. My female has a standard coat. If I blow dry her her coat will puff up but most of the time she is just a thick haired dog whose hair lays down.

The show world has changed a lot of what people think and consider to be standard. Show dogs though are often and sadly not much like their original breed anymore. A lot of show dogs are overly fuzzy. They are often thicker looking than race dogs as well. Many show huskies would fall apart if asked to actively do what the original intent of the breed was for.

So, for now, if you hear someone say plush on this forum they are referring to a husky that is poofier than what you would normally see. Or at least if I say plush that is what I am meaning. We have a couple members who have dogs that are plushy. Very thick coats.