Dealing with stickers

K

KansasGsp

Active member
I've always owned shorthairs, decided to try something different and got myself a Brittany pup (great dog so far). Been getting him ready for the upcoming season and messing with stickers in a dog's coat is something new to me. Any tips or tricks? I really wanna trim him up but convincing the wife is another thing, she loves his longer hair! Didn't know if there's a special comb or spray you guys use? Thanks in advance, Bryan
 
Have a groomer give him a hunting clip, just trimmed up, removing any excess hair. He will lose some hair by combing burrs out over the bird season. Spraying PAM helps a bit. Buy a good rake and carry a comb. My golden looks quite different from the start to the end of the season. Comb out frequently to avoid issues with the dog chewing out burrs and swallowing them, then vomiting.
 
When I had a setter I would put some hair conditioner and water in a spray bottle, shake it and spray the stickers before pulling them out. It helps soften everything up. Trimming their coat and running them with a dog vest on also helps.
 
A friend of mine hunts a golden in areas that have burr dock, sand burrs and cockle burrs (plenty for everyone) and he swears by a “Furrmanator”. All I can say that if he hunts where he does with that dog and his dog still has fur, it must be quite a tool.
 
I think its called the Furminator. I've got one that I use on my lab to remove excess shedding hair at certain parts of the year. Works well
 
KansasGsp said:
I've always owned shorthairs, decided to try something different and got myself a Brittany pup (great dog so far). Been getting him ready for the upcoming season and messing with stickers in a dog's coat is something new to me. Any tips or tricks? I really wanna trim him up but convincing the wife is another thing, she loves his longer hair! Didn't know if there's a special comb or spray you guys use? Thanks in advance, Bryan
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Having springers I can feel your pain. Several years ago I found a couple items I keep in my dog bag that help immensely. Showsheen for horses tails and manes. Spray it on before going afield. Work it into the fur, pay attention to underarms ears, anywhere the pup has feathering. Dries in a couple moments. This will make removal of burrs, stickers, about 50% easier. Also, helps minimize snow clods from building in feathering. A bottle will easily last a couple years.
Mushers secret is also another good item to carry. I put it on the dogs feet, between the toes. Toughens the feet, helps with snow and burr removal.
 
I consider my Goldens hair disposable armour. I often cut them out, especially her tail. She don't often look pretty after a few hunts but she don't care. I use a good dog vest to repel as many as possible. Same with my Pudelpointer . I usually am able to comb most out.
 
I slather Dutch with this, they glide right out with a brush. Downside, if you use too much, she's greasy for a day. I also spot treat with it on tough ones, put it on drink a beer and they pop right out without ripping fur out.
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Thanks, I'll check out the Cowboy magic. I got a Mars rake and it's works nicely, last night he got his first haircut, made sure not to cut off too much for momma as she likes his curls!
 
KansasGsp said:
I've always owned shorthairs, decided to try something different and got myself a Brittany pup (great dog so far). Been getting him ready for the upcoming season and messing with stickers in a dog's coat is something new to me. Any tips or tricks? I really wanna trim him up but convincing the wife is another thing, she loves his longer hair! Didn't know if there's a special comb or spray you guys use? Thanks in advance, Bryan
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Bring him home full of cockle burs and tell (beg) your wife to debur him. Could be a win win either way!
 
KansasGsp said:
Thanks, I'll check out the Cowboy magic. I got a Mars rake and it's works nicely, last night he got his first haircut, made sure not to cut off too much for momma as she likes his curls!
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If you go to the horse section in a Feldman or any farm store here they sell spray de tangle in a bottle. It makes it much easier at the end of the day. Mane and tail is one of them. As stated above if you use too much they do get a bit greasy. But It is still better than burrs
 
Funny you mention it because that was the turning point on me trimming his hair. My son and I took him out a few weeks ago to hang some deer stands and it was some nasty river bottom area and Finn came home full of cockle burs! My son spent over an hour in the shower removing them and that was enough to convince her that he needed a trim. She did say last night that he looked good, so I guess I must of done an okay job!
 
KansasGsp said:
Thanks, I'll check out the Cowboy magic. I got a Mars rake and it's works nicely, last night he got his first haircut, made sure not to cut off too much for momma as she likes his curls!
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I get the gel and put it on her face and legs before a hunt, the spot treat is after.
 
I've read about others using horse products with good success. When I had a springer, I made sure to trim his armpits, ears, tail, and pants. Nothing worse than cockleburs in armpits. Also around pads of feet, because of sand burrs and snow clumps. Bring knife, scissors, and brushes, in the vehicle.

I was tempted to get a French Brittany a few times, but the burrs were always in the back of my mind. Same with English setters. Our property at home is covered in burdock.
 
Limitless said:
Nothing worse than cockleburs in armpits.
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Oh my gosh, no kidding! So tender there! Ace acts like I'm killing him. And he has actually tried to nip me. He HATES having cockle burrs removed from his arm pits. It must really, really hurt. If he gets them there, I apply a bunch of coconut oil, which doesn't make them just fall out, but helps quite a bit.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
It must really, really hurt.
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For @KansasGsp , we should mention to watch your dog. If you have a high energy, silky furred dog that is normally grease lightning, and then you see them slowing down, check for burs. Biting at feet is a sure sign of burs or snow clumps too.

We used to have newfoundland dogs. Our big male (yes, I hunted pheasants with a 180 pound dog), once got a sore on his tongue. We were worried about cancer. They biopsied the tongue and called me to ask if he could have gotten into burs. Umm, yes, our property is covered in burdock. As you can imagine, it was a constant battle with dogs with that much shaggy fur. He had pulled some out of his fur and got pieces embedded in his tongue, and it swelled up. Thankfully, no cancer.

At least with burdock, they aren't as sharp as cockleburs or sandburs. They sure are like velcro though. I hate getting them on my clothes, because the little barbed pieces can stay in clothing after washing and cause itching when the clothing is put back on later.

I mentioned keeping a knife and scissors in the vehicle. I should have said I kept a knife on me in the field too, in case I had to cut out a cocklebur. Scissors didn't work as well for me in the armpits, because the silky fur would wrap around the bur and pull it right up next to the skin. I had to cut the strands of fur, kind of like filleting around the bur (not cutting skin!).

I also watch for patches of cockleburs and sandburs and get the dog out of the area if I see the stuff. Honey's fur doesn't hold burs, thankfully, but those things are sharp. I hate 'em.

Coconut oil is a great idea. I keep that in my hunting bag to use on feet, in case I were to run out of the musher's secret type products. The nice thing is you can get it in just about any grocery store, and it is solid until you get into the higher 70s, so not easy to spill, yet melts when applied.
 
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