Drat coat

[Fieldlab]

Good eavening was wondering if anyone can give me some insite on the average coat maintenance for a typical drathaar I am a lab guy and used to the shedding but do Drats have to get groomed every couple of months I prefer one with a heavier coat for duck hunting, thanks

[Misskiwi67]

I don’t do anything except bathe them when they roll in something, and use a stripping comb on the denser coated dog in spring.

They do shed a fair bit, but probably half as much as a lab.

[orhunter]

Without seeing the dog, not easy to recommend what is needed. Time of year makes a difference also.

[AverageGuy]

My GWPs have mostly held their coats until I periodically remove some of the dead undercoat using a comb with the dog on the table. 10 minutes worth 3-4 times a year is all. With my more wooly coated models I have used clippers a couple of times a year to remove excess feathering around the edges of ears, back of legs, underneath side of tail as they will roll up alot of cockleburs otherwise.

Which brings up the biggest maintenance item with those dogs that have had a more wooly coat - removing cockleburs. Through experience I claim to be an expert at rolling them out with my fingers and can debur such a dog in 10-15 minutes on the tailgate at the end of hunt.

It does motivate me to get a dog with a more ideal coat these days however. I see alot of DDs with good to excellent coats so it is achievable and worth making an additional criteria in your litter selection is my input.

[JONOV]

My wirehair is exceptionally wooly. I usually run him through with a Mars Coat King about once a month to pull the dead stuff out.

They shed less than a lab.

They get into more burrs than a lab does, but they pull right out.

At 2 years old, I visited a friend that has bench bred wirehairs, and asked about making him look less like a muppet. She and I stripped the snot out of him, and now he looks like one on TV. Almost ALL of the stripping was on the head and neck. Two volleyballs worth of hair, easily.

One other consideration; appearances aren't what they seem. Mine has a long shaggy coat, but it isn't as thick/dense as some that appear almost lab-like from 50 feet away.

The only time he goes to a professional groomer is around Christmas time because my wife wants him to get a bath and get the hair around his genitals taken care of before he gets rubbed on by her family, but it isn't necessary. In fact, they don't do any notable grooming at all.

[booger]

Interesting. My DD has what I consider to be halfway in between short hair and wooley. Very, very rare to get a burr, sheds in spurts. She finally lost her winter coat just recently. This year her coat was so thick I felt like I needed to buy a deshedding rake in the Spring, that has worked really nicely. I'd say about 5 times a year I'll notice shedding going on.

It certainly isn't constant shedding with my dog.

[stubblejumper]

Drahthaars do shed, I sweep the floors in the house every few days, and it amounts to a couple of dustpans full of hair. My dog has a medium length, smooth coat.

[Fieldlab]

Thanks for the input, I am convinced nothing sheds like a lab ! However I didnt want to have to bring a dd to place to get groomed cpl times a year