Do dog deshedding treatments work?
Getting rid of all dead hair during a deshedding treatment is common sense but not always common practice.
An effective deshedding of a dog takes into account three important factors. And the person in charge of carrying out the treatment must be well-versed in all three and understand what is happening throughout the whole process.
Factor 1: High-Quality Grooming Tools
Like any good chef will tell you, it all begins with selecting the right ingredients. The same is true for completing an effective deshedding treatment.
A professional will always pay close attention to the dog's coat's type, length, and overall condition. These characteristics will help choose the right tools for the job ahead.
Sometimes a pre-bath blowout is needed to start releasing dead fur and look at the condition of the skin hiding underneath all the hair. Other times, a pre-rinse with a good cleansing shampoo is required to remove debris causing hair to cling together.
As a rule of thumb, the right approach to begin a deshedding treatment will depend on the dog's skin and coat's condition inside the tub.
But no matter in what state they are, if the professional cannot choose from a high-quality line of deshedding shampoos and conditioners, the results will always be less than desirable. Like no two dogs are alike, not all cleaning formulas are the same.
Factor 2: Capability
Now, you may have the most amazing ingredients to work with, but it will all be in vain if you do not know how to work with them.
High-quality grooming salons assign deshedding treatments to staff members fully trained in the process.
The professional in charge must be able to identify the right ingredients for the job and how to put them to use. This technique ends up saving money and time for both the pet parent and the salon—a win-win scenario.
Putting in the right amount of effort and energy into a dog deshedding treatment done professionally is a delicate science that not all grooming salon personnel are capable of unless fully trained.
Factor 3: Behavior
Finally, dog deshedding treatments work when there is a perfect combination of:
the right ingredients,
in the hands of a capable person and,
applied under a mutually cooperating environment between the dog and the professional.
Deshedding treatments done well are more labor-intensive and take more time than a regular bath. The dog in the tub must be mentally ready to undergo a cleaning session that combines water, bubbles, hair blowers, and brushing repeated at different intervals.
However, it is just as important for the professional in charge to be mentally ready to do a good job, no matter how long or laborious the process ends up being. A well-trained deshedding treatment professional will not take longer just because more steps are involved but rather because each stage requires careful completion before moving on to the next.
Ask what deshedding includes before you start.
As a responsible pet parent, you can do your part to confirm your dog will get the best deshedding results by asking two simple but crucial questions:
1. What shampoo and conditioner are used?
2. Is the person in charge of the treatment professionally trained in deshedding?
The answers to these questions will be the factors that decide if dog deshedding treatments do work or not for your dog.