First of all, I’ve never seen a dog that doesn’t like to be brushed or at least tolerate a good brushing. Cane on the other hand, hates to stay still long enough to be brushed. Brushing him is one step below toenail clipping in squirming-to-get-away factor. He will still try the pinching bites to get you to stop, but he goes for the brush instead of your forearms. So it’s a little less painful to brush him as well.
Once you get Cane kind of subdued, you have to hold him still with one arm and brush with the other. It could be made easier with two people, but then you’ll have two people covered with Cane hair as well. We usually go with the one brushing human/ one laughing human method.
Second, you’ll need a brush that is made for the job. Huskies have an undercoat that helps regulate their body temperature. This undercoat is more than most standard brushes can handle. After trying several different brushes that clog with hair almost immediately after touching Cane, we found an undercoat rake at the big all encompassing chain store (pic below). It made all the difference.
Starting at the front and working toward the back would seem logical, but when the squirming begins, you brush whatever area Cane presents at the time. This will require flipping him over multiple times to ensure you get as much as you can.
Once you brush and brush and brush, you’ll reach a point where you have as much hair in your eyes and mouth that you can stand. That’s when you’re done but there will always be more hair that can be brushed.
Lastly, you will need to chase Cane around the back yard so he shakes off any loose hair before he goes back inside. This is also a good time to shake hair off of yourself.
When you finish, you will have a scene that appears to snow. The wind will eventually take it away but Cane will help disperse it by running thru it and stirring it up into the air so you get a little more in your mouth and eyes before the game is over.
The other tool you’ll need to combat the massive amount of hair that will be in your house is a beefy vacuum cleaner. We use a Dyson DC25 Animal that is supposed to me make for pet hair. It’s expensive but it has been worth every dollar.
The Aftermath:
American Dog Outfitters: Undercoat Rake:
