The Perfect Chihuahua Brush

Ru recently blew his already incredibly sparse coat, resulting in tiny hairs everywhere. The owners of some of Ru's favorite laps suggested that I brush him. This turned out to be a rather tall request. First, I tried the Furminator. Though I have at least five of these things, most of my stuff is currently in storage and the only one available was the large size. The width of the blade is about the same distance as Ru is around. Still, I gave it a go. It picked up a single hair in several strokes. Ru hated it.

Next I asked my large body of internet dog nerd friends for suggestions. These suggestions were all for the same thing: rubber curry combs. I have several of these, but they are all quite large compared to Ru, and the rubber bristles are rather far apart. The result is that only half the rubber teeth end up touching him and none remove any hair either. Also, Ru hates them. I can't really blame him, it's like being rubbed with a large piece of luggage, kinda weird and threatening.

Finally, I Googled it. Search terms included "chihuahua brush" and "perfect smooth chihuahua brush". I found a discussion on a chihuahua-centric forum in which several people extolled the virtues of soft boar bristle brushes. Amazon has a bunch of inexpensive ones, but most of the reviews are complaints that the brushes labeled "100% boar bristle" turned out to have a bunch of plastic bristles in them. Someone on the chihuahua forum mentioned finding theirs at Sally Beauty Supply.

And that was where I found it. Sally's had nearly a dozen brushes labeled "100% boar bristle". On closer inspection, all but one had definite plastic bristles mixed in with the pig hairs. There was just one brush that was very definitely made from all boar bristles and no plastic. I bought it for $5. So fancy. It works though!