Brushing?

[TheMadMarchHare]

I have a very small Angora mix - 3.5 pounds, and a year old at the most. He is truly short haired, except the head and the behind.

His hair on the butt mats very easily, so what is a good brushing tool for rabbits? I groom dogs, so I have lots of brushes, combs and equipment, and I thought maybe a comb? But it doesn't seem to get to the bottom of his coat. Would a regular slicker brush do?

Thanks!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

A regular comb should do the trick, but something more fine toothed can be useful as well. You should be able to get down to the skin. A slicker brush can be used if there is matting or webbing. If the matting is bad, cutting it out can be the best option.

It sounds like he might be more of a lionhead. They tend to have more normal fur on the body, with a mane around the neck and a skirt around the bum.

 

[DogCatMom]

You might try pre-combing him with a Rescoe coarse comb, then following up with a slicker brush. If he'll permit, also use the Rescoe comb from the belly out toward the "outside" of the rabbit; this will loosen up the wool that's difficult to reach from the outside with the comb and the brush.

If you know how to line/layer brush (lift up part of the coat with your off-hand and a comb; slicker-brush what's lying down on the animal; then repeat repeat repeat until all of a section has been worked), that's also a good follow-up to the technique in the first paragraph.

HTH!

 

[TheMadMarchHare]

Oh really? I thought he was a lionhead cross when I got him, but I didn't think they had hair on the behind!

Thank you both for the advice! I will try this.