What Is Pet Dander?

Keeping a pet well groomed is so important to the health and comfort of the animal. When an animal's coat is not properly maintained, the pet dander will build up, causing the coat to become severely matted. With every step the animal takes it feels like someone is pulling the hair. Understanding what pet dander is and how to keep it to a minimum will keep everyone in the family healthy.

  1. What Is Pet Dander?

    • Cats and dogs have pet dander. It is tiny flakes of dead skin that slough off the pet continuously. Breathing in pet dander is the number one reason that people have an allergic reaction to animals. The dander is hard to see on some animals, and on others it looks like a bad case of dandruff, and the animal smells even after a bath. When the dander combines with oil and dirt, it becomes a glue-like substance trapping the undercoat and causing the hair to turn into large wadded mats.

    Matting

    • One of the reasons the undercoat gets trapped is that many animals have two coats: an undercoat that grows under the long silky top coat. This fuzzy undercoat can be trapped by pet dander glue and resembles dreadlocks, only dirtier. If the tangles and wads are not broken up and brushed out regularly, a few thick wads quickly turn into a big section of matted coat. Once it becomes a body cast of mats, the only way to take care of it is to contact a compassionate professional pet groomer. She will either have to shave the entire animal or spend hours doing painful dematting.

    Regular Grooming

    • While you may remove a little pet dander by brushing and bathing the dog at home, without the professional equipment of a grooming salon you're just moving the pet dander around. To get rid of it a professional groomer uses a forced air dryer. This heavy-duty blow dryer gets in and kicks out all the dead skin and trapped undercoat, tossing it around like cotton candy, making the coat fluffy and much easier to brush out. Some dogs like the Samoyed or husky have a hard time getting completely dry, leaving the undercoat damp and smelling bad. Grooming makes sure that the dog gets completely clean and dry and the undercoat is completely brushed out.

    Grooming Tricks at Home

    • Line brushing can help reduce the amount of pet dander that gathers. You need a gentle slicker brush, grooming comb and coat conditioning spray. Brush the dog's hair in a line. Starting at the bottom of the dog and working your way up, hold up the hair with your hand, and brush little sections down in a line. Look to see clean skin and no undercoat. Use the comb to check for wadded undercoat, and the coat conditioner spray to slick up the hair making it easier to brush out the undercoat.

    Warning

    • If the long silky hair looks brushed through but you cannot see the dog's skin, then the coat could be a webbed, matted mess. Do not attempt to brush through at home. Contact a groomer and let him loosen up the webbed coat with the forced air dryer, which will make it easier to brush. He can also teach you some dematting techniques that can prevent a severely matted coat and a miserable pet.