Dog deshedding treatment in southern Maine.
Two weeks a year, a double-coated dog tries to move its entire winter coat into your house. A proper deshed pulls that undercoat out in the trailer — where it belongs — instead of onto your rugs.
from $25 as an add-on · from $70 as a standalone deshed & bath
What's Included
What's in a deshedding treatment
Deshedding shampoo & conditioner
A release-formula shampoo followed by a conditioner that loosens the dead undercoat at the follicle. This step is why a deshed pulls twice the fur a dry brushing does.
High-velocity blowout
The real workhorse. Forced air drives dead undercoat out of the coat in sheets, and gets to fur a brush can't reach — chest, ruff, pants, and the base of the tail.
Undercoat rake & carding
Rake, then slicker, then a fine comb through the trouble spots — behind the ears, the britches, and the armpits, where dead coat felts first.
Skin check as we go
Packed undercoat traps moisture and hides hot spots. We part the coat down to skin as we work, and we tell you what we find.
Never a shave
We don't shave double coats. That coat insulates against heat as well as cold, and shaving can permanently wreck the texture on Goldens, Shepherds and Huskies.
Sand and salt rinse
Coastal dogs carry beach sand deep in the undercoat all summer and road salt all winter. Both come out in the wash.
Good To Know
Why double coats blow out twice a year
A double-coated dog has two things going on: a coarse outer guard coat that sheds slowly all year, and a dense woolly undercoat that comes out in enormous quantities twice a year as daylight changes. In Maine that's roughly late March into May, and again around September into November. Owners often think the dog is sick. The dog is just changing seasons.
The mistake is letting the dead undercoat stay in. Packed undercoat is a mat waiting to happen: it blocks airflow to the skin, holds damp after a swim, and makes a dog hotter in July than a properly deshed coat would. That's also the argument against shaving — the same coat that keeps a Husky warm in February keeps them cool in August, and once you shave it, the undercoat often grows back faster than the guard hairs and the texture never fully recovers.
How often depends on the dog. A Lab or a Golden does well with a deshed every eight to twelve weeks and one heavy session at each blowout. A Husky, Malamute or Samoyed usually wants every six to eight weeks during shedding season. Shepherds sit in the middle, with the britches and ruff doing most of the work.
Salt water is the local complication. Dogs who swim at Goose Rocks and Gooch's all summer come home with sand and salt sitting against the skin under a packed coat — a fast track to a hot spot in August humidity.
- Removes up to ~90% of the loose undercoat in one visit
- Shedding season here runs roughly March–May and September–November
- Never shave a double coat — deshed it instead
- Best value as an add-on to a bath & brush or full groom
Our Process
How a deshed goes in the trailer
Same order, every appointment, in the trailer in your driveway. Typical visit: About 60–90 minutes, one dog at a time.
Rough brush-out
A first pass with a rake and slicker while the coat is dry, mostly to find mats, burrs, and any felted patches that need breaking up before water touches them.
Deshedding bath
Warm water, release shampoo worked all the way down to the skin, then the conditioning treatment left to sit while we do ears and nails.
Rinse until it runs clear
Under-rinsing is the classic cause of itchy post-groom dogs. Thick coats hold product, so we rinse well past the point it looks done.
The blowout
High-velocity air, section by section, following the coat. This is where the fur comes off in clouds and where most of the treatment actually happens.
Rake, card, comb
With the coat dry and open, we work the rake through the ruff, chest, and britches, then finish with a fine comb to prove there's nothing left behind.
Tidy and check
Feet, sanitary, and a quick shape on the pants and tail if it needs one — plus a skin report on anything we found under all that coat.
From The Driveway
What neighbors say.
"Our shepherd blows his coat twice a year and it used to mean vacuuming daily for a month. They filled a trash bag in the driveway. A trash bag."
"Two Goldens, one appointment, and I could see the difference on the floors within a day. We do it every spring now like clockwork."
"Our lab swims all summer and was getting hot spots under his coat. Regular desheds basically ended that."
Where We Go
Twelve towns, one trailer.
We bring this service to every town on the southern Maine coast we serve — no travel fee inside the area.
Breeds We Groom
Coat-specific care, too.
Every coat behaves differently. These guides cover what we do differently for each breed.
Also Worth Reading
Services that pair with this.
FAQ
Questions we get asked.
- How much does a deshedding treatment cost in Maine?
- It's $25 to $45 as an add-on to a bath & brush or full groom, depending on the size and density of the dog, or from $70 as a standalone deshed-and-bath appointment. Huskies, Malamutes and Great Pyrenees in full blow sit at the top of that range because it's genuinely an hour of extra work.
- How often should my dog get deshedded?
- Labs, Goldens and Shepherds: every eight to twelve weeks, plus a heavy session in spring and fall. Huskies, Malamutes and Samoyeds during a blowout: every six to eight weeks. Short-coated dogs like a smooth Dachshund don't need it at all.
- Will this stop the shedding completely?
- No, and be suspicious of anyone who says it will. A good deshed removes most of the coat that was going to end up on your floor over the next few weeks — expect a dramatic reduction for about four to six weeks, not a permanent fix.
- Can you just shave my Husky for the summer?
- We won't, and we'd rather explain why than quietly do it. A double coat insulates in both directions; shaving it removes the dog's sun protection and cooling layer, and the undercoat frequently grows back coarser and faster than the guard coat. A thorough deshed makes a dog far cooler than a shave does.
- My Golden's coat is matting behind the ears. Is that shedding?
- Usually yes — dead undercoat that never came out, felting against friction points. Behind the ears, the armpits, and the britches are the three places it always starts. If it's still brushable we'll rake it out; if it's tight to the skin we'll talk about a shave on that area only.
- Do you deshed cats?
- No — dogs only.
Reading we recommend
- AKC: why you shouldn't shave a double-coated dog — The clearest explanation of what shaving does to a double coat.
- AKC guide to dog shedding — Shedding cycles, seasonal blowouts, and what's normal by coat type.
Ready when your pup is.
Pick your service, pick your town, and we'll roll into your driveway within the week.