I have a small/med breed( 3 years old),she is meant to have a long flowing coat but over the last few months its all but gone leaving a short frizzy coat,nothing like it was before.She isnt a show dog but i always took pride in her coat and im devastated! She has been to the vets and is in perfect health other than a scruffy coat.She is fed awell known good quality complete food,nothing in her diet has changed.Im thinking that perhaps me over grooming her is to blame,i have a wide tooth comb and wire slicker brush but recently i bumped in to a guy walking his beardie and he thinks i should use a bristle brush instead.Any advice on how to get her beautiful coat back will be very much appreciated ie grooming tips,supplements etc,i feel ive let her down.

Has she had a full thyroid blood panel done, has she been spayed?

\what breed is she?  Need to know as people in the breed will be able to advise.

If the coat is beardie type of coat I wouldnt use a slicker (just rip the coat) prob ok for the legs , you need to use a good pin brush that doesnt scratch (run it down your arm if it marks its rubbish) such as all systems pin or CC pin (which I use) a wide tooth comb and a Mason Pearson which I just love!! Always use a grooming spray never a dry coat as this damages it plus dont groom too often a quick once over each day as you would brush your own hair then one good all over groom once a week.

but agree would be easier if we knew the breed .

Has she had a season.  Mine are long coated and can blow their coat after a season or on whim.  has she been stressed at all? They do grow back but it might take time depending on your breed.  I've known others to still show their dogs with coat loss and still get good placing so if nothing is medically wrong I wouldn't worry too much.

My girl is a tibetan terrier,she is not my usual breed and only a pet,i adore her and feel ive let her down.She has been to the vets and he said its not thyroid as her weight by now would have been affected,he suggested omega 3.Today i bought cod liver oil with omega 3 conditioning capsules.she is normally a real pale colour but at the moment looks dark grey with a pale colour running down her spine ( the pale colour is soft downy hair).Mt friend who i havent seen in a while didnt recognise her.She is eating well and seems perfectly happy,its just her coat.I definately think its a case of me over grooming her,she is a real mud magnet because we live near a  forest w,here there are so many boggy ditches and she drys in looking all straggly.If she has a tangly bit how should i deal with it without damaging the coat any more and can you recommend a good grooming spray.How long does a damaged coat take to grow back? I dont want to clip her short because until recently i managed to keep her coat looking good and keep up her much loved forest walks.Thanks for the advice so far,much appreciated.

I know my beardies get a bit scraggly around 2-3yrs when the last stage of the adult coat is coming through.
As my breed dont get the full adult coat until they are around 4yrs. Maybe the TT go through a similar stage.
The soft downy hair is new coat coming through  it will be a different colour .
My brown girls are born chocolate go through stages of brown until they end up cream at around 18m-2 yrs then begin to go brown again getting thier finished coat at around 4yrs.
A good spray to protect the coat is called 'the stuff' (from hub or petcetra) it stops mud and bits of tree leaves etc sticking to the coat and damaging it. Only down side is it can make your floor a bit slippy if you have laminate or wood floors  so best to soak the coat  outside and let it dry a bit.
Another grooming spray I love from dezynadog called amazing trix smells lovely too keeps the coat in good condition.

I know the TT has a different type of coat to my breed but I do think you are over doing the brushing .

another great product for behind the ears and the elbows is called cowboy magic you rub it in the coat where they tend to matt leave it for a few minutes to soak in and then gently tease out the matt.

HTH

Roni

Thanks for the advice,i will go on the net today and order all the grooming aids i need.Im terrified to groom her at all now incase i damage the coat further.

I cant find a mason pearson brush in town so i have looked them up online but didnt realise there were different types,i saw similar brushes in town but not this particular brand,help!

hub int sell them or petcetra depends on what you want to spend as they are very expensive I cant remember which mine is will hve to take a look.

me again...my Mason and Pearson is the bristle and nylon med junior (when I first got it I wasnt that impressed esp with it being so expensive but once you know how and when is the best time to use it during a grooming session its one I could  not do without).

sorry to thread butt, however, i wanted to say how helpful your informaition was Staryeyes i have a FCR who has up till now had a terrible coat and you informationwas really good and as i assume beardies have a similar coat i can use this for my own dog :)

Hi Claire,
Not really knowing much about your breed I cant really give much advice other than the products I mentioned would be of use to most breeds , the feathering of your breed would I presume require attention to prevent matts , if this  is a problem I would recommend the cowboy magic , a good brush and grooming spray.

(thank you for your kind comments)

I imagine others with more knowledge of your breed  will comment soon

Kenzi.
Can I suggest you buy a copy of 'Grooming The Tibetan Terrier' by Lesley Cooper. It is a very informative little booklet and I'm sure it will help. You can buy it from the TTA club.
As the previous posts have said, using a grooming spray will help. Is sounds rather like you have removed a lot of the undercoat which will then make the coat look rather sparse and wispy. I also have TT's so if I can be any further help you can pm me.
anne