Dog hair nightmare

Question
Hello,
I've got this mixed dog and his sister - they just turned 8 a few days ago. Both dogs are wonderful about being brushed they really look forward to it, by the end of a good grooming session I'm usually hearing snores and my pantleg is wet from the drool - they're really perfect dogs.

The problem and my question: I don't know how to describe their fur, it's sort of a cross between a chow and a german shephard I'd guess, the male has coarser longer hair and the female has denser more"spikey" and silky hair but both have long fine fur all over with flairs of fur down the backs of their legs to the wrist joint. It's that time of year - over the last few months they've been shedding their undercoats but I never remember it being this bad before. The male dog has what I can only describe as "pilling" on his rump and the back of his back legs and a little around his neck... his fur isn't really long enough to tangle but it's like the dead undercoat fell out but instead of coming out it's wrapped in tight clumps around the living hair. Same deal with the female dog but she's got it pretty much all over her body - just to causal appearance they look sleek and ok it's only when I get my hands on them and try to touch skin that I realize the extent of this, which has never happened before. The female especially seems to just be suffocating under the felted undercoat that refuses to come out except in occasional clumps - it kind of reminds me of a hair brush that's got a lot of hair on it.

My question - how do I deal with this? My tools are an undercoat rake, a pin brush, and a medium steel comb. Is there some type of spray I can use to ease the hair out? Is there a specific tool I should be looking for? Is it true that I shouldn't under any circumstances bathe these dogs until I've got all this dead fur out?

I'm asking this question specifically because for the last week I've spent 2 hours per dog every day of really concentrated effort and even being my most gentle and careful I seem to really be hurting them their skin especially around the rump just seems overly sensitive right now.

These are indoor dogs, they usually get brushed once-twice a week unless it's around shedding season when clumps of hair normally comes out all over and then I go at them every day like I'm doing... Only this time the dogs are telling me it hurts and I'm not making much headway and I know that I'm being exceedingly gentle. Help! What do I do? These guys have never been to a professional groomer they've got agression issues(too old to sedate, vet won't do it) and they've never been shaved down before I wouldn't do that to them.


Answer
Hello Tiffany!
What a great question! I have had to deal with this many of times while dog grooming. I'm so glad to hear about the effort you put into maintaining the coats on your dogs.
What I would do if I were you, is take them to the groomer. Although you have said this is a problem, you can try finding a "self-serve" dog grooming place, and maybe just take one at a time. The tool you are looking for is a blow dryer. Not a human one, but one meant for dogs or even cattle blow dryers will do the trick too. The high velocity air will help to get all that hair gone!! You can buy these dryers online, but they are quiet pricey. Because it is just air blowing on the skin, it will not hurt the dogs.
After giving them a good blast out with the blow dryer, you can then bathe them if you wish, or just brush them one last time to get that hair all out. It is ok to bath them now, but I wouldn't recommend it because if you don't get all that hair out right after, then mold and other gross stuff can grow on the skin, leading to worse problems.

I'm not sure where you're from, but the reason I would guess is the weather. Where I live, we had our winter, then we had a few weeks of really nice weather, then we just got dumped on again with tons of snow. The drastic changes in weather can really confuse the dogs "fur". Therefore it will end up either too much shedding or really compact undercoat.
Do not shave these dogs. If they are not matted, then they do not need to be shaved. A lot of the time compact undercoat is mistaken for matting, and unfortunately some dogs do get shaved.
So in conclusion my opinions of some options for you are:
1) take them to a groomer. You can buy a herbal sedative for your dog that most vets will sell. I'm not sure how effective they are, because the groom shop I work in does not take dogs under any sort of sedation. so make sure the groomer you choose, will allow that. Ask the groomer to do a really good job with the blow dryer to get all that hair out. Allow muzzling if need be. Or find a groom shop with flexible hours and find a time where there isn't as many dogs in if your dogs are dog aggressive.
2) Find a local do-it-yourself groomshop. Take the dogs one at a time and do it yourself. Just make sure they supply the blow dryer, because that is the main tool you need!
3) Buy a dryer of your own. You can check out most online pet suppliers for a dryer, or you can look around for a cattle dryer (probably a lot cheaper and does the same thing). Here is a link to a dryer sold through a pet retailer
http://www.ryanspet.com/ryanspet/productList.asp?categoryCode=2397&startItemCnt=...
(2 speeds are better. more power to them)

I hope that helps you out, and I hope I answered all your questions! Good Luck to you and your dogs!!