Advice wanted on grooming a Border Collie with a very thick coat

[StayCoolLikeAPenguin]

Hey dog people! I need some advice please, re my mum's Border Collie. She's from show lines and has the most insane coat I've ever dealt with. It's crazy, crazy thick (and this isn't even her winter variant yet!!) and highly tangle prone. It takes all my strength to get a brush through it and she really doesn't love the process. My mum never grooms her, beyond gently running one of those 'soft baby bristle' brushes over her for 5 minutes every few weeks. Really though she needs proper intense grooming on a regular basis, My mum refuses to take her to a professional saying she can't afford it, so I'm looking for advice on what brushes to get so I can tackle it myself when I'm there. So far I've bought a normal pin brush, a slicker brush and a undercoat rake. Doggo is sensitive about being touched generally and really doesn't enjoy grooming (I can see why because I'm properly tugging at her fur trying to get the brush through!) so I'd really like advice on any tool you'd recommend that can reach right through this crazy coat and gently remove/prevent tangles without causing her any discomfort.

The undercoat rakes are good for collies. You could use a licky mat with cheese spread or peanut butter ( no xylitol) to occupy her whilst grooming.

Sorry it's a struggle to groom your Mum's collie. I do sympathise. We have a profusely coated Pyrenean girl with dense undercoat. All we use is slicker for topcoat and rake to get the undercoat out. Pin brushes are useless, they just glide over the top. You do have to be vigorous, even if they hate it, otherwise the loose stuff won't come out, and it's not great for their skin long term. During moulting it can be a two person job; one to hold and the other to pull out the undercoat with the rake.

I had a collie with a very thick coat. A slicker brush was the only thing that worked and it has to be done very frequently. A proper de-shed takes a couple of hours, though, so I used to have mine professionally groomed every three months. It was worth it. I agree with the licky mat - they have suckers on the bottom so stick it to a door to keep the dog standing!

I agree undercoat rake and slicker brush are your go to tools. You could also try a comb with rotating teeth to get her used to grooming all over.

But honestly, if she's very matted and you are committed to brushing her regularly, take her to the groomer! At least this way you can start from scratch and make the experience for both of you more pleasant.

I have a very long haired collie cross who mats easily. I agree with others that you need a slicker brush and a rake. Someone on here recommended a Wahl double row rake (available on Amazon) and it works really well on mine and he is happier with it than the other rakes.
I find the secret is to start with little and often. My dog was initially very fearful about being brushed but is great now. I think he knows it makes him more comfortable.