Grooming Tips and Tricks :Brushing

Hey, again , I'm Amanda and I'm a dog groomer. I'v been grooming for a little over 10 1/2 years. I wanted to make a couple blogs with some basic tips and tricks to help keep you're furry friend looking and feeling great. Today I wanted to discuss brushing your furry friend and why it is so important!


Depending on what breed of dog you have, it is important to keep up on a good brushing regimen. Dogs with short coats such as Labs, Boxers, and Pugs, don't need to be brushed as often as breeds like Shih Tzus, Poodles, and Goldendoodles. For dogs with a short coat it is perfectly acceptable to brush your dog once every week or so, more often when they're shedding lots of coat. For shorter coated dogs like the above-mentioned breeds, my favorite brushes to use are a FURminator and a Zoom Groom

this FURminator would be really beneficial to use on a dog like a Lab, it will help to pull out a lot of that dead undercoat





this Zoom Groom would work wonders on a short coat like a Boxer or a Pug. It can be used by rubbing back and forth all over the dog's coat

Some dogs with thicker coats that tend to shed a lot should be brushed more regularly. Breeds like Golden Retrievers, Siberian Huskies and Samoyeds should be brushed regularly to get rid of all the dead undercoat. These dogs have coats that help them keep warm in the winter and cool off in the summer, however if they are impacted with that undercoat they are not able to properly maintain their body temperature. My favorite grooming tool to use on these breeds of dogs is a grooming rake. A simple slicker brush and comb could also help brush some of that undercoat out.





This grooming rake would make easy work out of brushing out a Husky.





Here's a picture of a Siberian Husky before and after being brushed out. Look how beautiful she looks, I bet she also feels a lot cooler without all that extra fur


Other kinds of dogs such as Shih Tzus, Goldendoodles, and Poodles, have longer hair that requires brushing every day or two to keep it from getting matted and tangled. It's very important to make sure you are on the strict brushing regiment if you have a dog with longer hair because if you don't keep up on it they could end up matted and in need of a shave down. For these kinds of dogs I find it best to use a slicker brush and follow it up with a nice greyhound comb. It's very important to use both the brush as well as a comb. I have many people come to me who say they were very good about keeping up on brushing their dog and don't understand why their dog ended up matted. When I asked them what kind of brush they are using they told me that they have a slicker brush. unfortunately, slickers are great at brushing the top coat but not getting all the way down to the skin. The slicker is great for loosening up tangles but it's very important to go through the dog's entire coat with a fine-tooth comb to make sure there are no hidden mats that you have missed. Remember to brush your dog everywhere and not just on their back, places like bellies armpits and legs are often forgot about when brushing and are very easy to get matted.

This is a greyhound comb.

This is a slicker brush

See how it brushes out all of the curls and mats and leave the dog looking very nice.

This once curly coated poodle has been brushed and fluffed out and looks like an adorable teddy bear.

This poor little guy didn't give brushed enough and now he has to get all his hair shaved off


It is very important to get your dog used to brushing very early on so they won't be afraid of the brush. Working with your dog a little bit every day to get them used to the brushing process is the easiest way to ensure that your dog will have a positive outlook on being brushed.
Well that's all the advice I have for you today, if you have any further questions please feel free to ask, I love to help people keep their furry friends happy and healthy!