Mar 24, 2021
How To Brush Your Dog’s Coat? Dog Combing -Dog Combing
Brushes For Long Haired Dogs and Brushes For Long Haired Dogs
Brushing your dog’s coat is an extremely important facet of your dog’s grooming. Along with healthy nutrition, brushing promotes a healthy skin and coat. Generally speaking, although dogs lose coat hair on a continual basis, an outdoor dog sheds his coat twice a year, mainly in spring and autumn.
A dog that spends his time indoors will probably shed hair all year round. This is thought to be due to the dog’s exposure to artificial lighting as evidence shows that it is actually the change in daylight hours, and not temperature changes, which is the main factor affecting coat loss.
The time spent brushing your dog’s coat is dependent on the breed of dog, with smooth coated dogs requiring the least, to long coated dogs requiring the most. Brushing your dog’s coat is so important that I would advise that this factor is taken into account when choosing your breed of dog. You must be prepared to either brush your dog’s coat yourself or pay someone else to do it.
Certain breeds of dogs require a great deal of attention both with brushing, cutting and trimming their coat. Such specialized grooming is outside the scope of this article and perhaps advice should be sought from your kennel club. I will however discuss how to brush your dog’s coat generally for smooth coated dogs, short-coated dogs and longhaired dogs.
Brushing shorthaired smooth coated dogs
Equipment needed:
- Rubber brush or hound glove,
- Bristle brush,
- Chamois cloth
Frequency: Ideally all dogs should be brushed once a day, but smooth coated dogs may be brushed twice a week, if you haven’t got the time for more regular brushing.
- First use the hound glove or rubber brush and brush the coat against the lie of the hair. This will effectively loosen any dead hair as well as dirt.
- Next, brush with the bristle brush to remove loosened hair. Ensure that you brush the entire coat. If you wish, you may also apply a coat conditioner, this will give his coat a healthy looking shine, ask your vet for advice.
- Finally use the chamois cloth to shine the dog’s coat. Shorthaired, smooth coated dogs can really look magnificent with gleaming coats, which is quite easy to achieve with a little attention and regular brushing. Any effort you put in will certainly be rewarded.
Brushing a short-coated dog.
Equipment needed:
- Slicker brush,
- Bristle brush,
- Dog comb
Frequency: Daily brushing is required.
- First brush with the slicker brush, this will remove any tangles and matted hair from the dog’s coat.
- Next, brush well with the bristle brush. This will remove loose hair and dirt.
- Finally, use the comb, to comb longer hair, which you will find at the dog’s tail and leg areas.
Brushing a longhaired dog.
Equipment needed:
- Slicker brush
- Pin brush (often dual bristle and pin brushes are sold, bristle one side, pin the other side)
- Comb (wide toothed for rougher type coats — narrow toothed for silkier coats)
- Scissors
Frequency: Daily brushing is required.
- Brush the coat with the slicker brush; this will untangle any matted or knotted hair. Be careful when untangling knots, be gentle, this should be a pleasant experience for your dog, don’t be rough. It’s a good idea to hold the hair, if you can, near the root whilst brushing so as not to tug hair.
- Next, use the pin brush, or bristle brush for silky coats, to brush coat. If you’ve done a good job with the slicker brush you should not feel any knots. Brush the coat thoroughly.
- Use the wide toothed (or narrow toothed, depending on coat) to comb through the coat. This will be particularly useful for the longer hair endings.
- Use the scissors to trim long hair particularly between the toes of the paws, also around the back of the legs (hocks) and any other hair that you feel will mat if left.
General points to remember when brushing your dog.
- Start brushing your dog as soon as you get him. When started at an early age dogs will soon look forward to regular grooming.
- Brushing builds a bond of trust between owner and dog, so try to do the brushing yourself, if you can, it will pay dividends by way of a stronger relationship between owner and dog.
- Be consistent — regular brushing is the key to a well-groomed dog..
- Regular brushing will also cut down drastically on the amount of hair your dog will shed in the home.
“This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Thanks.”
