There are many benefits to brushing and combing your dog. These benefits are not just for your dog, but for you as well.  Brushing helps you bond with your dog, and can be pleasurable to dogs of any age, regardless of coat type or length.  Use your brushing time to check your dog for growths, lumps, cuts, ticks and hotspots which might warrant a visit to your vet.  

Brushing is best done on a ‘dirty’ coat.  This doesn’t mean that your dog needs to be dirty, but their coat should be un-washed, and still have the natural oils present. This will allow excess hair and small tangles to slide out more readily.  Once your dog’s coat is fully separated by a thorough brushing, the shampoo will better be able to penetrate their coat and you will end up with a cleaner dog.

Be very careful brushing a wet coat as a warm bath will soften your dog’s skin and it is more susceptible to being scratched by a brush. Your dog’s coat should be left to dry naturally, or be dried with a dryer on a cool setting, and most of the final brushing left until their coat is fully dry.

To effectively comb your dog, start at the tips on a small amount of coat, and work in gently. Try to split any mats or tangles with the tip of the comb instead of merely pulling on them.

If you need to remove excessive undercoat, use a Lawrence soft slicker brush. This brush with its steel pins was designed to collect undercoat and drag it out of the top coat before any mats form.  To remove undercoat, push back an area of coat with one hand and then brush small amounts of coat out with the brush. It can be a long slow process but isn’t usually uncomfortable for your dog.

Short coated breeds like the Whippet only need a soft rubber Zoom Groom to remove excess hair. They also love the massage effect of the rubber tips.

Wirehaired breeds like the Jack Russell can be maintained with a Gripsoft comb, as long as they are combed several times a week to prevent any clumps of hair getting too large.  

Double Coated breeds such as the Australian Cattle Dog can be maintained with the Lawrence slicker brush. This prevents undercoat from building up to the point of matting, and also removes loose hair when the warmer weather arrives.

Longer coated breeds including the Border Collie and the Australian Shepherd will need regular brushings with the slicker not only to keep the undercoat under control but to assist in keeping the tangles out of the top coat.  Once the coat is tangle free, use the comb to check your brushing job and then the pin brush can be used to ‘dress’ the coat and help the ‘jacket’ lay flat.

Long coated breeds like the Afghan Hound are best brushed with the Gripsoft soft pin brush, because a slicker will pull too much coat out.  Use your comb to part the backline to give it that neat, well groomed look.

Regular brushing and combing will keep your dog looking good, and allow you to detect any skin problems early. It’s an important part of their routine health care regime.