Disclosure
This post contains affiliate links, meaning for every purchase you make I’ll get a commission should you decide to purchase a product directly through the links at no extra cost to you! Every product has been personally tested and approved by my own Golden Retriever, Bear, and a few of his friends!
Grooming may seem like a daunting task when you first start doing research, but I promise you it’s not as daunting as it seems. Maybe you have a constant shedder or a dog that needs regular groom or maybe you don’t know the grooming requirements of your pup. I’m here to break it all down for you, whether you need a professional groom or you need to brush daily at home, and I’ll do it in a way that’s simple and easy to understand.
- Why grooming is important
- Can’t I just shave my dog?
- Double coat
- Single Coat
- Brushing 101
- Identifying the coat type
- For the Double Coat
- For the Single Coat
- Conclusion
Why grooming is important
Your dog isn’t a cat. Unlike a cat, your dog doesn’t bathe itself regularly, keeping it clean and keeping the fur from becoming easily matted (and that’s why your dog doesn’t get hairballs). Matting and compacted undercoat can negatively affect your dog by making them uncomfortable. Too much matting can result in hematomas, especially in your dogs ear. A single mat can twist and twist until it pinches the skin, cutting off some of the circulation of blood, and when shaved out the blood suddenly has a bigger opening and spills into the opened area causing an unsightly red splotch that acts much like a bruise does for us humans.
A compacted undercoat usually occurs in double-coated dogs and is nevertheless uncomfortable for your dog to deal with. Sometimes matting can occur due to the shedding undercoat having nowhere to go, and once this happens it can make getting the stuck undercoat much harder to get out. Once the matting starts, the compacted undercoat has upgraded to an impacted undercoat, and needs to be either cut or spot-shaved.
Both of these situations can be avoided with regular home brushing and regular professional grooming, depending on the breed of dog you have.
Can’t I just shave my dog?
No! You can’t just shave your dog right away! First, we must identify the coat type.
There are two main coat types: single coat and double coat.
Double coat
Double coated dogs are dogs with two fur types: an overcoat and an undercoat. It’s the undercoat that sheds seasonally and this is the type that can get stuck, causing “fluffs” to stick out and become stuck. The undercoat has an important job of keeping the dog cool in summer and warm in winter, so even though you think your dog is hot, shaving your double coated furry companion is actually doing more harm than good. Without this second coat, your dog’s ability to regulate his body temperature is actually hindered. Not only that, but the undercoat grows relatively faster than the overcoat, which can cause patchiness in growth as the undercoat will prevent the overcoat from growing.
Double coated breeds include, but not limited to:
- Pomeranian
- Husky
- Golden Retriever
- Labrador Retriever
- German Shepherd
- Great Pyrenees
- Shih Tzu
- Border Collie
- Havanese
- and more!
Shaving is not recommended for these breeds.
Single Coat
A single coated dog only really shed fur that has reached the end of its lifecycle, just like how we shed our own hair! They have one layer for fur that lays over their skin, but it can still help them regulate their body temperature. This one layer of coat is also enough to protect the pup from the sun’s UV rays. How short to shave your single coated dog is still highly debatable among dog owners, but everyone can agree that you should avoid shaving down to the skin whenever possible.
Single coated breeds include:
- Yorkie
- Poodle (standard, mini, and toy)
- Chihuahuas
- Boxers
- Dalmations
- and more!
Your dog’s coat type will determine how short you can shave your dog down, and depending on your dog’s breed standards will also determine how often you should visit your groomer. For example, if you have a poodle and a golden retriever, you’ll be paying for your poodle to be groomed professionally every 6-12 weeks while your golden retriever may only get a bath occasionally, though they could certainly benefit from a professional trim up once a year.
Brushing 101
Every breed and coat type will benefit from a brush out. Even if your dog’s fur is too short to become matted (like the Dalmation and Boxer) brushing out your dog is still a great bonding experience! Believe it or not, your dog loves the attention that you give it and by brushing out your pup you’ll notice early signs of allergies, ticks, fleas, or other skin conditions.
Different kinds of coat will require different kinds of brushes.
Identifying the coat type
If you know the breed of your dog, research the breed to find out what kind of coat type your dog has. That is, does your dog have a single or a double coat? With a single coat you can have a silky coat, curly coat, or a flat coat.
A silky coat is the defining coat of a Yorkshire terrier. The Yorkie has a very straight coat that requires frequent brushing. If your dog’s coat is long and silky, similar to the Yorkie, then your pup has this silky coat.
A curly coat defines a poodle before their groom. A curly coat is exactly that, curly and may straighten or become fluffy when it’s dried with a dryer. If your dog’s coat looks like curls or corkscrews, you have a curly coated baby.
A flat coat is simply…flat. Boxers, pit bulls, and dalmatians are a few examples of breeds with a single coat that’s flat. You can’t use just any brush for this type of coat. If your dog has a flat coat that stays against their skin (and as a result you end up getting them sweaters for the winter) your dog has a flat coat.
For the Double Coat
As stated before, double coat breeds should never be shaved, except for in the extreme circumstance that your pup is completely pelted head-to-tail. To keep your furry companion happy and healthy, and their skin healthy as well, here are a few of the products I recommend:
Slicker Brush
The slicker brush is a must for double coats, and silky and curly single coats as well! My personal favorite for most double coats (except for the lab, which tend to have a flatter coat) is by the brand We Love Doodles. We Love Doodles slicker brush is able to go deeper than most slicker brushes to really pull out the undercoat that’s already started to shed.
The slicker brush is easy to use, just use it like any normal hair brush!
Metal Comb
A metal comb is perfect for both double coat and single coat dogs because it can easily get out the undercoat that’s too deep for the slicker brush to do alone. If the metal comb gets stuck it means you have some undercoat that’s already become stuck, but you can gently work it out just like you would if you use a comb for your own hair.
De-shedding
Everyone benefits from a good de-shedding tool, and the slicker brush isn’t great to use for most labradors, especially labs that have a flat coat. However, the equigroomer is the perfect tool to use for your labrador! If you have horses then even better as this can also be used for horses. This will get the shedding out without irritating your labrador’s skin.
For the Single Coat
Curry Brush
Labradors who don’t have much of an undercoat (yes, this happens sometimes) and anyone with a single coat such as boxers, French bulldogs, and other dog breeds can benefit from the curry brush. You can use it in the shower to lather the shampoo or you can use it dry! You can go against and with the way the fur is going, and you’ll get a lot of the fur that’s shedding right off. This won’t irritate your pup’s skin at all and feels much like a massage.
Slicker Brush
Some single coat dogs with longer fur, like the Yorkshire Terrier, do benefit from a small slicker brush to get the tangles out. This one by Andis is perfect. By brushing your pup every day you guarantee that there are no tangles that will turn into mats.
Metal Comb
A metal comb is also an excellent tool to use alongside the slicker brush. The metal comb can find a mat better than that slicker brush will, and will help you find any tangles as well. Should you find a tangle you can gently work it out with a metal comb, but NEVER use a metal comb for matting!
For the mats
In some cases, all the brushing in the world won’t keep away that one pesky mat that seems to evade the slicker brush, but that doesn’t mean your groomer has to continue to shave down that one spot. A mat breaker is perfect for mats but be careful using this product because it’s sharp. It’s meant to be sharp so that it can break apart the mats or even cut them away entirely. If the teeth of your metal comb fits under the mat then you can surely use this mat breaker, but if your comb simply stops and can’t seem to get under the matting that means it’s too late this time because the mat is too close to this skin. Your groomer can shave it out in this case.
There are two types I can’t live without but you should choose which one is best for you.
Conclusion
No matter what kind of dog you have, brushing and grooming is a must, and is a great way to bond with your dog! Today, we have so many products to choose from that it can look overwhelming, but I hope you find that this guide was useful to you. My Golden Retriever, Bear, and his doggy friends have all tested out these products and given their approval, so you can rest assured that your dog will love these too.
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