Owning a dog is all fun and games until you realize that you also have to make sure that you maintain the dog properly. Every dog needs to be brushed at some point. Some long-haired dogs require consistent brushing, but some can get away with a weekly brush session. Depending on your dog’s breed, hair type, and season, you would need to brush them accordingly.
Brushing a dog can be quite complicated. There are many ways to do it and a multitude of tools and equipment you can use. It can take time for you to figure out what works best for your dog. Today, we will give you different tips and instructions on how to properly brush your dog!
Knowing Your Dog’s Hair
Dogs come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, which means that you will find breeds with different types of hair. Your first step to properly brushing your dog is to know what type of hair it has. Here are a few examples:
Short Haired Dogs
Dogs such as terriers come under this category. These dogs come with short, wiry hair that requires care while brushing. You can brush these dogs with a metal comb every other day. You can find more accessories on Dogsccessories.com.
Medium Haired Dogs
Greyhounds and Labrador Retrievers come with short fur that might not require frequent brushing, but you would still need to brush them every other week. The great thing about such dogs is that their hair does not tangle easily, which saves you those countless hours of brushing.
You can brush such dogs using a rubber brush or even a grooming glove. They can help remove all dirt and loose hair. For a conventional brush, you can opt for a natural-bristle brush that can help distribute the fur’s natural oils.
Long Haired Dogs
Breeds such as collies and terriers come with long hair that needs to be tamed on a regular basis. These dogs require to be brushed weekly at least. With irregular brushing, you can have too many tangles in their fur. We recommend using a pin brush that can easily grip their undercoat and remove all loose hair for such dogs. This brush can easily get down to the skin without causing any pain. You can even use a comb to tease out the hair.
Curly Coat Dogs
Dogs with curly hair are the most difficult to maintain as the curls growing close to the body can easily get tangled. In such cases, most people end up doing surface-level brushing where they only brush the topcoat and miss out on the hair near the skin. For curly-haired dogs, you need to use a conditioner and work through the mats with a wide-toothed brush that can detangle hair near the skin as well. It is necessary to brush dogs such as poodles and cavapoos in this manner.
Brushing Technique
Now that you have gotten an idea of what type of accessory your dog may require, it is time to perfect your brushing technique. Here are a few tips that can help you brush your dog properly:
- Brushing Direction: While brushing your dog, always make sure that you brush down and out. The direction of your brush should be away from your dog’s skin. If you brush backward, the chances are that your dog won’t like it and can attack you.
- Always be gentle: You need to be gentle while brushing your dog to make sure that it does not hurt them. Using a gentle method also helps prevent stretching or pulling your dog’s hair. Even if there are many tangles on your dog’s coat, take your time while detangling them.
- Using a conditioner or mat spray: You can use a coat conditioner or a mat spray for difficult tangles or mat. Leave it on for a while, and then, using a wide-toothed comb, you can work through the tangles. Since tangles can also be pretty close to a dog’s skin, make sure that you work through them carefully. If a conditioner does not work, you can even cut out the tangles with a scissor. But you have to be extremely careful with this as you would not want to damage your dog’s skin.
- Mat Rake or Mat Splitter: To get rid of the mats, you can use a mat rake which comes with sharp tines. These sharp tines can help remove the mats, but you have to be careful while using them. A mat splitter can help split the hair as well!
Final Thoughts
Grooming your dog is not an easy task, but anything is achievable with proper care and instructions. Once you figure out what coat your dog has and what tool it would require, you can brush their hair properly!
