Most people brush their dog the same way they'd brush their own hair — start at the top, work down, done in a few minutes. And it looks like it's working because the coat looks tidier afterward. But a lot of the time the brush is just going over the surface, the dead hair and forming mats at the skin level aren't being touched, and the session isn't actually doing what brushing is supposed to do.
Proper brushing is about reaching the skin, working in sections, and knowing how to handle what you find when you get there. It's not complicated — but there's a right way that makes the session actually useful, and a default way that mostly just smooths the surface.
Here's the full technique, by coat type, including what to do about mats, what order to work in, and the one check that tells you when you're genuinely done.
Table of Contents
- What Brushing Is Actually Doing
- Before You Start
- The General Technique That Works for Most Coats
- Short Coats
- Medium Coats
- Long Coats
- Double Coats
- Curly and Wavy Coats
- What to Do When You Find a Mat
- Sensitive Spots and How to Handle Them
- If Your Dog Hates Being Brushed
- How to Know When You're Actually Done
- FAQs
What Brushing Is Actually Doing
It helps to know what you're going for, because it changes how you approach it.
Brushing does four things. It removes dead loose hair before it falls on your furniture. It distributes the skin's natural sebum — the oil produced by the sebaceous glands — along the hair shafts, which keeps the coat moisturised and reduces shedding. It prevents dead hair and debris from tangling into mats at the skin level. And it gives you regular close access to the skin where you notice things — lumps, redness, parasites, wounds — early.
The key phrase there is at the skin level. Most coat problems — matting, dry skin, trapped dead undercoat — happen close to the skin, not on the surface. A brush that only works the outer layer of the coat is handling the part that doesn't need the most attention. The technique that matters is getting the brush all the way to the skin in each section.
Before You Start
A couple of things that make the session go better:
Check for mats with your hands first. Run your fingers through the coat — not on the surface, but pushing through to the skin. Feel for resistance, clumps, or tight spots. You want to know where the mats are before the brush finds them the hard way, so you can work them out properly rather than dragging the brush through them.
If the coat is very dry or the dog is prone to static, mist it lightly before brushing. Brushing a completely dry, static-charged coat causes hair to break and the session is uncomfortable. A light spray of leave-in conditioner or a diluted water mist settles the coat and adds enough slip that the brush moves through without pulling.
Have treats on hand. Not just for dogs who resist brushing — for all dogs. Brushing while the dog gets occasional treats is how brushing stays a positive experience rather than becoming something the dog dreads. Five minutes of brushing and three treats is a better long-term outcome than ten minutes of brushing and a battle.
🛒 Recommended — Pre-Brush for Dry or Static Coats
Chris Christensen Ice on Ice Leave-In Conditioner Spray
A light leave-in spray that adds enough slip to a dry coat to make brushing significantly more comfortable — for the dog and for you. Mist lightly before you start, wait 30 seconds, then brush. Particularly useful in winter when dry indoor air makes coats rougher and more prone to static and breakage. Also works well between baths on long and curly coats.
Check Price on Amazon →The General Technique That Works for Most Coats
Whatever coat type you're working with, these principles apply:
Work in sections, not all over at once. Pick a starting point — usually the neck or the back near the shoulders — and work that section thoroughly before moving to the next. Brushing all over loosely covers the surface without properly finishing any area. Sections mean you know where you've actually been.
Brush in the direction of hair growth. Generally neck to tail on the body, downward on the legs. Brushing against the growth lifts and pulls the hair rather than following its natural direction, which is uncomfortable and doesn't remove dead hair as effectively.
Use short strokes that penetrate to the skin. Not long sweeping strokes over the surface — short strokes, maybe 10–15cm, that go all the way through the coat to make contact with the skin. You should be able to feel a very light touch of the pins on the skin. Not pressing hard — light pressure is enough. If you're pressing to force the brush through, there's a tangle that needs attention first.
Lift the coat as you go. For medium and longer coats, use your free hand to lift the top layer of the coat out of the way while you brush the section underneath, then let it down and brush through from top to bottom. This is called line brushing — it's how you know you've actually been to the skin rather than just the surface.
The finished-section test: run a wide-tooth comb through the section you just brushed, all the way to the skin. If it glides through without catching, that section is done. If it snags, there's something still there — go back to the brush and work it out before moving on.
🛒 Recommended — The Honest Check After Brushing
Andis Steel Comb with Fine and Coarse Teeth
A two-sided steel comb — fine teeth for checking finer hair and finishing, coarse teeth for working through thicker sections and checking post-brush. The wide-tooth side going all the way to the skin is the honest measure of whether a section is actually done. No mat can hide from a comb the way it can from a brush. Get one of these and use it as the finishing check every session.
Check Price on Amazon →Short Coats
Beagle, Boxer, Labrador, Dalmatian, Whippet, Vizsla, Weimaraner
Short coats are the most forgiving — the technique doesn't need to be precise and there's no matting risk. What you're doing is removing dead hair and stimulating the skin to distribute oils. That's it.
A rubber curry brush or a soft bristle brush works best here. The rubber grips short dead hairs off the skin surface in a way wire pins on short hair can't — the hairs are too short for pins to grab. Work in circular motions or short strokes with medium pressure in the direction of hair growth. The whole body takes five to ten minutes.
You don't need to section a short coat the way you do a longer one. Work over the whole body fairly loosely — neck to tail, then legs, then chest. Short coats are honest — if there's dead hair to remove, it comes off immediately and visibly. When the brush is coming away clean, you're done.
🛒 Recommended — Short Coats
Kong ZoomGroom Multi-Use Brush
A rubber curry brush that most short-coated dogs genuinely enjoy — the rubber nubs feel like a massage while doing a good job of pulling off dead hair. Works dry for brushing and wet in the bath. If your short-coated dog currently runs from brushing, try this — the response is often completely different to a wire brush on the same dog.
Check Price on Amazon →Medium Coats
Golden Retriever, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, Spaniel, Irish Setter
Medium coats need proper sectioning and a slicker brush. The coat is long enough to mat — especially in the high-friction spots — but not so long that it requires the daily attention a truly long coat does.
Start at the neck and work toward the tail in sections, using the line brushing technique — lift the top layer of coat, brush the section underneath, let it fall, then brush through the full length from top to bottom. Short strokes to the skin, not long sweeps over the surface.
The spots that need the most attention on medium-coated dogs: behind the ears (mats form fastest here), under the armpits and in the groin (constant movement = constant friction), behind the collar (the collar rubs and tangles the hair underneath), and the backs of the legs and the feathering on the chest. Spend extra time in these spots and the rest of the coat takes care of itself.
Tail last — the tail hair is often the longest part of a medium coat and the most prone to tangling. Start from the tip of the tail hair and work upward toward the base rather than brushing downward from the base, which drives tangles toward the tips and tightens them.
🛒 Recommended — Medium Coats
Hertzko Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush
Fine flexible pins that work through medium coats without scratching the skin. The self-cleaning button means the hair releases off the pins with a press rather than you having to pick it out by hand every two minutes — which sounds minor but makes a real difference to whether you actually do a thorough job rather than rushing to finish. Good all-round slicker for Goldens, Collies, Spaniels, and similar.
Check Price on Amazon →Long Coats
Shih Tzu, Maltese, Afghan Hound, Yorkshire Terrier, Lhasa Apso, Havanese
Long coats need the most careful technique and the most time. They also need a detangling spray before you start — brushing a dry long coat without any slip causes the hair to break and the session to be uncomfortable. Mist the coat lightly, wait 30 seconds, then start.
Always, always start from the ends of the hair and work your way up toward the roots. Never start at the roots and brush downward through a long coat — it drives tangles to the tips and tightens them, pulls at the skin, and hurts. Start at the tip, clear the bottom few inches, move up, clear the next section, and work progressively toward the skin. By the time you're brushing from the roots, the whole length is already clear.
Work in small sections. Long coats are the most time-intensive and the most unforgiving of rushing — a section skipped over quickly becomes a mat by next week. Go section by section, comb check each one, and move on only when it passes.
The legs and ears deserve particular patience. The fine hair around the ears is the most delicate and the most tangle-prone. Use a fine-tooth comb here rather than a slicker brush, and work with tiny movements.
🛒 Recommended — Long Coats, Before Every Brush Session
The Stuff Conditioner, Detangler & Moisturizer for Dogs
Spray it on before you brush and the difference is immediately obvious — the brush moves through without pulling, the dog doesn't tense up, and the whole session is faster and more comfortable. Essential for long coats. Once you start using a detangling spray for long-coat brushing you won't brush without it again.
Check Price on Amazon →Double Coats
Husky, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Labrador, Corgi, Pomeranian, Chow Chow, Akita
Double coats have two jobs in a brushing session: the undercoat and the top coat. They need different tools and different approaches, done in the right order.
Start with the undercoat. An undercoat rake or deshedding tool — not a regular slicker brush — goes through the guard hairs and pulls dead undercoat out from underneath. Work in sections from neck to tail, short strokes, medium pressure. Don't press hard — the tool is doing the work, not the force. The guard hairs are still in place; the tool is reaching through them for the undercoat specifically.
During a seasonal shed, the amount of undercoat that comes out with a proper undercoat rake is the kind of thing that makes you question how the dog still has any fur left. That's normal. That's what a coat blow is. Keep going until the rake is coming away with much less, then move on.
Then do the top coat with a slicker brush. After the undercoat is dealt with, a slicker brush through the guard hairs finishes the coat, removes any loose surface hair, and distributes the oils. Much faster than the undercoat work — you're just tidying and finishing.
The order matters. Doing the slicker brush first on a dog in heavy shed just smooths the surface over a packed undercoat without removing it. Undercoat rake first, then slicker brush after.
🛒 Recommended — Double Coats, Undercoat Work
Furminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool
The undercoat tool that actually reaches through the guard hairs and removes dead undercoat rather than just smoothing over it. The difference between what a regular brush removes and what this removes on a double-coated dog in shed is significant. Use it once or twice a week during shedding season and the amount falling around the house noticeably drops. Follow up with a slicker brush to finish the top coat.
Check Price on Amazon →Curly and Wavy Coats
Poodle, Goldendoodle, Labradoodle, Cockapoo, Bichon Frise, Portuguese Water Dog
Curly coats are the ones where technique matters most and where getting it wrong has the fastest consequences. The shed hair doesn't fall out in curly coats — it gets trapped in the curls, close to the skin, and mats. Often within days of missing a brushing session in spots that are moving a lot.
The most important thing to understand about brushing a curly coat: you need to get to the skin. Not brush the surface of the curls — actually work through the curl to where it meets the skin. This is the bit most people miss, because the surface of a curly coat can look fine and fluffy while being completely matted two centimetres underneath it.
Line brushing is essential for curly coats. Part the coat with your hand, hold the top layer up, and brush the section at the skin level first. Then let the hair down and brush through from top to bottom. Move the part up an inch and repeat. Work through the whole body this way. It's slow the first few times but fast once you've done it regularly because the coat stays mat-free.
Use a long-pin slicker brush that's designed to penetrate a curly coat. Short-pin brushes don't reach the skin through the curl. After the slicker brush, run the comb through from skin to tip to confirm it's clear. Any resistance means there's a tangle still there.
The areas that mat fastest on Doodles and Poodles: behind the ears, in the armpits, around the collar, in the groin, and behind the knees. These get the most friction from movement and need the most attention every session.
🛒 Recommended — Curly and Doodle Coats
Chris Christensen Big G Slicker Brush
This is the brush groomers actually use on Poodles and Doodles — long flexible pins that penetrate a curly coat all the way to the skin without scratching or breaking the hair. The difference between this and a standard short-pin slicker on a curly coat is not small. More expensive than generic slicker brushes but for a Doodle owner who needs to brush daily it lasts years and makes every session actually effective.
Check Price on Amazon →What to Do When You Find a Mat
Finding a mat doesn't mean you did something wrong — it means you found something before it became a problem, which is exactly what the brushing session is for. Here's how to deal with it properly:
First, hold the hair between the mat and the skin with your fingers. This is the most important step and most people skip it. When you work on a mat without doing this, every tug is felt directly at the skin. When you hold the hair with your fingers as a buffer, you isolate the pulling sensation to the mat itself, not the skin. The dog immediately tolerates the process much better.
Apply detangling spray and wait a minute. The spray softens the hair and reduces the tension in the mat, making it significantly easier to tease apart without breaking hair.
Work from the outside edges inward, not from the root through the mat. Use a wide-tooth comb or your fingers to gently tease the outermost edges of the mat apart. A few hairs at a time. Once the edges are loose, move inward. Think of it as unwinding rather than pulling — you're separating it rather than forcing through it.
A mat splitter or dematting comb for tighter mats. These have blades set into the comb teeth that cut through the mat as you work through it — very useful for mats that are too tight to tease apart by hand. Work in the same outside-to-inside direction.
Know when to stop and get a groomer. A tight mat sitting right against the skin — where you can't get a comb between the mat and the skin — should not be cut out at home with scissors. You can't see where the skin is under a tight mat. Grooming scissors cuts on dog skin happen easily and are much worse than the mat. A groomer with clippers can take it off safely. If it's beyond what you can work out by hand, that's the call to make.
📌 Prevention is so much easier than treatment. A mat you find at the start of a session when it's just beginning to form takes two minutes to work out. The same mat a week later takes twenty. Two weeks later it goes to the groomer. The regular comb check at the end of each brushing session is what catches them early enough that working them out is still a quick job.
🛒 Recommended — For Working Out Tighter Mats
Safari De-Matting Comb for Dogs
Stainless steel blades set into the comb teeth cut through mats as you work from the outside inward — significantly faster than trying to tease apart a tight mat with a regular comb. Use it with a detangling spray and the finger-hold technique described above. For mats that are just past the teasing-apart stage but haven't gone fully tight against the skin yet.
Check Price on Amazon →Sensitive Spots and How to Handle Them
Most dogs have a few spots they don't love being brushed. The usual ones:
Belly and groin. Thin skin, exposed feeling, ticklish. Go slowly, use very light pressure, and don't rush it. Some dogs are fine here once they've accepted the brush on less sensitive areas first. Some never love it — do what you can quickly and move on.
Paws and between the toes. Most dogs are protective of their feet. For the paw area, a soft bristle brush or a fine comb works better than a slicker. Do it last when the dog is relaxed from the rest of the session. Keep sessions short here and reward well.
Behind the ears and around the face. The ears themselves are very sensitive. Use a comb rather than a slicker brush around the ear leather, and approach from below rather than from above. For the face, a soft bristle brush or your hands — don't bring a slicker brush near the eyes.
The tail base. A lot of dogs are sensitive at the tail base. Support the tail with one hand and brush gently with the other. Don't yank the tail to one side to get at the underside — let the dog move the tail and follow it.
If Your Dog Hates Being Brushed
Almost every dog who hates brushing has a reason — usually that a previous session was uncomfortable. Either the brush was wrong for the coat, there were mats being pulled through rather than worked out, too much pressure was used, or the dog was held down and forced through it when they tried to leave. Any of those creates a dog who anticipates pain when the brush comes out.
The fix is rebuilding the association from scratch, which takes time but works:
Start with the brush just present — put it on the floor near the dog's food bowl. Let them sniff it. No pressure. Then touch them with the back of the brush (not the pins) and give a treat. Then a single stroke with the pins in the least sensitive spot you can find — the middle of the back, never the face, ears, or paws — and immediately a high-value treat. Keep sessions to two or three minutes maximum. End before the dog starts to resist, not after.
Gradually extend the session length and areas covered as the association improves. A dog who's been traumatised by brushing needs weeks of this, not days. Rushing it by trying to do a full brush session before the dog is ready just confirms their expectation that brushing is unpleasant.
Also worth trying: a different brush. A dog who hates a stiff wire brush may completely accept a soft rubber curry or a soft bristle brush. The sensation is genuinely different and some dogs are just sensitive to the specific feeling of wire pins on their skin.
How to Know When You're Actually Done
This is the thing that separates a brushing session that actually did something from one that just looked like it did something.
Run a wide-tooth comb through the entire coat from skin to tip. Every section. If the comb glides through cleanly everywhere with no resistance, you're done. If it catches anywhere — anywhere — go back to the brush on that spot, work it out, and check with the comb again.
That comb check is not optional. A brush can pass over a forming mat and the coat can look fine. The comb doesn't lie. It's also the check that tells you that today's five-minute session was enough, rather than guessing.
For double-coated dogs during a shed: the additional check is running your fingers against the direction of hair growth through the coat. If it feels dense and packed rather than airy and moving freely, there's still undercoat to come out.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the correct way to brush a dog?
Work in sections from neck to tail, using short strokes that reach the skin — not long sweeps over the surface. Brush in the direction of hair growth. Use the line brushing technique for longer coats — lift the top layer, brush underneath, then brush through the full length. After each section, check with a wide-tooth comb all the way to the skin. If it glides through, move on. If it catches, go back to the brush on that spot.
Should you brush a dog wet or dry?
Dry brushing is standard for the regular routine. The best brushing session for shedding and dead hair removal is immediately after a bath while the coat is still slightly damp — the bath loosens dead hair and the damp brush removes it most efficiently. Never brush a soaking wet long or curly coat — wet hair stretches and breaks. Towel dry first, then brush. For dry coats prone to static, a light mist of leave-in conditioner spray before brushing prevents breakage.
How do you brush a dog that hates being brushed?
Rebuild the association from scratch with very short sessions, high-value treats throughout, the gentlest brush for the coat type, and only the least sensitive areas to begin with. Two to three minutes maximum. End before the dog resists, not after. Gradually extend over weeks as the dog's expectation shifts from painful to positive. Forcing through a full session when the dog is resistant makes it worse every time — patience and consistency is the only thing that actually works.
How do you get mats out of a dog's fur when brushing?
Hold the hair between the mat and the skin with your fingers to buffer the pulling sensation. Apply detangling spray. Work from the outer edges of the mat inward — never drag a brush from the roots through the mat. Use a wide-tooth comb or a dematting comb for tighter mats. If the mat is flat against the skin and a comb won't get between it and the skin, stop and take the dog to a groomer — cutting near tight mats with scissors at home risks cutting the skin.
What coat type are you working with and what's the bit that's been giving you trouble — the mats, the dog's tolerance, not being sure if you're reaching the skin? Drop it in the comments. Coat type plus the specific problem usually leads to a pretty specific answer.
Related Posts
- How Often Should You Brush a Dog? — Frequency by coat type and what happens when you fall behind.
- How to Groom Your Dog at Home — The full home grooming guide covering brushing, bathing, nails, ears, and teeth.
- Mistakes That Make Dog Shedding Worse — Several of these connect directly to brushing technique and tool choice.
- Natural Remedies for Dog Dandruff — If the coat has been dry and flaky, here's the full treatment picture alongside getting the brushing right.
%20-%20DogVills.jpg)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment