Tips for brushing a dog correctly

Regularly brushing a dog is important for both their comfort and their health.  It helps to keep a dog clean, distributes natural oils through the coat, prevents matting, increases circulation and reduces shedding.

By removing the loose hair and dead skin cells from the coat it can also help reduce allergens around the home for the humans.

Matted hair causes pain & infection

Long and curly haired breeds in particular are prone to developing tangled matted clumps of hair which can harbor bacteria or bugs and pull at your dog’s skin, causing them pain and inflamed skin.

Matted hair can also be an issue if a dog wears a harness or collar all the time, particularly if they are a breed that is more prone to matting.

Matts tend to form a lot around a dog’s ears and armits, around their belly and genital area, the top of their bottom area and tails for those longer and curly haired dogs, including the many Oodle breeds. ,

You often find that puppies get matted around the mouth a lot too because of the way they play and chew.   Learn more about grooming a puppy HERE.

Choosing the right brush or grooming tool for your dog’s coat

Choosing the right brush or grooming tool for your dog is also important when brushing a dog.

If you have a dog with a double coat, use a de-shedding brush or rake to remove the undercoat to help keep them cool in summer and avoid matting in the winter.

By removing the undercoat it allows the air to circulate and the skin to breath. A lot of people mistakenly think shaving their dog’s coat keeps them cool in the Summer, but it is actually the under coat that needs to be removed, not the protective outer layer.

A slicker brush with very fine metal pins is a good all-purpose brush that suits most breeds.

Rubber brushes or gloves are excellent for removing excess hair and giving your pet a massage. And who doesn’t love a massage?

For longer coats use a conditioning spray and comb to gently ease out any tangles before finishing with a brush.

Tips to remove matted dog hair

If your dog does have matted hair, use a comb and hold it gently at the base, spray it with detangling spray then gently work it out from the top.  It is really important to work from the ends down to the base.

The DGG serrated de-matting tool is great for tough matts, so you are slicing it out and aren’t pulling on their skin.

Some knots can’t be combed out either so they have to be cut out to keep your dog pain free, or worse, shaved to the skin at the groomers, which can put your dog at risk of being injured.  So it is really important that we try to avoid this with regular brushing.

If you are going to cut the matt out, rather than cutting them out from the skin, cut into the middle of the matt to avoid injury and always place your hand and fingers on the skin and cut to your fingers only.

Washing your dog makes matted hair worse

People make the common mistake of thinking that washing their dog and putting in some shampoo will help with matted hair.  It won’t and generally makes it worse, plus also increases the risk of bacteria and infection as it stays wet on the skin.

You must  always brush your dog to remove any matts before wetting your dog.  Rubbing in conditioner doesn’t help either as that just builds up on the hair, the detangling spray is the one to use instead.

How often should you be brushing a dog?

The rule of thumb for brushing a dog is once a week then an extra brush for ever centimetre of hair per week, or even every day if your dog loves it or has a double coat. It really is the way to go.

Don’t just focus on the back and bottom either. As mentioned, most matts form behind the ears, under the chin, armpits and their stomachs.

To find the right brush for your dog’s needs look for the DGG grooming range at your local PETstock store, or visit the DGG website.

About the Author: Lara Shannon is a certified dog behaviourist and trainer, pet food nutrition specialist, Executive Producer and Host of Pooches at Play on Channel 10 and editor of Poochesatplay.com. Lara also runs her own dog training business in Melbourne’s Bayside area and is the Author of World of Dogs and Eat, Play, Love Your Dog