There are three primary types of dog coats, points out groomer Morgan Cross, owner of Fort Worth-based Platinum Paws, which will determine the proper grooming tools.
“Fur-type dogs have fur that grows to a certain length and then falls out. They need regular brushing to help remove dead and loose undercoats,” Cross told The Spruce Pets.
Single-coat dogs with hair that grows continuously, like poodles and Yorkshire terriers, need regular brushing. Cross suggests starting with a pin brush, which has wire pins with protective balls on each tip to keep from scratching a dog’s skin. She follows with a fine-toothed metal comb.
For furry dogs like golden retrievers, Australian shepherds, and huskies, Cross uses a pin brush, comb, and then tools such as a rubber ZoomGroom or a shedding blade called SleekEZ. These two tools are also useful for smooth-coated dogs, like beagles and boxers. You'll find both tools among our recommendations.
We tested and researched dozens of brushes—including slickers, deshedding tools, and pin brushes—on dogs with many different types of fur. Our test subjects included dogs with long coats, short hair, and excited puppies. Testers evaluated nearly 30 brushes on a variety of metrics, rating them for their effectiveness, durability, value, and how easy they are to clean.
Here are the best brushes for dogs.
- Best Overall : Hartz Groomer's Best Combo Dog Brush
- Easiest to Clean: Hertzko Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush
- Best for Undercoats: FURminator Undercoat deShedding Tool
- Best for Shedding: SleekEZ Original Deshedding Grooming Tool
- Best for Thick Coats: FURminator Grooming Rake
- Best for Shampooing: KONG Zoom Groom Brush
- Best for Long Hair: Bissell Furget It Cat and Dog Grooming Brush
- Best Mitt-Style: HandsOn Pet Grooming Gloves
1. Best Overall : Hartz Groomer's Best Combo Dog Brush
This is an all-around great everyday brush: It’s effective, inexpensive, and versatile. It has two sides: One has stainless steel pins that can help untangle knots and collect loose hair, particularly for dogs with long, curly, or wiry fur, and the other has soft nylon bristles for finishing and for short coats. The bristles help spread your dog’s natural oils throughout the coat for shiny, soft hair.
We tested the Hartz Groomer's Best Combo Dog Brush on dogs with a variety of coats, including long, fine hair and long, matted hair—the brush performed exceptionally well with both. It worked best on our border collie test subject. One tester even noted that it worked well on her dog's thick butt hair. The Hartz brush was less effective for dogs with short hair and also isn't the right tool if you're looking to tame your dog's undercoat.
The heads of the pins have rounded tips, so the brush is particularly gentle. Our testers with short-haired dogs didn’t collect quite as much fur, but all dogs seemed to be less bothered by this brush, particularly the soft-bristled side.
The brush has a soft rubber handle that makes it comfortable to hold. That’s especially important if you have a big dog or one with lots of hair. Like most pin and bristle brushes, it isn’t very easy to clean, but it’s hardly a deal-breaker for the price and versatility.
2. Easiest to Clean: Hertzko Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush
Slicker brushes can be very effective on many types of coats, but they are typically very hard to clean as hair gets caught up deep between the bristles. Like other slickers, the Hertzko brush is designed to remove loose hair and tangles using a brush of closely spaced, slightly bent wire bristles. During brushing, when you’ve collected a lot of fur, press the release button to retract the pins, letting the discarded hair fall free (ideally over a trash can).
Slickers work on nearly every type of coat but not all dogs like the raking feel of the wires. Be sure to use light pressure and watch sensitive areas. Unlike some slickers and pin brushes, there are no rounded tips on the end of these bristles to protect the skin. Because the bristles are retractable, they don’t get bent when you’re cleaning the brush or when it gets tossed in a drawer.
“Slicker brushes aren’t necessarily bad, but they are a little rougher than a pin brush and can cause breakage on ears and tails if overused,” Cross points out.
3. Best for Undercoats: FURminator Undercoat deShedding Tool
There are lots of imitators, and our testers tried a bunch of them, but the FURminator original deshedding tool is more effective and sturdier than the rest. The stainless steel toothy edge moves through the dog’s topcoat to pull any loose undercoat hair. There’s a curved guard around the blade to keep it from getting too close to the skin. However, some sensitive dogs really get antsy with this brush, and definitely be careful around delicate areas like legs. It’s only for use in dogs with double coats because the blade can be irritating next to the skin.
Hair just keeps coming and coming the first few times you use the deshedder, which is why this tool has so many fans. “Absolutely worth the price,” said one tester who tried both the long hair version on her border collie and the short hair model on her pit bull. It’s relatively easy to clean with an ejector button that pushes hair and dandruff out of the blades. There are several versions based on your dog’s size and hair type.
However, groomers are divided on deshedding tools like these. Although the results can be pretty impressive, they can come with some side effects.
“When a blade is used to remove undercoat, it frequently causes breakage to the hair which can encourage matting," Cross told The Spruce Pets. “They cut through and remove hair that isn’t ready to come out yet.”
4. Best for Shedding: SleekEZ Original Deshedding Grooming Tool
This tool is a simple easy-to-hold oval wooden handle wrapped around a stainless steel comb. Just apply light pressure as you rake gently through your pet’s coat, collecting tumbleweeds of fur as you go. Be careful on delicate spots like legs and avoid the face.
Cross likes this tool best for deshedding. It’s easy to maneuver and does a lot of work in just a very short time. Not for dogs with continuously growing hair, the tool works well on pups with double coats or smooth coats.
The tool has a fan base because it can also be used on cats, horses, and other animals, as well as on bedding, clothes, and upholstery to remove loose hair. Although it’s effective, it can be messy. You’ll have to wipe up the cloud of fur with a soft bristle brush or sweep it away with your hands.
5. Best for Thick Coats: FURminator Grooming Rake
For pets with thick fur, daily use of a grooming rake can prevent mats by loosening hair and tangles. The rotating metal teeth on this rake remove loose hair in dogs with undercoats or thick fur. It helps untangle knots and work out some mats, so it’s especially helpful to use before a deshedding tool. This works particularly well for dogs with really dense fur like huskies. Some people like to use it to help remove burs that normally you’d have to tackle with scissors.
The pins have rounded tips to avoid irritation, and they’re set far enough apart that they don’t easily drag hair. This doesn’t help much for dogs with short coats, but it shines for longer or thicker hair. While you might only use a deshedding tool weekly, this is an easy rake to use for a few minutes every day to avoid longer grooming sessions later.
6. Best for Shampooing: KONG Zoom Groom Brush
This cute rubber brush really excels in the bathtub. Wet your pup, shampoo, and massage, using circular motions to dredge up the hair. It massages while you’re brushing, so pets don’t seem to mind it. It works well with all hair types but can cause tangles if you get too zealous when scrubbing fine, long hair. The brush does get a little slippery in the tub and can be tough to hold on to.
The ZoomGroom can be used out of the bath too. Again, don’t brush straight, but move in circles to remove loose hair. Then use a bristle brush to wipe away everything you collect.
This is one of Cross’s favorite grooming tools. She uses it on both double-coat and smooth-coat dogs to remove loose top coat hair, typically after brushing with a pin brush and then a fine-toothed metal comb.
7. Best for Long Hair: Bissell Furget It Cat and Dog Grooming Brush
Several of our testers with long-haired dogs loved this two-sided brush best. It is pretty effortless as it slides through a dog’s coat, yet it gathers an impressive amount of hair. It wasn’t very effective on dogs with medium or short coats.
The teeth are rounded, so they’re not abrasive. The side of the rake with nine teeth is best used to first work through mats or tangles. The side with closely set 17 teeth is better for deshedding once the knots are worked out. Dogs that dislike grooming weren’t bothered very much by this tool. It’s deceptively effective on loose undercoat fur, as well as dead hair and tangles.
8. Best Mitt-Style: HandsOn Pet Grooming Gloves
Some dogs just hate to be groomed. These gloves are a clever way to convince them they’re getting a nice massage while secretly removing lots of loose hair. Available in four sizes, the gloves have rubber nodules all along the fingers and palm. As you stroke your pet, the bumps hang on to shedding and loose fur. They attach securely with velcro around the wrist and can be tossed in the washing machine to clean.
Our testers found it was easiest to use just one glove to groom while keeping the other hand free to remove collected fur. The hair comes off relatively easily in clumps.
The gloves can be used just as a brushing tool or during a bath to really lather up shampoo, massage your pet, and deshed.
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