Brush Types by Coat: Short, Double, Long, Curly

The right types of dog brushes depend on the coat your dog actually has. Go by what you can feel at the skin, not by the shop shelf. A mixed breed with a soft, dense layer under longer top hairs should be treated as a double coat.

Types of dog brushes by coat

Coat	Usual tool	Starting frequency
Short, smooth	Rubber brush or mitt, then a bristle brush	1 to 2 times a week
Short, dense	Slicker brush	About weekly
Medium or long, double	Slicker, undercoat rake, comb	At least weekly; daily at peak shed
Long, silky	Slicker, pinhead finishing brush, comb	Daily
Curly or wool-type	Slicker, comb	Daily or every other day (our estimate)
Wire	Slicker for upkeep; ask a groomer about hand-stripping	A few times a week (our estimate)

Example breeds in the sources: Beagle, Pug and German Shorthaired Pointer for short coats; Pomeranian, Collie, Pembroke Welsh Corgi and Golden Retriever for medium or long double coats.

Short coats: rubber first

A rubber brush or mitt lifts loose hair gently and is a good first tool for a nervous dog. A bristle brush smooths the coat afterward. On a thick double coat the rubber tool is too light. For a short, dense coat, a slicker is the usual choice.

Brush for a double coat: slicker, rake, comb

A double coat has a dense undercoat that needs more than a top-coat brush. Use the slicker first, then the undercoat rake, which reaches what the slicker skims over. Match the rake’s pin length to the coat length. A steel comb is your “did I get it all?” test. The rake is most useful at peak shedding, and heavy shedders may need brushing daily then.

Long and curly coats

Long, silky coats suit a slicker, a pinhead brush as a finisher and a comb, and need daily brushing. Curly and wool-type coats suit a slicker and a comb. Long coats that tend to mat need daily attention. Comb before a bath too, since wet fur mats more.

If tangles do form, a mat splitter can tease at the edge of a small tangle, only if your dog allows it. Matted skin is a job for a groomer or vet.

How often to brush: the sources differ

ASPCA says weekly for a smooth short coat, weekly for a short dense coat and daily for a long silky coat. PDSA says long-haired dogs once a day and short-haired dogs twice a week. The AKC says heavy shedders several times a week, or daily at peak, and double coats at least weekly with a slicker, then a comb.

That is why the table gives a range and not one number. Start in the range for your dog, then adjust from what the coat and skin tell you. If you’re unsure, ask your groomer or vet.

Use any tool with a light touch

With a slicker, brush the hair, not the skin. Stop if your dog flinches or the skin looks pink. Introduce any new tool slowly, with a treat after each step. The short brushing routine covers the teaching steps, and how to pick the right brush covers the starter set and what to skip.

What not to buy

You don’t need five brushes. A de-shedding shampoo is optional and unproven, hard metal rakes pulled through tangles can hurt, and anything that cuts a double coat down to the skin does not stop shedding. One right tool, used often, beats five used rarely.