When having your pet on the sofa or the bed becomes more of a cleaning task than a pleasure, you know it's time to do something about the shedding. Not to mention in the car! There's a lot of choices out there, and you can spend a lot of time and money buying the wrong brush. That's if you happen to get the right one the second time.
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Deshedding Demystified
There's quite a few types and depending upon your pets coat, and you may need to get a couple different styles to accommodate a mixed coat type. I'm going to show you what kind to get for each of these coat types:
Smooth
Short
Double coat (coarse outer layer with a downy undercoat)
Mixed coat (Short & long areas)
Here's an old snapshot of what I used in the salon years ago. I've since then updated my selection, but each type is included:
Brushes
Slicker s/m/l
Pin
Bristle/pin
Combs
With handle
Without handle
Flea
Rakes
Coarse
Fine
Detangling
Matt splitter
Dethatching tool
Deshedding
Rubber curry (this is the only tool that kids should use)
Dethatching tool
Metal shedding blade
Grooming tools have come a long way in the last 10 years and you need to know which ones to get for your specific coat type.
Smooth coat
This coat needs only a rubber curry.
The nubs are pretty sturdy so you may you may need a finer curry to get some of the spots that don't have much muscle padding like the legs, ears and face.
 Because you can apply a good amount of pressure without fear of abrading the skin it's also a good choice for kids to use.
Deshedding the Short coat
 1. start with the longer coat areas
metal bladed shedding tool can be used in the areas of short (not smooth) areas.
2. Then the smooth and all over
rubber curry for smooth coated areas
Double coat (coarse outer layer with a downy undercoat)
We'll move from coarse to finer tools for this in order to penetrate through the outer layers and enable our tools to even get into the thicker under layers.
This definitely needs a couple different brushes.
Slicker brush to remove the bulky, thick or dense coat. This also removes seasonal tufting.
Metal tool to dethatch. (It's very safe so don't be afraid of the name stripping comb)
If your pet is still shedding you can follow up with the instructions for short coats
Mixed coat (Short & long areas)
We'll move from coarse to finer tools for this also.
1. start with the long coat areas
The long areas will need a slicker brush to remove any tangles or hair that is mixed up in a way that won't allow the rest of the shedding to slide out.
This brush from Chris Christensen is the best brush for your dog that money can buy to start the deshedding process.
For a small dog follow up with a comb (do not get a comb with a handle)
or if you have a large pet use a rake style tool.
The rake is much easier on your wrist minimizing fatigue and thus making your time and efforts more effective.
 2. Then revisit the long spots while working the medium areas
Slicker brush to remove the bulky, thick or dense coat.
Metal tool to dethatch. (It's very safe so don't be afraid of the name stripping comb)
3. Then the short areas and all around
For the short areas a rubber curry could be useful.
To get the best deshedding brush for your dog you need to understand that what works on one piece of the pet may not work on another piece of the pet.
Let me know if these tools are working for you or if you have any challenges and I can help you navigate through those.
Regards, Jennifer