Poodle, Labrador Retriever, Pitbull, Great Pyrenees, Shih Tzu, Husky, Pug, and every dog in between — last week I talked about why brushing matters. This week is the how. The actual ten-minute Sunday routine, broken down by coat type, with the right tool and the right motion for each one.
Most people brush their dog the wrong way because they are using a brush that was sold to them for a different dog, and they are brushing without a plan. Five minutes of brushing with the wrong tool is wasted time. Five minutes with the right tool and the right motion is the difference between a healthy coat and a pelted one. Here is the routine that actually works.
Before You Start: Set the Dog Up to Win
Pick a spot in the house that the dog already associates with calm. A rug by the couch, a foam mat in the kitchen, the dog’s bed. Do not do this on a slippery floor — the dog will fidget, you will both end up frustrated, and next Sunday neither of you will want to do it again.
Stand the dog up first, then sit on the floor with them. Reach for the brush. If the dog walks away, let them. Try again in five minutes. The whole point of this routine is that it is a no-pressure ritual. If you make it a battle, the dog will start avoiding you before you even pick up the brush.
Curly and Long Coats: Poodle, Shih Tzu, Bichon, Doodles
This is the coat that mats fastest and shows neglect soonest. It is also the coat that needs the most tool variety.
Tool: Metal comb and a slicker brush. Both. The slicker pops surface tangles, the comb gets down to the skin. If the comb does not glide through to the skin, you have a mat forming and you need to address it now, not next week.
Motion: Section by section. Start at the chest, work back. Hold the skin taut with one hand while you brush with the other — this is non-negotiable for this coat, because the hair is fine and the skin is sensitive and a tug on a tangle can hurt. Brush in the direction of hair growth. Do not brush against the grain.
The four mat zones: Behind the ears, in the armpits, around the pants, and between the back legs. These tangle first, every time. Spend extra time here.
Time: 8 to 12 minutes for a medium coat. Less if you are keeping up. More if the week got away from you.
Double Coats: Husky, Great Pyrenees, Golden Retriever, Australian Shepherd
This is the coat with a secret underlayer. The topcoat can look fine while the undercoat is felting underneath, holding moisture, and creating the conditions for a hot spot. The brushing has to get down to the skin.
Tool: Undercoat rake and a pin brush. The rake does the heavy lifting. The pin brush finishes the surface so the coat lays flat.
Motion: Short, overlapping strokes with the rake, working in the direction of hair growth. Press firmly enough to get through the topcoat and into the undercoat. If you are only catching topcoat hair on the rake, you are not pressing hard enough. The dog will tell you if you are pressing too hard — they will move, or they will look back at you. Adjust.
The trick: Break the dog into zones. Chest and front legs one Sunday. Back and sides the next. Hindquarters and tail the Sunday after. Rotate through. A full double-coat brushout in one session is a 30 to 45 minute job and most dogs will not sit still for that long. Three short sessions over three weeks gets the same result.
Time: 10 to 15 minutes per zone. Rotate weekly.
Short Single Coats: Pitbull, Boxer, Pug, Beagle
This is the easiest coat to maintain and the one most owners skip entirely because the dog does not look unkempt. Skip it and the dog ends up with flaky skin and a thin film of dead hair all over the house.
Tool: Rubber curry brush or a soft-bristle brush. Both work. Most dogs in this category actually enjoy the rubber curry because it feels like a massage.
Motion: Short, circular motions over the body, in the direction of hair growth. Do not press hard. The whole point is gentle stimulation of the skin and removal of loose hair. Do not use a slicker brush on these coats — the pins will scratch the skin. Do not use a de-shedding blade weekly. Save those for seasonal heavy sheds.
Watch for: Hot spots, red patches, and any area the dog flinches when you touch. If you see a patch that looks angry, leave it alone. That is a vet call, not a brushing problem.
Time: 5 minutes. This is the shortest routine on the list, and the one most often skipped.
Short Double Coats: Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler, Doberman
This is the coat that sheds constantly. The undercoat is fine and it turns over year-round, which is why Labs leave hair on your couch in July and February with equal enthusiasm.
Tool: Rubber curry for the weekly routine, slicker brush or undercoat rake for the seasonal blow.
Motion: Same circular motion as the single short coat, but with slightly more pressure. The undercoat is dense and you need to get through it. Work the curry in overlapping circles over the body, then go back over the same area with the slicker to lift out the loose undercoat.
Time: 5 to 8 minutes weekly. 15 to 20 minutes twice a week during spring and fall shed.
The Wrap
The Sunday routine, by coat type:
- Curly and long coats — slicker brush and metal comb, 8 to 12 minutes
- Double coats — undercoat rake and pin brush, 10 to 15 minutes per zone, rotate weekly
- Short single coats — rubber curry, 5 minutes, circular motion
- Short double coats — rubber curry weekly, slicker or rake during shed season, 5 to 20 minutes depending on the season
Pick the one that matches your dog’s coat. Do it on Sunday. The first time is the hardest because you are learning the dog’s body and the dog is learning the routine. By the third week, the dog will be lining up before you even get the brush out. That is the part the internet does not tell you — the routine itself becomes a reward, and the dog looks forward to it.
A Note from the Groomer
I am not a vet and I am not a behaviorist. I am a groomer who has brushed a lot of dogs, and the thing I have learned is that the routine is more important than the tool. The dog that gets brushed every Sunday on a foam mat in the kitchen with a twenty-dollar brush is in better shape than the dog that gets brushed twice a year in a salon with a hundred-dollar tool. Consistency wins.
How to Reach Me
If you want help setting up a brushing routine that actually sticks at home, the best way to get started is through the New Client Form. Use the note section to tell me about your dog’s coat and what you are using now.
Questions about which brush is right for your dog? Drop them in the live stream chat and I will answer on air. Same place for anything else you have been wondering about your dog’s coat or skin.
Want to see a real brushing session in real time? Head over to vroomgrooms.com and click the Live button. We stream real appointments every week on Twitch at DogGroomerNicole. Real grooming, real dogs, real community. We do not stage the dogs. We do not fake the results. If a dog is having a rough day, you will see that too. That is the whole point.
Serving Northwest Ohio: Bowling Green, Grand Rapids, Haskins, Holland, Maumee, Monclova, Northwood, Oregon, Perrysburg, Rossford, Swanton, Sylvania, Toledo, Walbridge, Waterville, and Whitehouse. Mobile Dog Grooming. We come to you. No hook ups needed!
Stay fresh and furry,
Nicole / Vroom Grooms LLC
About the Author
Nicole is the owner and certified groomer behind Vroom Grooms LLC, a mobile dog grooming service serving Northwest Ohio. She specializes in double-coated breeds, anxious dogs, and clients who want honest, transparent grooming without the salon chaos. You can catch her live on Twitch at DogGroomerNIcole, where she streams real grooms and talks shop about the grooming world.
This post was drafted with help from Nagini 🐍, her digital assistant, who keeps the blog running, handles the tech side of the website, and makes sure Nicole spends more time with dogs and less time wrestling with WordPress.