How to Choose Brushes, Combs and Rakes: Matching the Tool to the Coat

If clippers and scissors get the glory, brushes and combs do the real work, because a groom is only ever as good as the prep underneath it. Half the coats that come through the door do not need clever finishing, they need honest, thorough brushing and combing with the right tool for that particular coat. Choosing your brush drawer well, and knowing which tool matches which coat, is one of the most underrated skills in the trade. So here is how I think about the core kit and how to match it to the dog in front of you.

Start with the coat, not the tool

The single most important habit is reading the coat first. A curly wool coat, a harsh double coat, a fine silky coat and a smooth short coat all want different tools, and using the wrong one either does nothing or does harm. There is no universal brush, only the right brush for that coat, so train your eye to identify the coat type before your hand reaches for the drawer.

The slicker brush

The slicker is the salon workhorse: a flat or slightly curved pad of fine, angled wire pins. It lifts loose hair, works out surface tangles, and fluffs curly and wool coats up for scissoring, so it earns its keep on doodles, Poodles, Bichons and most drop and curly coats.

The skill is a light hand. Those fine pins sit close to the skin, and pressing hard drags them across the skin and causes what we call brush burn, a red, sore graze that is entirely avoidable. Brush with the coat, use the weight of the brush rather than force, and you get all the lift with none of the damage. Slickers come in soft, medium and firm; softer for delicate or thin coats, firmer for dense coats, and gentler pins for faces and puppies.

The pin brush

A pin brush looks a little like a human hairbrush, with longer, rounded-tipped pins set in a cushioned pad. It is kinder and less aggressive than a slicker, so it suits longer, silky and flowing coats where you want to work through length without ripping: think long single coats, Shih Tzu, Yorkie and Maltese furnishings, and finishing long feathering. It moves the coat and keeps it flowing without the bite of a slicker, though it will not lift a curly coat the way a slicker does. Many groomers use a pin brush for the length and a slicker for lift, on the same dog.

The comb

If I could only keep one tool, it would honestly be a good metal comb, because the comb is your quality-control instrument. A comb that glides cleanly from skin to tip, with no snag, is your proof the coat is genuinely mat-free. If the comb catches, you are not finished, however good it looked to the eye.

Most groomers use a combination comb with wider-spaced teeth at one end and finer at the other. The wide end teases out looser tangles and does first passes; the fine end checks the finish and lifts fine coat on faces and legs. Combs are also essential for lifting and guiding coat as you scissor, and for finding the exact edge of a mat before you decide how to tackle it. Buy a solid, well-made one, because a cheap comb with rough teeth drags and snags.

The undercoat rake

An undercoat rake is built for one job: pulling out the dead, loose undercoat from double-coated breeds, the Huskies, Malamutes, German Shepherds, Labradors, Collies and the like. It has a single or double row of sturdy, rounded teeth set to reach down into the dense undercoat and drag the shedding fluff free without cutting the guard coat.

This is central to proper deshedding. A double coat that is raked out regularly stays cool, comfortable and far less prone to matting, and it sheds far less around the home. Choose a rake with teeth long enough to reach the skin on the coat depth you are working, and use it gently in the direction of growth: the rake does the work, you do not need to force it. Our deshedding treatment is built around exactly this kind of undercoat removal.

The dematter

A dematting tool has a row of sharp, curved blades that slice through a mat as you draw it through. It is powerful and genuinely useful for breaking down knots, but it is also the tool most likely to hurt a dog in careless hands, because those blades cut, and skin under a tight mat tents up right into the cutting line.

Use a dematter with real care. Work only on the mat, not blindly into the coat, hold the base of the hair between the mat and the skin so any pull tugs your fingers rather than the dog, and take small, controlled strokes rather than sawing. And crucially, know the limit: a large, dense, pelted mat is not a dematter job, it is a clip-it-out-kindly job. We never brute-force a bad mat, because that is painful and unfair on the dog.

Welfare note: Never work a tight, painful mat with force. If a mat is flat to the skin, dense, or covering an area, the humane choice is to clip it out cleanly under the mat, not to drag it apart with a dematter or slicker while the dog braces in discomfort. Brush burn from a heavy hand on a slicker, and cuts from a dematter or scissors near tented skin, are the two most common avoidable injuries in prep. A light hand and good judgement prevent both. Never shave a healthy double coat to solve shedding either; rake and deshed it instead, because that coat regulates temperature and does not grow back correctly once shaved.

Matching the tool to the coat, at a glance

• Curly and wool coats (Poodle, Bichon, doodles): slicker to lift and fluff, comb to check to the skin.
• Long silky single coats (Shih Tzu, Yorkie, Maltese): pin brush for length, slicker for lift where needed, fine comb to finish.
• Double coats (Husky, Collie, Labrador, Shepherd): undercoat rake to deshed, slicker to finish, comb to check.
• Smooth short coats (Lab, Staffie, Boxer): a rubber curry or bristle brush and a hound glove to lift dead hair and bring up shine.
• Wire coats (many terriers): these are usually hand stripped rather than clipped to keep the coat correct, with a comb and stripping tools; see our hand stripping work for how that coat is maintained.

Looking after your kit

Clean tools work better and are more hygienic between dogs. Pull the hair out of slickers and rakes, wash and dry brushes so they do not harbour damp and bacteria, check for bent or splayed pins that will scratch, and replace tools once the pins or teeth are damaged. A bent slicker pin or a rough comb tooth is a scratch waiting to happen.

Groomer's tip: After every finish, run your metal comb from skin to tip through the whole coat before you call a dog done. Your eyes and even a slicker will happily glide over a knot the comb catches. The comb is the honest one, and that final comb-through is the difference between a coat that looks groomed and a coat that genuinely is.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a slicker brush and a pin brush? A slicker has fine, angled wire pins that lift loose hair and tackle tangles, and it fluffs curly and wool coats for scissoring, but it needs a light hand to avoid brush burn. A pin brush has longer, rounded-tipped pins and is gentler, better for working through long, silky, flowing coats without ripping. Many coats benefit from both.

Which tool removes undercoat from a double-coated dog? An undercoat rake, worked gently in the direction of growth to pull out the dead, loose undercoat without cutting the guard coat. This is the heart of deshedding. Never shave a healthy double coat to reduce shedding, because the coat protects the dog and does not regrow correctly once shaved; rake and deshed it instead.

When should I use a dematter and when should I stop? Use a dematter with care on small, defined mats, working only on the mat and protecting the skin at the base of the hair. Stop and clip the mat out kindly instead if it is tight, dense, flat to the skin or covers an area, because forcing it is painful and skin tents up into the blades. Judgement matters more than force.

How do I choose a brush for a coat I do not recognise? Identify the coat type first: curly and wool, long silky, double, smooth short, or wire. Match the tool to that, a slicker and comb for curly, a pin brush for silky, a rake for double, a curry or glove for smooth, and stripping tools for wire. When in doubt, start gentle and check your work constantly with a comb.

For coat-type reference, the Wikipedia article on dog coats explains the different textures and shedding patterns, the dog grooming overview covers brushing and deshedding in context, and the PDSA pet health hub offers sound, vet-backed coat and skin guidance.

Written from the salon floor by Lucy, City & Guilds Level 2 & 3 qualified groomer and owner of Fluffs, a one-to-one dog grooming salon in Wigginton, York. For more professional grooming guides, explore the Fluffs grooming blog.