Walk down the grooming aisle and you'll see dozens of brushes. For shedding, two do most of the work: the undercoat deshedder and the slicker brush. They're not interchangeable, and picking the right one depends mostly on your pet's coat.
What a deshedder does
A deshedder has a straight row of fine, closely spaced metal teeth. It slides through the top coat and catches loose hairs in the undercoat, pulling them out in a soft mat. On a double-coated dog in the middle of a shed, the amount it removes can be startling.
Best for: double coats and dense fur. Huskies, shepherds, golden retrievers, labs, corgis, and thick-coated cats.
Use it: with light pressure, in the direction the fur grows, for 10 to 15 minutes. Stop when only a little fur comes out each stroke. Overdoing it on one spot can irritate the skin.
Skip it: on single-coated, silky or curly breeds like poodles, Maltese or Yorkies, and on any irritated skin.
What a slicker brush does
A slicker brush has a flat or curved pad covered in many thin wire pins. It's the all-rounder: it removes loose fur, works out small tangles and fluffs the coat. A self-cleaning slicker lets you push a button to release the fur instead of picking it out of the pins.
Best for: medium and long coats, curly coats, most cats, and daily maintenance on almost any pet.
Use it: gently, with short strokes. The pins should glide, not scrape. Pins with rounded tips are kinder on thin-skinned pets and cats.
Quick guide by coat type
- Double coat (husky, shepherd, golden): deshedder during shedding season, slicker for the rest of the year.
- Short single coat (beagle, boxer, lab mixes): a rubber curry brush or slicker; a deshedder can help with labs during heavy sheds.
- Long or silky coat (shih tzu, Yorkie, Maltese): slicker plus a comb. No deshedder.
- Curly coat (poodles and doodles): slicker and a comb, worked down to the skin to prevent mats.
- Cats: slicker for most; a deshedder only for thick-coated cats that tolerate it. Many cats prefer something softer, like a silicone or mist brush.
Do you need both?
For a double-coated dog, often yes. Use the deshedder to pull out the bulk of the undercoat, then a slicker to finish and catch what's left. For most other pets, a good slicker brush is enough.
Where to brush
Both tools pull out a lot of fur, and it has to go somewhere. Brush outdoors, over a sheet, or with a grooming vacuum that catches it as you go. Otherwise you'll be pulling it out of the rug later.
The tools we carry
- Wooden Undercoat Deshedder, for double coats.
- Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush, for daily brushing and most cats.
- Groom & Vac 7-in-1 Kit, if you want the fur to go straight into a canister.