The 10 Best Dog Brushes for Undercoat

This is the tool the search term actually describes. A rake with long rounded teeth passes between the outer guard hairs and lifts dead undercoat from underneath, which is the layer that compacts against the skin and turns into mats if it is left.

The rounded teeth are the safety feature that matters. Unlike a bladed deshedder, there is no cutting edge, so working the same area twice does not thin the topcoat. On a double coated dog, that difference protects the coat structure.

A double row clears more per pass, which is what you want in a seasonal coat blow when there is a genuinely large amount of hair to move.

Two honest limits. It is the wrong tool on a short coated dog, where long teeth reach past the coat and drag on skin, and it is not a finishing tool: after raking, a comb or slicker is what tidies the surface.

Bottom line: the tool that does the most good on a double coat, and the one to buy first.

• Type: undercoat rake
• Teeth: long, rounded, double row
• Action: pulls without cutting
• Suits: double coated dogs and cats
• Handle: cushioned grip
• Use: seasonal and routine deshedding

For owners of double coated breeds with real undercoat depth, especially during a seasonal shed. Skip it for single coated dogs, which have no undercoat to rake, and for short coats where the teeth reach skin.

Let the weight of the tool do the work and keep the angle shallow so teeth travel through coat rather than toward skin. Clear the head as you go, since a packed rake drags instead of gliding. Check the skin as you work and treat a dog turning to look at you as a signal to lighten up.

FURminator is best known for bladed deshedders, and this is the other half of their range: a rake that pulls rather than cuts, which is the safer tool for regular use on a double coat.

The rotating teeth are the distinguishing feature. As the rake meets resistance the teeth turn slightly, which reduces the tug a dog feels when the tool hits a dense patch, and that matters for dogs who have learned to dislike grooming.

It handles tangles better than a plain rake for the same reason, easing through rather than dragging.

The trade is mechanical. Rotating teeth are moving parts, and hair and grime can stiffen them over time, where a fixed tooth rake has nothing to seize. It also costs more than simpler rakes that do the fundamental job.

Bottom line: a gentler rake for sensitive or reluctant dogs, at a premium over plain designs.

• Type: undercoat rake
• Teeth: rotating, rounded
• Action: pulls loose hair and tangles
• Suits: thick coated dogs and cats
• Handle: ergonomic grip
• Use: routine and seasonal grooming

For thick coated dogs, and particularly for dogs that flinch at grooming, where the rotating teeth reduce pulling. Less necessary if your dog tolerates a plain rake happily.

Work in lines, lifting a section of coat and clearing the strip from skin outward before dropping the next section over it. Keep the teeth clear during a heavy shed, and rinse and dry the head occasionally so the rotating teeth do not stiffen with grease and hair.

This is a different mechanism from both rakes and slickers: a wavy toothed blade that catches loose hair and lifts it as you draw it across the coat. It is simple, there is nothing to break, and it clears a startling amount of surface shedding quickly.

The tooth pattern is the reason it is gentler than an aggressive deshedder. It grips and pulls rather than presenting a fine cutting edge, so used sensibly it is less likely to thin the topcoat.

It also works on upholstery, which sounds like a gimmick and is genuinely useful when a double coated dog has been on the sofa.

The limitation is depth. This is a surface tool, and on a plush double coat it will not reach the compacted undercoat that a long toothed rake gets to. Use it after a rake rather than instead of one.

Bottom line: an effective, simple surface deshedder, and a good partner to a rake rather than a replacement.

• Type: toothed deshedding blade
• Blade: patented wavy tooth pattern
• Handle: wood
• Suits: short, medium and long coats
• Extra use: hair removal from fabric
• Moving parts: none

For heavy surface shedders and short double coats, and for anyone who wants a simple tool with nothing to break. Not sufficient on its own for a deep plush undercoat, which needs a rake.

Match the tool to where the hair is. If loose fur comes off on your hand when you stroke the dog, a surface tool like this handles it. If you part the coat and find a dense packed layer near the skin, you need a long toothed rake first and this afterwards.

The EquiGroomer comes from the horse grooming world, and the design philosophy shows: a toothed blade that lifts dead hair with very little force, aimed at animals that will not tolerate anything aggressive.

For a dog that has had a bad experience with a bladed deshedder, that gentleness is the entire selling point. It clears loose coat steadily rather than dramatically, and dogs generally accept it well.

Five inches is a sensible width for a medium dog. On a very large breed you will be making a lot of passes, and on a small one it is more tool than the job needs.

Like the other blade style tools here, it works the surface and the layer just beneath rather than reaching deep into a plush undercoat, so a rake still has a place alongside it.

Bottom line: the gentle option for sensitive dogs, best paired with a rake on a heavy coat.

• Type: toothed deshedding blade
• Width: 5 in
• Action: gentle lifting
• Suits: dogs and cats
• Best for: dogs up to medium size
• Moving parts: none

For sensitive dogs, nervous groomers and cats that will not sit for anything rough. Less suitable as the only tool on a very large double coated dog, where coverage and depth both matter.

Draw it in the direction of hair growth with almost no downward pressure and let the teeth do the lifting. Short sessions work better than long ones with an anxious animal, and stopping while the dog is still comfortable is what makes the next session easier.

The two sided design is a sensible answer for owners who do not want a drawer of grooming tools. The sparse side cuts through mats, the dense side clears loose undercoat, and flipping the tool covers both jobs.

Rounded blade tips are the detail worth noting. Dematting blades are sharp by necessity, and rounded ends are what keeps them from catching skin when you reach the bottom of a mat unexpectedly.

The compromise is that neither side is as good as the specialised tool it replaces. A dedicated rake reaches deeper, and a dedicated dematter is easier to control on a bad mat.

Take real care with the dematting side. It works by cutting the mat apart, which means it can cut skin if you drive it into a mat sitting tight against the body.

Bottom line: a practical two in one for moderate coats, and not a replacement for a proper rake on a heavy double coat.

• Type: double sided comb
• Sides: dematting and deshedding
• Blade tips: rounded
• Handle: cushioned grip
• Suits: dogs and cats
• Use: tangles and loose undercoat

For owners of moderately coated dogs who want one tool for tangles and shedding. Not the pick for deep plush undercoat, and not for someone nervous about using a cutting tool near skin.

Work the outer edge of a mat rather than driving the blades into the base of it, and lift the mat away from the body with your fingers so you always know where skin is. If a mat sits tight against the skin, stop and let a groomer deal with it rather than cutting blind.

Slicker brushes are all superficially similar and they are not equal in use. The difference is the pins: quality ones flex as they meet the coat, cheap ones stay rigid and scratch. This is the version groomers reach for, and the gentleness is immediately obvious.

What it does is surface work: lifting hair that has come loose, breaking up small tangles, and finishing a coat so it lies properly after the deeper work is done.

What it does not do, and no slicker does, is reach compacted undercoat on a plush coat. Treating a slicker as an undercoat tool is the most common mistake in this category.

The pad is fixed, so hair comes out with fingers or a comb rather than a button. On a tool this good that is a fair trade for having nothing that can seize.

Bottom line: the best slicker here for gentleness, and a finishing tool rather than an undercoat one.

• Type: slicker brush
• Pins: fine, flexible
• Pad: fixed, no self cleaning
• Suits: all coat types
• Use: surface work, tangles, finishing
• Grade: professional

For anyone who grooms often and wants a slicker that does not irritate skin, and for finishing after a rake has done the deep work. Not the tool to buy if you only want one thing for a shedding double coat.

Use light pressure and keep the pad flat to the coat rather than digging a corner in, since brush burn comes from pins pushed into skin in one spot. Check pins occasionally and straighten or retire the brush if any are bent, because a bent pin scratches.

The value pick, and what makes it sensible is the comb. Every groomer finishes a section by running a metal comb from skin to tip, because if the comb passes cleanly the section is done and more brushing achieves nothing. Most owners never buy one, and then they over brush.

Pairing that comb with a deshedding brush covers the two halves of a session: clear the loose hair, then check the work.

The brush itself is a general purpose deshedder rather than a long toothed rake, so on a very deep plush coat it will not reach the bottom layer the way a dedicated rake does.

Neither piece is as refined as a specialist tool bought alone, which is the ordinary trade in any combination set.

Bottom line: the best starting purchase for someone new to grooming a shedding dog.

• Contents: deshedding brush and metal comb
• Comb: detangling and finishing use
• Suits: dogs and cats
• Use: clearing loose hair, checking sections
• Format: two piece kit
• Handles: cushioned

For first time owners of a shedding dog who want a workable kit rather than a single tool. Less suitable for a deep plush undercoat that really needs a long toothed rake as the primary tool.

Use the brush in lines, section by section, then run the comb through that section from skin to tip. When the comb passes without catching, move on rather than brushing more. That single habit prevents most over grooming and skin irritation.

This is the plain deshedding tool in the group, aimed at owners who want to reduce the amount of hair on the sofa without learning a grooming routine.

Used regularly it does that job. Loose hair comes away, the coat looks tidier, and there is nothing complicated about the technique.

Being a general tool rather than a specialist one, it works the surface rather than reaching a deep compacted undercoat. On a plush double coat it is a supplement to a rake, not an alternative.

As with anything that pulls hair effectively, restraint is the rule. Stop when hair stops coming away easily instead of chasing a bigger pile.

Bottom line: a simple, effective everyday deshedder for moderate coats.

• Type: deshedding tool
• Suits: dogs and cats
• Head: compact
• Use: routine loose hair removal
• Design: single piece
• Handle: cushioned grip

For everyday hair control on moderately shedding dogs and cats. Not the primary tool for a deep double coat in seasonal shed, where a long toothed rake does far more.

For a simple tool like this, judge it by how much coat you actually have. Part the fur and look: if there is a dense soft layer near the skin, buy a rake as the main tool and treat a general deshedder as the tidy up. If the coat is one texture through, this class of tool is all you need.

The self cleaning button is the reason to choose a slicker like this. Picking matted fur out of fine bent pins is tedious, and being able to retract the pins and lift the pad of hair away in one motion makes people groom more often, which is the outcome that matters.

Rounded pin tips are the safety feature. Slickers cause brush burn when pins are pressed into skin, and rounded ends reduce that risk without stopping the brush working.

What it is not is an undercoat tool. Fine pins work the surface, lifting hair that has already come loose and breaking small tangles, and on a plush double coat the compacted layer stays where it is.

The mechanism is a moving part, and hair and grease can stiffen it over time. That is the ordinary trade for the convenience.

Bottom line: a convenient surface brush for regular tidying, best used after a rake on a double coat.

• Type: self cleaning slicker
• Pins: fine, rounded tips, retractable
• Suits: dogs and cats
• Use: surface grooming, tangles
• Handle: cushioned
• Cleaning: button retraction

For owners who groom often and want quick clearing between passes, and for coats that tangle at the surface. Not for deep undercoat work on a plush coat.

Keep the pad flat against the coat and use light pressure, since brush burn comes from pins pushed into skin rather than from the number of strokes. Clear the pins often, and keep the retraction mechanism free of hair and grease so it does not stiffen.

This is one of the most widely bought self cleaning slickers, and its popularity is a reasonable signal in a category full of near identical products, since the pattern of what owners report over time is more informative than any specification.

In use it does the standard slicker job well: lifting loose surface hair, working out small tangles, and leaving the coat lying properly.

The button mechanism keeps sessions moving. Clearing a pad of hair in one motion rather than picking at pins is the difference between grooming for ten minutes and giving up after three.

Two ordinary limitations apply. It cannot reach compacted undercoat, so on a plush double coat it follows a rake rather than replacing one, and fine pins bend with heavy handed use.

Bottom line: a solid everyday slicker, and one to pair with a rake rather than use alone on a double coat.

• Type: self cleaning slicker
• Pins: fine, rounded, retractable
• Suits: dogs and cats
• Use: everyday surface grooming
• Cleaning: single button
• Handle: cushioned grip

For everyday brushing on most coat types, and for owners who want the cheapest reliable slicker. Not for deep undercoat clearing, which needs a long toothed rake.

Brush in the direction of hair growth with the pad flat, and clear the pins whenever they fill rather than pushing harder. On a double coated dog, rake first and use this to lift what the rake has loosened, then check the section with a metal comb.