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Slicker Brushes

What is a slicker brush?

A "slicker brush" is a type of grooming brush, commonly identified by lots of fine metal bristles. 

They look something like this... 

 or this... 

 

What is a slicker brush used for?

  • Remove debris from pets' coat
  • Brushing of pets' coat to remove dead coat
  • Brushing out knots and tangles in pets' coats
  • Helps distribute natural oils in the skin

Slicker brushes are designed to be used on medium to long-coated breeds. (dog, cat, or otherwise)

 

How to Choose?

There are so many options, and so many different varieties of slicker brushes available, it's hard to keep up (even for a groomer!)

While we try to keep things as simple as possible by limiting our range; it's important to note that effective grooming is never a "one-size-fits-all" approach.  

The choice ultimately comes down to understanding the purpose of the different features, sifting through what is "marketing genius" vs genuine functionality, and most of all, understanding your objectives for use.  

 

Pin length

Short pins are suited to single-coated breeds, or to the shorter-pile sections on the double-coated breeds (such as feet, legs, face). Long pins are suited to the body of double-coated breeds as the pins are more capable of getting down to the undercoat. 

 

Pad firmness
Soft pads are more effective at removing dead coat and intended for more frequent use. Firm pads are more effective at removing debris or brushing out knots or tangles.

 

Pad Size
This is mostly relevant to the size of your dog. Other than toy breeds, we prefer using the larger sizes as they cover more mass.
 
Shape
Curved bases reduce the risk of causing "brush burn" from over-brushing, and flexible bases further reduce this risk as they contour to your pets body more easily. We alternate using both types in our salon as it really comes down to personal preference (for you, and also for your dog). If your dog is a little more on the sensitive side, we would recommend the flexible base as this is just that bit more gentle than the standard curved base. 

 

Marketing Traps

Plastic pin-tips
Marketed at those more "sensitive pets" that don't like being brushed, these slicker brushes come with a tiny plastic ball at the tip of the pin. Unfortunately these small plastic balls catch on the fur, and cause more discomfort, so we do not recommend using these 😬🙏

 

Self-cleaning 
No one likes accidentally pricking themselves while trying to remove pet hair from their slicker brush... but so far, all of the slicker brushes with this feature are TERRIBLE quality and are not suitable for double-coated pets.
To remove fur from your slicker, we recommend to run a comb through the bristles.  

 

 

If you have any feedback on this article, we would love to hear from you! 

Please email feedback to: hello@spitzgroom.com.au  

 

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