There is no need to talk about the nobility and overall characteristics of the German Shepherd. We treated that in our another article. But one thing we all can agree on is the fact that German Shepherd is one of the dog breeds with lots of hair and you guessed right, we will be discussing coat type, shedding, and will help you to choose the best brush for German shepherd.
German Shepherds shed hair a lot. So, when your favorite dog starts to shed hair, what do you do? Well, you don’t have to be worried; in this article, we will be reviewing some of the best brushes for German Shepherd dogs.
The German Shepherd coats are of four types
- Long with an undercoat
- Long hair without and undercoat
- Short with an undercoat
- Medium with an undercoat
Guide to Choosing a Grooming Brush for German Shepherd
The major difference between the short, medium, and long hair with undercoat lie in the length of the hair. They all have different grooming requirements. Advisedly, you should have two different brushes; this is to help groom your dog properly as most German Shepherds have two different coats – These two brushes will cater to the undercoat and overcoat.
Different Types of Brush For German Shepherd
There are over 6 types of grooming tools for grooming German Shepherd dogs. As a dog owner, having a vast knowledge of these types of grooming tools will help cater for your dog properly. They are:
- Comb
This goes without saying. Combs are great for smoothing the long coats on your German Shepherd. Combing your dog’s long coated hair should be done daily; what the comb does is to guide its fur, laying it in the right direction without tangles. Just like human hair, when you yanked the comb through their fur, that will hurt a lot. So, do it gently, run it through their fun mildly. You wouldn’t want your dog’s hair ripped out. If you notice large tangles, your best bet Is the matting tool (which we will be discussing shortly).
- Basic Brush
Basic brushes come in two types. We’ve got the plastic bristle brushes and the metal wire-bristle brushes. While the plastic bristles take out tangled hairs which are found on top of the soft undercoat coupled with distributing skin oil (which by the way helps to moisturize the dog’s skin), the Metal wire bristles, on the other hand, go deeper; with the metal wire bristles, you can smoothen the undercoat.
Furthermore, the basic brush is an excellent tool for a daily maintenance routine on your dog. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a long-coated German Shepherd or the medium Coated German Shepherd. This is one brush that should be on your shelf. How does daily brushing help your dog? It helps a lot, but more importantly, it prevents extreme shedding and matting – which as we’ve mentioned earlier, is common to German Shepherd dogs.
- Deshedding tool
Speaking of shedding, one other tool that can help with this is the De-shedding tool. This tool helps reduce shedding. If you don’t want your home to be filled with your dog’s fur. The de-shedding tool is your best bet. It’s a known fact that German Shepherds shed twice a year; during fall and spring. Deshedding tools reach down the dog’s skin, right down to the soft undercoat. Additionally, one can take out lose furs before messing up the entire room.
One major example of the De-shedding tool is the undercoat rake. The undercoat rake does what its name implies. It rakes through their coats. If you’d want to remove loose fur, the undercoat is one of the best options you have. Interestingly, it has two teeth layers that help to rake through the coats. The two teeth work in synchronism. If you own a German Shepherd, it’s one of the tools you should own.
- Slicker brush
The slicker brush is designed for German Shepherds with long coats. Thanks to its fine wire bristles, you can keep that dog’s long fur shiny. They are so effective and can get to the deepest part of your dog’s coat.
Why is the slicker brush effective? They are self – cleaning. After your daily dog grooming routine, the slicker brush drops the furs, all at the push of a button.
- Dematting tool
What does a Dematting tool do? With the dematting tool, you can take out tangled knots in long – furred German Shepherds. If you’ve got a dog with lots of knots on its skin, the Dematting tool works effectively. It reaches knots in the undercoats as well as your German Shepherd Guard hairs.
The general design makes it more effective. The teeth which are the most important part of the entire design runs through tangled hair with ease. You don’t have to worry about pulling on overly tangled fur which can be painful for your German Shepherd dog.
From long coat German Shepherd to Short coat German Shepherds, the tool works efficiently. For dogs with short coat, they rarely have tangled hair, but this doesn’t take anything away from the fact that they are fluffy, and being fluffy means they can be tangled. It won’t cost you anything to make sure your dog is properly groomed.
- Mitts/Gloves
Mitts (also known as Gloves) are a pair of gloves which are covered in rubber knobs. Though not in large quantities, these rubber knobs help to brush through their (German Shepherd dogs) fur. This is done by rubbing your hands over its entire body. If there are loose guard hairs will be attached to the rubber knob as you rub through.
Some dogs don’t like the feel of wire-bristle brushes, in this case, your best bet is the Mitt. Most dogs prefer this tool compared to the Metal Wire Bristle brush. For body – sensitive dogs, use Mitts as they can hardly feel the knob rubbing on his skin. It feels more like petting rather than grooming.
Thanks to the rubber knobs, skin oils are effectively distributed evenly on your dog’s skin. Also, it helps improve blood circulation – something your dog needs.
Can Mitts be used on wet furs? Mitt (also known as Gloves) works perfectly on both dry and wet coats. Even while your dog is having its bath, you can use that as an opportunity to groom it. All Mitts are washable, and some can also be washed with a washing machine.
The Right Brush for your German Shepherd
At this point, you already know the major grooming tools for your pet. But what are the best tools for your German Shepherd? What will determine the right tool (or tools) for your dog is the length of its furs.
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Short-Coated German Shepherds
For short-coated German Shepherds, you need 2 to 3 grooming tools. It varies; depending on what you want, there are 2 to 3 grooming tools you need to check. First on the list is the basic brush, you can either get that or a grooming mitt (just as we stated earlier, you can get both). Lastly, you need an undercoat rake – the perfect tool for fall and spring shedding.
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Medium-Coat German Shepherds
For medium Coat German Shepherd, you need three grooming tools. The Basic Brush should be used daily basis; this is to ensure that the shedding is reduced. Next is the undercoat rake. With the undercoat rake, your dog’s profuse shedding will be reduced. The last checkbox that needs to be checked is for Mitt. Yes, Mitt; they are the right tool for petting your dog. With the Mitt tool, you can help your dog relax by massaging its muscle and bathing him.
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Long-Coated German Shepherds
The fact that Long – coated German Shepherds require lots of grooming can not be gainsaid. But, not to worry. When most people hear this, they believe that perfect maintenance can only be achieved by hiring a professional groomer. With these three to four tools, you can do this on your own. Just like the others, you need the basic brush. The basic brush should be used regularly as this helps to maintain the texture of its furs. Next, you need an undercoat rake. With the undercoat rake, you can prevent excess shedding during spring and fall. You also require a grooming mitt. The grooming tool is required for dogs with sensitive skin. However, the slick brush is the last tool on the list. We all want our dog’s skin looking shiny and clean, you can achieve that with the Slicker brush tool.
Grooming Tips for German Shepherds
When it comes to grooming your German Shepherd, there are certain tips to follow to help you groom your dog effectively.
- The best time to brush your dog’s fur is when it’s standing still. We recommend using a grooming table. Grooming table can be a useful tool when cleaning its ears, and trimming its nails.
- The loose fur needs to be removed from the topcoat. You can get this done by making use of pin brush, slicker brush or bristle brush.
- Don’t have a grooming table? Not to worry, a tabletop will do. Or, use something similar. For effective grooming, take advantage of treats (You can learn more about treats from our previous post.
- The moment you start grooming your German Shepherd, you need to get rid of knots and mats that are found in the dog’s fur. Take note of the rake’s teeth; they are very sharp.
- Watch out for the loose hair that lies beneath both the topcoat and undercoat. You can do all of these with a deshedding tool. Make sure the overcoat is not damaged. You need to pay close attention and look out to see if you are using the de-shedding tool the proper way. The main reason for this is the fact that most de-shedding tool glides over the topcoat.
- Regular grooming is important; more especially when you are trying to make sure that the dog sheds less fur all around the house. Regular brushing is the answer to over shedding.
Best Brushes for German Shepherds
The FURminator for Dogs Undercoat Deshedding for dogs is one of the best brushes for German Shepherds. The dog brush has stainless steel edges that are capable of reaching the inner part of the guard hair, down to the undercoat. With the FURminator, you can remove all sorts of loose furs. It has a “FURejector” button, which puffs furs captured from the dog’s skin. Durability is top-notch. It has a handle that makes grooming comfortable. If your dog weighs between 51 to 90 pounds, then the FURminator is best for you as the brush is available in two models; the “Short hair” and “Long hair” versions.
The Hertzko Self – Cleaning Slicker brush is one of the few brushes that are self- cleaning and a good reason to be on our list of best brushes for German Shepherds. It is easy to use and effective when removing guard hairs. With Hertzko, loose, and tangled undercoat hair are removed effectively. It has bent, refined bristle, which makes grooming easy and comfortable. You don’t have to worry about hurting your dog’s skin as the bristles were designed to penetrate seamlessly. Lastly, the brush comes with a comfort grip, with this, your wrist won’t be strained.
The Dakpet Deshedding brush is one of the Dog owners (Especially German Shepherd) favorite. Reducing shedding by up to 90% is no mean fit, and that’s not all, it also seamlessly removes dead undercoat from your German Shepherd dog’s skin while lightly trimming the furs. That’s not all, it comes with a sturdy stainless-steel tooth. The stainless steel is rust-resistant. The brush is great for short and long-coated dogs.
The Pet Grooming Glove is an effective one. It features rubber tips which are capable of removing furs that a loose. Not just that, it is also an effective tool for massaging your pet. Trust me, your dog will enjoy being patted with the Pet Grooming Gloves. Not to worry, the loose furs won’t blow off, rather, the loose fur will stay glued to the mitt. One of the main reasons why the Glove is effective is simply because it can get to places that can’t be handled by a bristle brush. With the Gloves, you can mildly rub on the dog’s face while grooming. A type of grooming that your dog will enjoy.
Next on our list of best brushes for German Shepherd is the HaloVa Pet comb. One of the most popular two-sided combs out there. The HaloVa Pet Comb is an effective grooming tool. A two-sided brush capable of eliminating knots, tangles. Trapped dirt and dander. Also, the HaloVa pet comb is effective when it comes to removing loose hair. The Pet comb features pin – brush with rounded edges which makes grooming for German Shepherd pretty easy.
GoPets is known for making some of the best grooming tools out there. Just as the name implies, the Grooming rake comes with two sides. It can be used to rake loose furs from your dog’s undercoat. One of the two sides has fewer teeth which act as a dematting rake. A dematting rake is best used for tangles and, of course, mats. You can also use the other side which comes with lots of teeth as a deshedding tool, an undercoat rake or a ‘detangler’. It features rounded ends on the tip of the teeth; this is to make sure that the edges don’t cut through your dog’s skin.
The last grooming tool on our best brushes for German Shepherd is the Safari Dematting Dog Comb. What makes it tick? It could be the fact that Safari Combs is gentle on the dog’s skin. It is capable of removing dander, tangles, and knots on your dog’s skin effectively. The blades are stainless – steel, premium – quality and are rust-resistant. You need not worry about the teeth of the comb as they are rounded at the tip, making them safe – to – use on your dog’s skin. One other benefit of the Safari Comb is its ability to increase blood circulation with every stroke taken with the comb. It comes with a comfort grip, which helps prevent wrist strain. Also, the grip is anti-slip.
FAQ Regarding German Shepherd Brushing/Grooming
1. How often should I groom my German Shepherd?
At least once a week. It is best when you brush your German Shepherd at least once a week. Regular brushing helps to reduce over shedding.
2. Do German shepherds shed?
Yes, German Shepherd dog shed. But they aren’t heavy shedding dog.
3. Can you stop a German shepherd from shedding?
No. You can’t completely stop shedding of your dog. but your best bet is to brush it regularly. Staying dedicated to regular brushing will reduce shedding and keep it in control.
4. To bathe or not to bathe German Shepherd?
Bathing your German Shepherd is good. But it should be at least once in 5 months. Unlike most dogs, German Shepherd secret natural oil will keep their skin moist all the time.
5. Should you shave a German shepherd?
No. You shouldn’t have your German shepherd. The coat protects them from the heat and cold weather. Unless this is for medical/treatment purpose, like for treating a hot spot or injuries.
Conclusion
It is no breaking news that dogs are man’s best friend, but for German Shepherds, it means more. This is a reputation they’ve built and have deservedly earned. But shedding for German Shepherds is a natural thing, something you can’t stop. But, if you truly love your dog, regular grooming should be done. With the tools we’ve highlighted, you can take out these furs without worrying about furs messing up your home.
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