Grooming is far more than just making your dog look good. You should consider grooming as a preemptive health checkup. It is a way of making sure your furry best friend doesn’t have any life-endangering ticks, fleas, rashes, and bumps.

More importantly, dogs with longer hair absolutely must be groomed on a regular basis to not get mat buildup. This would severely disrupt their coat’s regulating capacity, and make it even difficult for them to move.

In short, full dog grooming session includes:

  • Brushing
  • Trimming
  • Hair-cutting
  • Washing
  • Nail-clipping
  • Tooth-brushing

Although you may already have a clue as to which dog grooming tools would accomplish these tasks, you would be surprised at the specialization of commercial products. Some are extremely useful and you would not even suspect them existing!

Of course, grooming wildly differs between certain dog breeds; from the minimum grooming need for hairless dogs, to intensive grooming need for dogs with long-haired, double, or curly coats.

We’ll cover all the tools you will need for every dog breed you may encounter.

These tools will make your dog grooming experience much easier, efficient and pleasant for both you and your pooch. No matter if you have a small dog grooming business, or just for personal home use.

Grooming Table

First things first – creating your productive grooming area.

If you don’t have a large bathroom and your dog is the type of breed that requires frequent grooming, you should really consider an all-purpose grooming table. One that includes:

  • Non-slip main tabletop
  • Bottom tray for all the grooming tools
  • Customizable arm to keep the dog steady
  • Sturdy, rubberized legs that prevent the table from moving

You can find all of those nifty features in the Flying Pig Grooming table. It varies in sizes, and is composed of stainless steel for maximum longevity and robustness.

 

Slicker Brush

Slicker brushes are imperative to use for dogs that tend to shed a lot. They efficiently remove dead skin in order to remove dead hair and skin build-up. In addition to that, they help with reducing the shedding itself, if used regularly.

Try to find one with an ergonomic handle, like this one.

 

Grooming Comb

In this case, you can use any comb that is suitable for human hair, but for best results try to avoid plastic ones. They will bend and even snap. Instead, opt for a stainless steel comb.

Such heavy-duty combs are essential to untangle long hairs, remove crusted dirt, loose hair and mats.

It simply makes no sense to use anything less when they are so cheap and will last you a lifetime.

This pet grooming comb is a great choice.

 

Hair Grooming Clippers

Andis is widely known in the professional barber salons as the go-to brand for haircutting and styling. This company dedicated itself to specialize in all products concerning hair manipulation, so it is no wonder their excellence is not lacking in pet grooming as well.

Furthermore, this is the most important part of dog grooming. The tools we listed so far were more for valuable convenience and expediency, but good hair clippers are essential. If there is anything you should not take a shortcut on, it’s the hair clippers.

Otherwise, you will quickly regret even engaging in home dog grooming, let alone if you intend to have a prosperous dog grooming salon.

Hair clippers for pets must be:

  • Safe
  • Powerful/efficient
  • Durable
  • Versatile
  • Easy to clean

If you intend to do more than one grooming session, you simply cannot get anything less.

All the features you would need for a smooth hair-clipping you will find in the Andis UltraEdge model.

 

Shower Attachment

When you are done with brushing, combing, and hair-clipping, it’s time to give your pup a nice bath.

It doesn’t take long to notice that standard shower attachments that most people use in their bathtubs and shower cabins are not up to the task.

You will need something that is much more flexible and conforming to dog’s quadruped body.

 

Flexible Shower Handle

Whether you attach it to your shower’s hose, or your outdoor faucet, the WaterPik shower handle will make dog bathing a much easier experience, especially for the belly area.

With a simple turn of the rubberized handle, you can regulate the water flow, and it is equally useful for indoor and outdoor use. No matter the size of your dog, all will benefit from it.

 

Specialized Dog Shampoo

You could use a shampoo that you use for your own hair. However, by doing that you risk causing your dog a rash which can vary in degree of severity. There is simply no way to tell which shampoo will cause such reaction to which dog breed.

We are talking about hundreds of thousands of combinations here. And more importantly, if this happens you will have a hard time getting your dog to take a bath next time.

To avoid such troubles altogether, get a shampoo that is certified as natural and non-toxic. Some breeds require even more specialized shampoos to help with shedding, but this one is a good one to keep in mind.

 

Powerful Hair Dryer

Not essential if you already have one for yourself, but if your dog has lush, flowing hair it would certainly be a welcome benefit.

After all, the volume of hair you have to dry off is not quite comparable to even the longest hair on a human, isn’t it?

If you want to do this job quickly, a specialized pet dryer is a godsend.

You will usually find them under the label ‘high velocity (HV)’ dryers. Additionally, they are constructed with mobility in mind, so they will have long blow hoses and compact housing.

One such excellent dryer for your dog is from the renowned Flying Pig Grooming brand; the Flying One model. It comes in three colors – green, purple, pink – and its powerful motor is safely ensconced within a steel shell.

 

Nail Care

When you are done with the bulk of the grooming, there are still paws to take care of. This is very important to do regularly as it greatly impacts dog’s health and mobility.

Obviously, human nail clippers are out of the question, as dog’s nails are much narrower and thicker.

To this job properly, you will definitely need specialized nail clippers that conform to dog’s anatomy.

These nail clippers from Boshel are superb and cheap. They thought of both safety and sharpness.

Another, more advanced, option would be to get nail grinders if you feel that you need extra precision and control.

As the name implies, this powered rotary tool precisely grinds down nails so that you remove the risk of cutting too much. This time, Oster – another renowned hair-removing brand – comes with a solid solution.

Keep in mind though, your dog will take some time in getting used to nail grinders, but if you already use noisy electric hair clippers, it should go smoothly in no time.

 

Straight Shears

Even with the best electronic hair clippers, you will still need to access and finish up paws and the intimate area. This is where your ordinary shears come in.

Nothing special is required here, except they have to be straight and sharp. No paper-cutting scissors here!

The best ones have ergonomic handles and stainless steel blades. Of course, Andis again comes with an outstanding option that was thoroughly tested by barbers and pet groomers across the world.

 

Teeth Care

Under no circumstance should you use human tooth paste on dogs. Many such brands contain xylitol – a type of alcohol sugar – which is highly poisonous to dogs.

Needless to say, get a specialized dog tooth paste. It usually comes in a package with a suitable toothbrush so you kill two bird with one stone, or as PETA would like you to say – feed two birds with one scone.

This tooth paste and brush for dogs is excellent.

As to the frequency of tooth brushing, once a week should suffice.

 

Ears Care

You may already know that dogs are known for having almost supernatural hearing capability, at least compared to humans. This is in part to having very long ear canals; they can range from 5 to 10 centimeters.

Suffice to say, this causes frequent infections, especially if your dog spends much time outdoors.

Fortunately, the free market does not disappoint. Ear cleaner is here to the rescue!

Simply soak a cotton ball with this ear cleaner and gently swab your dog’s ears, but not going too far in.

 

Extras

So far, you have taken care of everything you will need for a proper and expedient dog grooming, but if you are willing to get some extra convenience, consider these items as well:

  • Grooming wipes – to be used outside grooming sessions, for gunky eyes and nose.
  • Towels – a must-have if you plan on washing your dog indoors. You don’t want splashes all over the place, so just wrap your dog in his/her own towel before the drying can commence.
  • Deshedding tool – as an extra step with the aforementioned brush to curtail your dog’s shedding situation.

 

And lastly, don’t forget to give your dog his favorite treat if he does a good job being calm and compliant.

If that is not the case, don’t forget that regular brushing from a young age will desensitize your dog for more involved grooming sessions.