How to Professionally Brush a Long Haired Dog

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By ashawn
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Professionally Brush a Long Haired Dog

I first learned this method of brushing long coated dogs while working and learning about dogs as a teenager at a large show dog kennel in Hawaii that bred, raised and showed three sizes of Poodles and Lhasa Apsos . It was my job to keep the dogs brushed between shows and some of the Standard Puddles had hair that was almost a foot long and one dog would be an all day job.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Comb
Pin Brush

Step 1

Lay the dog on its side if possible so that you can brush the whole dog. Start at the bottom of the dog’s back leg, using one hand lift the hair up and let a small amount fall back into place as you brush it, so that you are brushing the hair under the hair that you are holding up and out of the way. The amount of hair is equal to about how long your hand is.
Step 2

This technique requires a little practice so experiments with the amount of hair until you get the hang of parting the hair in a cross way fashion with your hand and then brushing the parted side that is laying on the dog. Once you are able to comfortably brush the dog in this manner, work up the leg parting and brushing the coat as you make your way up to the dog’s hip. You will notice that you have a line of hair that you are brushing and moving which is why this is called Line Brushing by professional show dog groomers.
Step 3

When you reach the hip, then move that leg and do the inside of the other hind leg that will be hard to reach after turning over the dog.
Step 4

Next, without moving the dog that hopefully is snoozing soundly by this time, brush the front leg the same way up to the shoulder. When you reach the shoulder then make a part with your hand as you brush that will go across the rib cage and to the hind leg line that was previously brushed out.
Step 5

Now brush the long line from the shoulder to the hip, moving your hand to lift the hair in the line and brushing the hair as it falls to lay on the dog. When you reach the end of the line, make a return line a little above it that lets the hair fall as you brush. Go back and fourth until the whole body is lined brushed to the center of the dog’s back.
Step 6

Next do the inside of the other front leg and chest of the dog, starting at the bottom of the foot and working up the inside of the leg, pay close attention the under arm/leg area of the front leg where it joins the chest. This is a favorite spot for tangles to develop and you can trim this hair away with clippers or scissors to keep tangles away. It is a sensitive area to brush so be careful brushing under there. Brush the chest using your hand to make a line and up towards the front of the neck so that when you turn the dog over half of the front of the neck will be brushed.
Step 7

Once the chest and the front of the neck are brushed then line brush from the chest to the shoulder and up to the neck behind the ear of the dog and then to the middle of the back of the dog’s neck. The area right behind the rears is another favorite for tangles to form. The hair in this area can be cut off also and if you are careful trimming the hair, nobody will notice. You can brush the dog’s face in the same manner with a smaller pin brush or comb.
Step 8

Turn the dog over and repeat from the bottom up until you have a fully brushed out dog.