Small dogs are cute, cuddly, and full of love for their owners, and they often promise to be less hard work than larger dogs. However, one thing that many small dog owners don’t take into consideration is how much they shed and need grooming.
Regular grooming sessions help your dog remove a layer of old hair that hasn’t shed properly. Without this, they can experience matted hair and the discomfort that comes from this.
Tangled hair might also lead to skin infections and bald spots, both of which can pose a threat to your dog’s health. Additionally, the build-up of dirt and oil can also lead to undesirable smells.
Luckily, a slicker brush for small dogs will help your puppy maintain a healthy coat. These brushes have wire bristles that can get deep into your dog’s coat to remove as much hair as possible in just one stroke. So, your puppy can spend less time being groomed and more time playing with their shiny new tangle-free coats.
Below are our top picks for the best slicker brushes for small dogs.
- Pros
- 100% satisfaction guarantee of your money back
- Used by professional grooms all around the United States
- 30% denser pins when compared to the competition
- Longer pins than the competition to go deep inside of a dog's coat
- Angled pins so it doesn't scratch your small dog's coat
- Cons
- The only color option right now is blue
The We Love Doodles small slicker brush recently launched in 2022 and has gained a ton of traction in the market. With over 1,000+ reviews and over 4.5 stars, this is going to be our top pick for small slicker brushes for dogs.
The slicker brush has longer pins than the competition, so you can easily brush any long hair or double-coated dog. Additionally, there are 30% more pins when you look at any competition brush.
The slicker brush pins are also angled so they won’t scratch your small dog. The pins are also angled at roughly a 45-degree angle so they won’t scratch your dog’s skin.
If your small dog gets tangles or mats, we would highly recommend this slicker brush. It comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee or you can get your money back.
- Pros
- Money-back guarantee: Glendan offers a 90-day money back guarantee if you’re not happy with the brush. Plus a 365 day quality guarantee and a lifetime of access to customer services.
- Comfortable caps: instead of poking your pet, this brush massages their skin to promote blood circulation.
- Rotating head: not only does the rotating head help you reach difficult areas, but it also makes this brush easier to clean.
- Cons
- Short handle: the handle might be too short to be comfortable for everyone’s hands.
Our second favorite slicker brush for small dogs is the Glendan Slicker Pet Grooming Brush, with a square face of just 2.36 inches in width.
This is ideal for smaller dogs with thick and wiry coats, such as Terriers. One thing we find fascinating about this slicker brush is that the handle turns 360-degrees to allow you to reach every area of your pooch.
You’ll need to be careful that you’re not accidentally using the brush with the bent bristles facing the wrong way so that your dog doesn’t get hurt.
However, this is simple to do and doesn’t cause too much of a threat to your dog. The wire bristles have tiny plastic caps on them to massage your dog’s skin rather than scratch it.
This promotes good blood circulation and oil production, leaving your dog’s coat shiny and soft. Additionally, this brush comes with a non-slip grip handle to ensure that you always have a sturdy hold on the brush, preventing the likelihood of accidentally hurting your dog.
- Pros
- Ergonomic handle: easy on both your dog and your hands’ thanks to the comfortable to hold handle.
- Breathable holes: the brush face features holes that allow the brush to breathe, resulting in a more gentle brushing.
- Inexpensive: this brush is incredibly cheap, although this doesn’t affect its quality or durability.
- Cons
- Not very flexible: the bristles are not that flexible and therefore should be used with a light hand only.
Next up is an interesting-looking slicker brush that defies the norms of the traditional rectangle shape. Instead, HARTZ has opted for a diamond-esque small dog slicker brush shape that works excellently for miniature dogs and other pets.
This diamond shape might seem odd at first, but it is actually a very clever design. This shape can be brushed over your dog’s head in between their ears, reaching all the difficult areas at once. An area that might have once taken you at least five strokes to completely brush will now only take you one!
In addition, the extra-fine bristles make it easy for you to remove all matts and tangles from your pet’s coat, as well as prevents them in the future. The bristles have small protective caps, which can make the brush more gentle on your dog without compromising its effectiveness.
- Pros
- Great shape: the over-extended shape is ideal for brushing small dogs with long hair or dual-textured coats.
- Long soft pins: the bristles are flexible and long to comfortably brush your dog’s entire coat without missing the underneath sections.
- Reaches tough areas: the small size, ergonomic shape, and long pins all help to ensure that you can reach every area of your dog’s body with this brush.
- Cons
- Expensive: some customers are saying that this brush is not worth the current asking price. It is also one of the more expensive slicker brushes on our list.
The Quadow Tuffer than Tangles brush is an interesting slicker brush to look at, thanks to the dramatic curve in the brush face. While it might look strange now, this is actually a great feature when you’re using the pat-and-pull method with your brush.
The pat-and-pull method is the correct way to use a slicker brush in order not to harm your dog with the bristles. It consists of keeping the brush flat while gently patting it into the coat and pulling it up with a slight bend in your wrist.
This arched shape will also help you to reach difficult areas over your dog’s body, as well as grabbing more layers of fur to inspect them for matts. Additionally, this brush is shaped perfectly for small dogs with long hair, and the long pins will also ensure that every layer of hair is brushed.
- Pros
- Tiny size: this brush is 3.25 x 2 inches and therefore perfect for teacup and miniature dog breeds.
- Ergonomic: the shape reaches every area of your dog’s body without you struggling to brush them.
- Capped bristles: suitable for dogs with even the most sensitive of skin.
- Cons
- Stiff bristles: make sure that you use a gentle touch with this brush to avoid putting too much pressure on the bristles.
Our final slicker brush is from Millers Forge and it has a similar curvature to the Quadow brush. This is the miniature version of the brush and can be used for even the tiniest of dogs, such as miniature and teacup breeds.
Stainless steel pins are both durable and reliable, with plastic caps to protect your dog’s sensitive skin from the rough wire.
The handle is lightweight and plastic, ensuring that you don’t get cramps from a brush that is too heavy.
Millers Forge claims that this brush has been long used by professional groomers, who enjoy the product and recommend it highly.
How To Choose The Best Slicker Brush For Small Dogs
Before you take our word for it and opt for one of the above slicker brushes for small dogs, you should check out our buyer’s guide to ensure that you’re getting the best brush for your dog.
Slicker brushes aren’t for every dog and therefore shouldn’t be purchased without the proper research.
Luckily, we have collected a lot of relevant information for you to read in one place so that you don’t have to take too long internet searching before purchasing a brush.
Bristle Material
Slicker brushes are known for their metal wire bristles.
These should be flexible enough to prevent them from poking and scratching your dog, but still sturdy enough to remove knots and matts with ease.
The best metal to look for is stainless steel when it comes to slicker brush bristles.
We think that stainless steel has just the right amount of giving and take to make the brush as effective as possible.
Whichever metal you choose to go with, make sure that it is high-quality and not too sharp at the end of the bristles.
Otherwise, your dog might get unnecessarily scratched.
Size and shape of the brush
Small dogs need small brushes, which is why we have only included small slicker brushes on our recommended list.
Using a larger brush might make the grooming session take less time, but you’ll miss sections of your dog’s coat and, therefore might leave tangles and matts behind.
The shape of the brush should also be considered. The majority of slicker brushes are rectangles, but we’ve looked at a few oval-shaped slicker brushes as well.
The curved edges can help you to brush the hard-to-reach areas, such as behind the ears, over the legs, and the underside of their bodies.
Safety features
Provided that you are using a high-quality slicker brush with the correct technique, there shouldn’t be any reason to worry about hurting your dog.
However, you must make sure that the brush has been made with the safety of your dog in mind.
The most important thing to look at is the bristles and the angle that they are attached to the brush head.
A high-quality slicker brush will have an angle to the bristles or bristles that are bent to prevent them from poking your dog with every stroke.
So, always look for bent bristles on your slicker brush.
They’re not broken – they’re actually meant to look like that to avoid hurting your dog!
Another safety feature that you might want to consider is little caps on the metal bristles.
These can avoid you from accidentally poking and scratching your dog with the metal wire.
Bear in mind that these caps shouldn’t be large like you’d find on a pin brush.
Instead, they should be tiny and hardly any larger than the width of the wire bristles.
This will keep the brush effective while preventing your dog from being hurt.
These caps aren’t necessary and aren’t found on every slicker brush, but they might give you additional peace of mind that your dog is safe.
Ease of use
Learning how to use a slicker brush correctly can be difficult for beginners, so you want the brush you pick to help this process rather than hinder it.
If your brush is easy to use, you’ll be able to groom your dog much more comfortably and quickly.
On the other hand, if your brush is difficult to use, you’re more likely to scratch them and hurt them unintentionally.
A good example of an easy-to-use slicker brush is the Glendan slicker brush we looked at above, as it had a 360-degree turnable handle, making it easier for you to reach even the hardest-to-reach angles.
However, you should be wary of this so that you don’t accidentally poke your dog with the bristles facing the wrong way.
When choosing your slicker brush, always look for one that is going to make the grooming process as easy and enjoyable for both you and your pooch.
Ease of cleaning
Slicker brushes have compact wire bristles that can be difficult to get all of the hair from between.
A slicker brush that is full of hair will be less effective than a clean brush, so you need to remove the hair as often as possible.
This can be made to be much easier if you opt for a self-cleaning brush.
These brushes have retractable bristles that can make it easier for you to remove all of the hair instead of using a comb.
A comb can damage the bristles, so be careful using one of these to remove the hair from your slicker brush.
A self-cleaning slicker brush is not necessary as it can be more expensive than brushes that don’t have this feature.
So, you don’t need to opt for a self-cleaning brush, although it might make your life easier and save you time on the grooming clean-up.
Handle
Many people overlook the slicker brush handle, but we think that it’s still important to consider before purchasing one.
When using a slicker brush, you might be doing the same motion over and over again with your wrist and hand.
This can lead to hand cramps and wrist strain, so a high-quality handle is important to look for.
Look for one that has an ergonomic shape that has been designed to fit inside the palm of your hand – trust us, you’ll thank us later!
A non-slip handle is another thing that you should look for when researching slicker brushes.
While uncommon, there is the possibility of accidentally poking or hurting your dog if you lose your grip on the handle.
So, non-slip rubber on the handle can stop you from worrying about this altogether.
Durability
Of course, whenever you’re buying anything you’ll want it to be durable enough to last for a reasonable amount of time.
Slicker brushes aren’t incredibly expensive, so it’s not like you’re losing too much if yours were to break within a few weeks after purchasing.
However, it is still annoying when something breaks before its time. Plus, you might not even be able to get your money back.
To avoid this, look for a durable slicker brush only. The best way to find durable slicker brushes is to look at customer reviews.
Here you’ll find unbiased reviews on the durability of the brush and whether or not you should spend your money on it.
We always recommend checking customer reviews to avoid any nasty surprises with your purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a slicker brush and a pin brush?
A slicker brush has much more compact bristles than a pin brush, and a pin brush has plastic caps on the bristles that make it harder for the brush to untangle matts.
Slicker brushes are best for dogs with long hair while pin brushes should only be used on short-haired dogs.
Pin brushes are best used after the rest of the grooming session has been completed, while a slicker brush is often the first piece of equipment to be used.
Slicker brushes are much more effective at actually removing tangles, so they’re the more popular type of grooming brush to use.
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Garrett loves animals and is a huge advocate for all Doodle dog breeds. He owns his own Goldendoodle named Kona. In addition, he volunteers at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, where he fosters dogs and helps animals. Garrett enjoys writing about Doodles and believes that dogs can teach humans more about how to live than humans can teach a dog.
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At We Love Doodles, we’re a team of writers, veterinarians, and puppy trainers that love dogs. Our team of qualified experts researches and provides reliable information on a wide range of dog topics. Our reviews are based on customer feedback, hands-on testing, and in-depth analysis. We are fully transparent and honest to our community of dog owners and future owners.