Dog Grooming Supplies and Equipment
Ball tipped scissors/Blunt tipped scissors: Small scissors made specifically for use around eyes, face, ears, paws and any other sensitive area. Instead of pointed ends, the scissor tips have a plastic ball on the end, or have rounded ends to prevent accidental injuries.
Conditioner: Conditioners are a cream worked into or sprayed onto your dog’s coat that helps to maintain levels of moisture and hydration and to restore or fill in damaged hair shafts. Although generally applied to a wet coat during bathing and rinsed out, there are some doggie leave-in conditioners. Dog conditioners, just like human conditioners, are available for a wide array of purposes such as conditioner for shiny coats, for soft coats, for itchy skin, for specific breeds, for specific coat lengths, etc.
Dematting Rake: A dematting rake is a small hand-held rake (looks like a miniature yard rake) used to help work out mattes and tangles in a dog’s fur.
Detangler: A detangler is a liquid or cream that you spray on or rub into your dog’s coat to help ease out tangles and prevent future tangles.
Ear powder: A powder sprinkled into your dog’s ears to keep them dry and prevent bacterial and fungal growth or to relieve any ear irritation or allergy problems. The ear powder can also be sprinkled into your dog’s ears to coat the hairs for easier gripping if you need to pluck any hairs.
Electric clippers/shaver: Electric shavers and clippers are used to trim your dog’s hair. They often come with several snap on combs or attachments of various lengths, to help you trim your dog’s coat to the desired length. Because of the control electric shavers and clippers give you over the length of the hair they are also used to achieve specialty cuts or bred-specific cuts that require shaping.
Flea comb: A flea comb is a very fine-tooth comb that catches the fleas in the very narrow gaps between the teeth or forces them to jump off. A flea comb is a pesticide-free way to rid your dog of fleas.
Forceps: Forceps are used to remove hair from your dog’s ear canals or to remove ticks. Forceps looks similar to a pair of scissors and can come with curved or straight blades and with locked or unlocked handles.
Glove brush: A glove brush is a brush that fits over your hand as a glove or is strapped onto your hand with adjustable velcro and is used to “pet” dirt and dead hair from your dog’s coat.
Grooming scissors: Dog grooming scissors are usually long blade scissors and come in various lengths with either straight blades or curved blades. Straight blades can be used by themselves for cutting your dog’s hair or they can be used to shorten your dog’s hair before switching to an electric trimmer. Curved blades are generally used for shaping your dog’s hair.
Grooming table: In its most basic form, a grooming table is simply a flat table on which to set your dog so that he will be at a comfortable height for grooming. Fancier grooming tables will come with a grooming arm and security loops, or even hydraulic or electric height adjustment or swiveling surfaces all designed to aid the grooming process. Some grooming tables are portable and others are meant to be set up as a permanent fixture.
Hair dryer: Dog hair dryers are available in the hand-hand size all the way up to a stand-up size. They blow warm air that will not burn your dog and are generally designed to be quieter than human hair dryers. Dog hair dryers may also come with multiple heat settings for various types of dog fur and attachments for directing the air flow.
Matt breaker: A mat breaker looks similar to a brush, but instead of bristles, it has transverse metal tines that gently separate and comb out the matted hair and recessed metal blades that cut through the mat. It is particularly useful for breaking up mats in long haired dogs without shortening the length of the dog’s coat.
Metal comb: Metal dog combs come in all different shapes and sizes, some all purpose and some specifically tailored for particular uses such as collecting loose hair or removing molting hair. They are available from fine tooth to wide tooth, from single to double sided, and from single blade to multiple blades.
Nail file: Dog nail files are just like human nail files, only generally made of a metal to withstand the harder make-up of a dog’s nail. They are used in place of nail trimmers, clippers or scissors to shorten your dog’s nails or in addition to trimmers, clippers or scissors to smooth or shape your dog’s nails. There also electric nail files, or nail grinders, made for dogs which are similar to a dremel tool.
Nail grinder: A dog nail grinder is basically an electric nail file. It is similar to a dremel tool and works by slowly grinding down the nail. Some nail grinders also have a setting for smoothing and shaping your dog’s nails.
Nail scissors/clippers/trimmers: Dog nail scissors , clippers and trimmers are made for clipping your dog’s nails when they get too long to prevent the nails from growing into your dogs paws or interfering with their stride when they walk. They generally come in three varieties: scissors (just like your nail scissors), guillotine clippers (a metal ring where you insert the nail and squeeze and a blade drops down to cut the nail), and plier trimmers (a cross between nail scissors and guillotine clippers). Dog nail scissors, clippers, and trimmers are available in different sizes for different sized dogs.
Nose scissors: See ball tipped/blunt tipped scissors.
Pin brush: A pin brush is a dog brush with rounded “pins” for bristles. The tips are generally coated to protect your dog’s skin and the pin bristles work to separate and untangle fur.
Scissors: See grooming scissors
Scrapper/Scaler: A dog scrapper or scaler is used on your dog’s teeth to scrape off tarter build-up along the gum line and between the teeth.
Shampoo: Just like human shampoos, dog shampoos are available in every scent and for every purpose imaginable. There are shampoos for short, medium and long hair, for certain color coats, for certain coat types, for specific breeds, for itchy skin, for dry skin, for oily skin, for flea and tick problems… the list goes on and on. Most dog shampoos are made to lather and rinse while some shampoos are “dry” shampoo (a powder made to be rubbed in and brushed out).
Shedding blade: A dog shedding blade is a u-shaped metal blade with a handle used to catch and remove excess pet hair as you run the blade down the dog’s back like you would brush. A shedding blade works best for dogs with shorter coats.
Slicker brush: A dog slicker brush is a stiff metal brush designed to help remove mats and tough tangles while also pulling out dead hair and stimulating the skin. This brush can also be used at the end of a grooming session to add a shine to your dog’s coat. The slicker brush is available in a variety of sizes and can also be found with softer bristles for sensitive skin.
Styptic powder/pencil/pen: Styptic powder and styptic pens and pencils are all antiseptic clotting agents that are used to stop bleeding. They are made to treat small cuts such as those caused by cutting the quick of your dog’s nail during grooming.
Tear stain remover: Dog tear stain remover is a liquid that is rubbed beneath your dog’s eyes to help remove tear stains caused by runny eyes.
Thinning shears: Thinning shears are dog scissors that reach into your dog's hair to thin it out in layers. They allow you to avoid the chopped-off look grooming scissors can sometimes create. Thinning shears come in a variety of lengths and styles for different types of coats or to create bred-specific looks.
Tooth brush/sponge/pad: Dog tooth brushes are specially designed to be easier to use in a dog’s mouth. They come in different angles and different bristles and can look similar to your toothbrush or can be designed to fit over your finger. Sponges and pads are also available to rub over your dog’s teeth using dog toothpaste.
Toothpaste: Dog toothpaste is made for brushing a dog’s teeth and will not lather like your toothpaste so it does not need to be rinsed out. Since your dog will swallow the toothpaste when you are done brushing (as compared to spitting it out) it is also safe to ingest. Dog toothpaste comes in a variety of flavors.
Tub: Dog grooming tubs are made specifically for dog washing and come in all different shapes, sizes and materials. Some are containers just big enough for your dog to stand in and only a few inches deep to hold a little bit of warm water. Others are big enough to hold full sized dogs. You can also find dog tubs that are fitted for drains and that have shower attachments or that are collapsible for easy storage.
Tweezers: Dog tweezers are similar to human tweezers are used to pluck excess hairs from your dog's ears or to remove ticks from your dog’s fur. Dog tweezers are available in curved or straight designs.
Undercoat rake: An undercoat rake is a dog grooming tool which is designed to remove hair from your dog’s soft, loose undercoat without disturbing the longer hairs of the upper coat.
