Find What You Are Looking For Here
FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!
Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Some Basic Dog Grooming Equipment To Help Get You Started

By Anton Hout, author of The Guide to Aussie Training & Care

Having the correct dog grooming equipment is important for making sure your Aussie looks neat and presentable. A proper grooming regime is also key for keeping away parasites like fleas and ticks.

You don't need to spend a fortune on grooming tools to keep your dog looking good—in fact, many tools are only really necessary if you want to enter your dog in shows.

To get a respectable, trimmed look, you only need a few essentials.

Dog Grooming Brushes

It's a good idea to have a brush you can use to remove loose hair from your Aussie's coat before you go in deeper with a rake and scissors. The brush can be used as part of a regular grooming routine, but you can also brush your dog on a daily basis if you think it's necessary to stop her hair from tangling and matting too much. You should have a pin brush as well as a softer brush.

Blue merle Australian Shepherd standing by a fountain.

otsphoto / stock.adobe.com

With a few pieces of dog grooming equipment you can help keep your Aussie looking their best and their fur free of parasites.

Dog Grooming Combs

A comb serves the exact same purpose for a dog as for humans: it helps remove tough tangles and knots from the hair. It's a good idea to have a tough steel comb for an Aussie. You may want to have two or more combs. It pays to have at least one fine toothed comb and one wider comb, so you can go through the coat first and get the bigger knots out before you focus in on thinning out smaller tangles. Many combs designed for dogs have two sides, one of which is thick and the other of which is fine-toothed, so this can save you from having to buy two.

Dog Grooming Shears and Scissors

You don't need an entire arsenal of scissors to groom your Aussie—however, to do it right, there are two types of scissors you should have. The first is a set of thinning shears. These help you work quickly while not cutting off big chunks of hair all in one go, which means you'll be less likely to make a mistake your can't fix. The other thing you should have is a set of fine scissors—these are used for trimming the hair around the dog's ears and feet, where precision is particularly important.

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Dog Grooming Rakes

A rake is a wide tool that looks similar to a brush, and it serves a similar function. The rake is great for stripping off loose fur before you bathe your dog or trim her coat. It means you won't have to be trimming through a whole lot of fur that is on the verge of falling out.

Nail Clippers For Dogs

The last really essential piece of dog grooming equipment is a set of nail clippers. If you don't trim your Aussie's nails on a regular basis they'll end up getting overgrown, which can cause several problems.

First, they may crack on their own which can lead to infection. On the other hand, they can be problematic for you and other people if your dog has a tendency to paw at you or jump up.

The FURminator

If you don't want the hassle of spending money on a whole lot of dog grooming equipment but you still want to keep your Aussie reasonably well-groomed, you might want to consider using a tool like the FURminator. This dog grooming tool is designed specifically to reduce shedding by removing loose fur from the undercoat. If you want to make shedding less of a problem in your house but you're not interested in putting the time and money into show-dog level grooming, the FURminator is a good option.

Check Out Dog Grooming Equipment on Amazon

Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com icon

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!

Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com icon
Newsletter for Aussie Lovers!

Get Australian Shepherd Info, Website Updates, Special Offers, and Cartoons...

FREE GIFT
You'll also receive a free copy of the ebook
My Everyday Dog Training Tools
by professional dog trainer Daniel Abdelnoor, "Doggy Dan"