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10 Best Brushes for Dogs with Short Hair in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks

Nicole Cosgrove Profile Picture

By Nicole Cosgrove

Chirpy Pets Dog & Cat Brush for Shedding

All dogs need grooming to keep their coats in great condition, even those with very short hair. However, short-haired dogs can have a more difficult time finding the right brush that will keep them groomed without hurting the skin beneath their fur.

Some of the brushes we loved best with our longer-haired dogs just weren’t comfortable for the ones with shorter hair.

We’ve searched low and high to find the best brushes for our short-haired canine compadres, and the following ten reviews are the ones we thought were worth mentioning.

Only the top three get our final recommendations, and after reading our comparisons, we think you’ll agree.

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A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
Hertzko Self Cleaning Slicker Brush Hertzko Self Cleaning Slicker Brush
  • Self-cleaning with the push of a button
  • Grooms and massages
  • Dogs love the feeling
  • Best Value
    Second place
    BioSilk Dogs Brush BioSilk Dogs Brush
  • Extremely affordable
  • Double-sided for two different brush types
  • Removes tangles and reduces shedding
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool
  • Fur-ejector button self-cleans
  • Collects loose fur for easy cleanup
  • Removes loose hair without damaging the skin
  • DakPets Deshedding Brush DakPets Deshedding Brush
  • Reduces shedding by up to 90%
  • 60-day replacement guarantee
  • Detachable head for easy cleaning
  • Pet Neat Pet Grooming Brush Pet Neat Pet Grooming Brush
  • De-sheds quickly and painlessly
  • Detachable head design
  • The 10 Best Brushes for Dogs with Short Hair

    1. Hertzko Self Cleaning Slicker Brush – Best Overall

    Hertzko

    Check Price on Chewy

    Grooming your canine companion should be a fun bonding experience for both of you. The Hertzko self-cleaning slicker brush makes the whole process so easy, you’ll both be looking forward to the next session. Your dog will love the way this brush feels as it not only grooms their fur but also gently massages them, increasing blood circulation and improving the feel of their coat. The fine wire bristles will gently remove the loose hair while detangling and eliminating knots painlessly. That said, the bristles are very sharp, so you need to be careful not to apply too much pressure, especially with shorter coats.

    Our favorite feature was the self-cleaning button that detracts the bristles when you push it. This makes it quick and easy to remove all the loose fur in seconds so you can get back to grooming your dog. In the end, it made for an easy and comfortable grooming experience, which is why it’s earned the top position on our list.

    Pros
    • Self-cleaning with the push of a button
    • Grooms and massages
    • Dogs love the feeling
    Cons
    • Must be gentle since wires are sharp

    2. BioSilk Dogs Brush – Best Value

    BioSilk

    Tools for grooming your furry friend can get rather expensive. The BioSilk dogs brush, however, is on the low side of the price spectrum and is very affordable on any budget. Even better, it’s two brushes in one so you’re getting a great deal. One side has a pin-style brush that is great for removing loose hair, and the other side features standard brush bristles that are great for brushing out short hair.

    Our dogs loved the feel of the pins as they worked out the tangles and knots in their fur. Afterward, we switched to the bristles, which helped make the coats look shiny and clean. Since it was effective at de-shedding as well as brushing out the knots and tangles, it met all of our qualifications, especially since it’s so affordable. That said, the durability was a key issue, and the handle on ours cracked in the second week. With excellent performance for a fraction of the price of any competitors, we think it’s the best brush for dogs with short hair for the money.

    Pros
    • Extremely affordable
    • Double-sided for two different brush types
    • Removes tangles and reduces shedding
    Cons
    • Low durability

    3. FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool – Premium Choice

    FURminator

    The FURminator brand is recommended by many vets and pet professionals, and after using their undercoat de-shedding tool, we can see why. Granted, it’s one of the more expensive options available, but we thought it was also one of the most effective and easy to use. The fur-ejector button was a lifesaver when dealing with dogs that don’t like to be groomed so much. With the push of a button, all the loose fur that had been collected on the comb was immediately dumped into the trash, so we could return to grooming. This saved tons of time and helped make the entire process easier.

    This tool seemed to remove far more hair than any other grooming tool we tried. It only requires a few passes across your dog’s body to remove all the loose fur, and it does so without damaging the skin beneath. That said, it’s almost a little too effective. It’s easy to overuse since it works so quickly. If you make too many passes, over-grooming can occur and you’ll notice your dog’s coat thinning out! We can’t knock a product for working too well though, which is why the FURminator is our premium choice.

    Pros
    • Fur-ejector button self-cleans
    • Removes loose hair without damaging the skin
    • Collects loose fur for easy cleanup
    Cons
    • One of the more expensive options
    • Can cause overgrooming

    4. DakPets Deshedding Brush

    DakPets

    With a similar design to the FURminator, we had high hopes for the DakPets de-shedding brush. While it was a solid performer, it didn’t live up to the standards set by the FURminator. This brush features a detachable head that makes it simple to remove the collected fur. However, it takes both hands since you’ll need to detach the head, then remove the fur from the blade, then put it all back together. This is clearly not as convenient as the single button push of the FURminator.

    The DakPets brush was durable and is even backed up by a 60-day replacement guarantee. It was great for removing loose and dead fur and actually reduces shedding by up to 90%. That said, it also tended to pull hair that was still attached to our pets. To avoid this, we had to hold the brush at a very uncomfortable angle that made grooming less fun for us. It also made it easy to over-groom and remove more hair than intended. Overall, it’s a useful tool, but we suggest spending just a little more for the superior function of the FURminator in our third position instead.

    Pros
    • Reduces shedding by up to 90%
    • 60-day replacement guarantee
    • Detachable head for easy cleaning
    Cons
    • Tends to pull on hair
    • Must hold at an uncomfortable angle
    • Can easily over-groom if not careful

    5. Pet Neat Pet Grooming Brush

    Pet Neat

    Affordable and simple, the Pet Neat pet grooming brush de-sheds your dog effectively, if a bit slower than other similar brushes. The detachable head makes removing the loose fur easy, though we still prefer the push-button hair removal of some other brushes we tried. This one wasn’t the most effective at removing hair, and collected noticeably less than some of our top performers. Naturally, this meant we had to make more passes of the brush through our dogs’ coats, increasing the amount of time the whole affair takes. Worse, the comb teeth scratched the skin when too much pressure was applied. Since you have to make so many passes with this brush, the odds of scratching your dog’s skin were increased. It’s not a bad brush overall, it’s just not one of the ones we think performed the best.

    Pros
    • De-sheds quickly and painlessly
    • Detachable head design
    Cons
    • Wasn’t the most effective at hair removal
    • Required multiple passes to get all the hair
    • Can scratch the skin if you apply too much pressure

    6. Chirpy Pets Dog Brush

    Chirpy Pets

    Priced lower than competitors of a similar design, this dog brush from Chirpy Pets is one of the more affordable ways to begin grooming your dog. It was effective at removing loose hair, but unfortunately, it also liked to pull on hair that was still attached. This made the whole process less comfortable for our dogs and is one of the flaws that kept this brush from a higher spot on our list.

    We liked the durable design that easily survives drops on hard floors. However, our dogs weren’t wild about this brush and never got excited for grooming time with it. We also noticed that the teeth are sharper than some competitors, making it easier to scratch your dogs’ skin if you’re not careful.

    Pros
    • Cheap
    • Effectively removes loose hair
    • Durable design
    Cons
    • Sharper than competitors
    • Our dogs didn’t love this brush
    • Pulled out fresh hair

    7. Conair PRODog Pet-It for Dog

    Conair

    Unlike most of the brushes we tested for this list, the Conair PRODog Pet-It brush doesn’t have a handle extending from it. Instead, it has a very small handle that’s situated on top. We didn’t find this to be nearly as comfortable as the standard brush design with an extended handle, and it’s part of the reason the Conair brush didn’t achieve a higher position. That said, it’s dirt cheap, and with several different types of bristles to choose from, and it’s a very inexpensive way to start grooming your dog.

    In our experience, this brush was difficult to clean and we really missed the self-cleaning feature that many other brushes come with. This brush also didn’t seem to collect the loose fur well, which meant we had a large mess of floating hair to clean up after brushing.

    Pros
    • Dirt cheap
    • Several bristle types to choose from
    Cons
    • Less comfortable to hold
    • Difficult to clean
    • Doesn’t collect loose fur

    8. Le Salon Rubber Grooming Brush

    Le Salon

    While most of the grooming brushes we tried had a handle of some type, the Le Salon Essentials rubber grooming brush opts for a finger loop that holds onto your fingers. We liked the idea in theory; but in practice, it was small and uncomfortable for those of us with larger hands. However, our dogs loved the feel of this brush and the rubber bristles are very soft on the skin. That said, it didn’t remove much loose fur or decrease shedding. It also didn’t collect any of the loose hair, so we had a larger mess to clean up afterward than with some of the other brushes we tried.

    Pros
    • Loop holds onto your hand
    • Rubber bristles are gentle on your dogs’ skin
    • Our dogs loved the feel
    Cons
    • Small and uncomfortable for larger hands
    • Doesn’t remove much loose fur
    • Didn’t decrease shedding
    • Doesn’t collect loose hair

    9. GoPets Double Sided Pin & Bristle Brush

    GoPets

    Situated on the higher end of the price spectrum, the GoPets double-sided pin and bristle brush provides two different ways to groom your dog in one convenient package. The metal pins are great for detangling and removing knots, while the bristle side is great for brushing out short fur for a beautiful coat. However, the metal pins started falling out in the second week of use, which is unacceptable for a brush that costs so much. We also prefer the self-cleaning brushes that make it easy to remove the loose fur during grooming which saves you time and frustration. Overall, we’d avoid this one and suggest something like the Hertzko self-cleaning brush in our top position instead.

    Pros
    • Two sets of bristles on one brush
    Cons
    • One of the more expensive options
    • Not self-cleaning
    • Metal pins began falling out

    10. Upsky 005 Dog Brush

    UPSKY

    This dog brush by Upsky is one of the lowest-cost self-cleaning brushes that we’ve found. We do appreciate finding this feature at such a low price, but unfortunately, this brush was a letdown in other ways. The self-cleaning feature works differently than other brushes, which causes it to be less effective. Some of the hair was getting lodged and had to be yanked out, though it’s still better than not having the function at all. Beyond this, the bristles were very sharp and thin. This meant they scratched our dogs easily if too much pressure was applied, but the bristles also bent easily, which impeded the self-cleaning mechanism. Altogether, we don’t think it’s a great value, even at this low price, which is why it rounds out the bottom of our list.

    Pros
    • Very affordable
    Cons
    • Hair gets stuck in the self-cleaning mechanism
    • Must be gentle with sharp bristles
    • Bristles tend to bend

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    Summary: The Best Brushes for Short-Haired Dogs

    Even dogs with short hair can create an unruly mess if they’re not properly groomed and cared for. We’ve tried as many brushes as we could find to discover the perfect fit for our short-haired pups, and our reviews have compared the ten we thought were best. Before you make a final decision, we’ll summarize our top recommendations so they’re fresh in your mind. Our favorite overall was the Hertzko self-cleaning slicker brush that made it quick and convenient to keep our dogs’ coats in top shape. You can remove all the hair with the push of a button making grooming much quicker, and our dogs loved the way this brush felt.

    The BioSilk dogs brush was the one we thought provided the best value. Not only is it one of the most affordable brushes we’ve seen, it’s also equipped with two separate sets of bristles to give you more diversity in how you groom your dog. Last, but not least, the FURminator was our premium choice and our final recommendation. It self-cleans with the push of a button, removes tons of loose fur with each pass, and it was easy on the skin beneath.

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