There are going to be two camps of people who read this article. “Why would I bother brushing my short-haired dog? He’s practically bald!” and the other camp, hair tumble weeds rolling around their ankles, yelling, “How do I make it stop?!”
A surprising amount of hair can come off of our beloved chihuahuas, but even if your dog only loses a small amount of hair during brush outs, you should probably make a habit of brushing them at least once or twice a month.
Why You Should Brush Your Dog
If your dog isn’t shedding, and their hair is too short to tangle, why brush at all? There’s actually a couple of reasons why you should brush your pup during this time. The first, is that brushing your dog helps put you in touch with your dog’s health.
If you brush every few weeks, you are more likely to notice growths, hot spots, or other health issues before they become big problems. It often costs less to fix a minor health issue you notice right away, than it does to fix a big problem later—if it can be fixed at all.
Part of why Sandy was successfully cured of cancer is that we noticed the new growth on her belly right away. If we’d waited even a little longer, they might not have been able to remove as much cancer as they did.
Treating your dog for fleas when you find the first one is easier to get rid of than when you wait until the dog rinses red in the tub.
Finding health problems early isn’t the only important reason you should brush your dog. Dogs who are brushed usually have healthier skin compared to dogs who don’t, because the brush helps stimulate their skin. Brushing also improves the coat by distributing the oils evenly across the body.
All these things make brushing your dog, even if they don’t have shedding issues, a practical thing to do.
How to Brush Your Short Hair Dog
There are many different types of coat, and this includes types of short hair. The biggest difference in chihuahua coats comes between dogs with thicker undercoats, and those who don’t have much of one at all.
You’ll be able to tell by the amount of fluffy, down-like hair underneath your dog’s sleek outer coat. If they’ve got a thick undercoat, they’ll have more of this fluffy down. If they’re mostly bald, they probably don’t have an undercoat.
The steps are mostly the same, with some additional steps for thicker coated dogs. Let’s start with what is the same.
Start with a Rubber Curry
A rubber curry is one of the gentlest brushes you can use on your dog and is appropriate for even very small dogs. If you are worried about how much pressure to apply, try currying the bare skin on your arm. You’ll find that as long as you are not grinding it into your dog’s body, it feels pretty good.
If it’s comfortable on your bare skin, it will be comfortable on your dog, even if they have a sparse coat. There are a few areas on your dog however, where you shouldn’t use a curry. These include the face, tail, and lower legs. Here’s a picture highlighting recommended areas for brushing.
Using circular or back and forth motions, gently curry all over your dog’s body. Just a couple of minutes is sufficient on a non-shedding dog, no more than 5-10 on one that is shedding. Although it’s not shown here, many dogs like being curried gently on the back of the neck up to the base of the skull, less so on their throat.
Soft Bristle Brush for finishing
You can simply sweep excess hair off of your dog’s body using your hand, but a soft bristled brush both feels great to your dog, and does a great job of redistributing oils. This type of brush is very soft, and is meant to polish the coat and remove the hair you loosened from brushing with the curry.
Soft bristle brushes can be used anywhere on the body, including on the face and lower legs.
Thicker coated breeds
If your dog’s flat coat is very thick, a slicker brush may be beneficial in helping to break up and remove that undercoat. Care should be taken not to brush the same place too long, as it can lead to a painful condition called a brush burn.
You can avoid this by brushing no more than 5-6 times in the same spot, and then switching to the rubber curry if more hair needs to be removed.
The slicker brush may be used on the tail, gently on the feathers and cheeks, but not on sensitive spots like the nose or near the eyes.
Groomers secret: How can you tell if a dog is “done” being brushed? Take a greyhound comb and lay it flat along the dog’s back, so that the tines slip between the hair, if it doesn’t catch on the undercoat, your dog is well brushed. If it catches on the undercoat, you’ll know this area needs a bit more attention.
If your dog is prone to shedding, try our shed-less step-by-step to reduce overall shedding.
Similar Posts:
- How to Deshed Your Chihuahua
- How to Brush Your Chihuahua’s Teeth
- How Often Should You Bathe Your Chihuahua?
- Questions from a Dog Author
- How To Give Your Dog A Medicated Bath
Brushing a short-haired Chihuahua sheds more than you’d expect, and this article really hits that reality. I appreciate the practical tips and it makes grooming feel doable.
From where I stand, the health-related point is the most important for me. I can save lives. A cleaner dog is also good. And the bonding benefit can be immeasurable.
My favorite grooming tool is similar to the Rubby Curry you’re recommending–mine was a glove. I loved that it really became and “improved hand.”
Some days, I wish Henry had a thin coat. It takes a bit to brush him out with a slicker brush. I remember using a rubber curry on my horse. They worked so well. I even used them when I bathed them. Great invention! I’m so glad you are on top of brushing and caught Sandy’s cancer early. Hands-on with your pup is so important. Even if your buddy has a thin coat, it’s good for health reasons and to keep them calm with all-over touching. Super article, Andrea! I’m sharing with all my pet parents.
That’s fantastic you were able to catch Sandy’s cancer early! My heart dog Red was a Chihuahua/Min Pin and she didn’t shed much, but I brushed her often. I used something similar to the rubber curry you mention and she absolutely loved it. It was another chance for us to bond and, like you mentioned, a great way to find any lumps and bumps that wouldn’t be visible.
OK I admit I did not think you would need to groom your gorgeous dog (!) but I learned something really important. Dog need brushing, for more than maintenance too! I know some of our cats LOVE the slicker brush even if it’s not strictly necessary for them so we end up with a queue of cats waiting!
Your photograph really brought home to me how much fur you can remove – WOW that’s a lot!! This would make a cool eBook too!
I brush Nili and I did the same with Layla every night, it calms her down and she has learnt it is bed time after the brush. With her hair now short I use a soft bristle brush which works wonders. As you said it is a great way to check for bumps and lumps and make sure she has none. Great post and I have not heard of the curry brush but am going to check into it. Thank you
That’s great! It’s wonderful how your dogs associate brushing with relaxing time. Well done!
These are great points, even really short haired dogs should keep up w/ grooming, and it is important to notice abnormalities. I never heard of a rubber curry brush, not sure if I’ve ever seen one?
I never thought much about brushing short-haired dogs! My Mom had Poodles and they always were trimmed up at a salon, and me with double-coated Huskies who shed (pretty much all the time – LOL)…I used to use a rubber curry brush to massage my Huskies and clean the coats of my horses. Love that brush! It really did make the dogs and horses relax as I’m sure it felt more like a massage than a grooming! Great article. Pinning this to share with others!
I feel like our short-haired dogs shed more than our long-haired ones! Great tips on the type of brush to use…I’m still getting used to them LOL