How To Keep Your House Clean With Dogs: A Guide to Grooming

The best way to keep your house clean when you have dogs is to groom them regularly — dogs shed for more than half the year (spring and fall shedding seasons), and brushing captures loose fur before it ends up on your floors and furniture. Brush short-haired dogs at least weekly and long-haired or double-coated dogs several times a week, matching the brush to the coat, and bathe only when they’re actually dirty or smelly using a dog-specific shampoo. Regular grooming also lets you catch skin issues, mats, and parasites early. Here’s the full guide to grooming, bathing, and the right tools for every coat.

Why grooming keeps your house (and dog) cleaner

Breed and coat length determine how much your dog sheds, but good grooming habits make even the heaviest shedding season manageable — most loose fur ends up in your brush instead of on your carpets. Beyond cleanliness, brushing removes loose hair and dead skin, distributes natural oils for a healthy shine, improves circulation, and is a chance to check your dog over for overgrown nails, ear and eye infections, mites, ticks, lumps, and sores. For long-haired dogs it’s essential: unaddressed mats cause sores and skin infections.

Training your dog to accept grooming

Grooming isn’t the same as petting, and nervous dogs can be frightened by brushes, clippers, and other tools. Start young if you can — but you can train older dogs too, with patience.

If your dog is scared, put the tools away and start by stroking them, getting them used to having their feet, legs, ears, and tail handled. Use your fingernails to mimic the sensation of brushing. With verbal reassurance and a few treats, even skittish dogs usually come around. Then reintroduce the brush gradually: set it on the floor and let the dog approach it, let them sniff it as you bring it close, and begin with a few light strokes, stopping if they get distressed and always rewarding calm behavior.

Tip: if your dog is very food-motivated, use small training treats (or treats cut into pieces) and a clicker so you can gradually shift the reward away from food and avoid an overweight pup.

How to groom your dog

The right brush depends on your dog’s age and coat. Puppies (groomable from about three weeks old) have soft fur and sensitive skin, so use a soft-bristled brush. Adult coats are often double-layered — a coarse or long topcoat over a short, thick undercoat that regulates temperature but sheds and mats, so make sure your brush actually reaches the undercoat.

Types of brush

Slicker brushes are wide brushes with many fine, angled metal bristles. They look intimidating but shouldn’t rake the skin, and they’re great for removing loose hair and dirt from curly coats and thick double coats.

Bristle brushes look like human hairbrushes and come in many sizes. Match the bristles to the coat — short, stiff bristles for short or coarse hair; long, soft bristles for long hair.

Pinhead brushes are oval, long-handled brushes with widely spaced metal “pins,” usually rubber- or plastic-tipped. They’re good for detangling the topcoats of medium-to-long-haired dogs but don’t remove much loose hair, so they’re not ideal for shedding season.

Undercoat rakes get through the topcoat to detangle the undercoat and lift loose fur. Their rigid metal tines can irritate skin if used too firmly, so be gentle and match the tine length to the coat.

Wide-toothed combs are for removing knots and tangles from long-haired dogs. They aren’t good general-purpose tools but are useful for mat-prone coats.

Stripping combs look alarming — long metal rakes with sharp, curved, bladed teeth — and should be used with caution. They trim the undercoat on wiry-haired breeds like schnauzers, wirehaired dachshunds, Irish wolfhounds, and many terriers. If you’ve never stripped a coat, see a professional groomer first for instruction.

Rubber brushes and palm mitts are gentle “brushless” tools that fit over your hand. They’re good for training nervous dogs and removing loose hair and dirt from short coats, but they won’t reach an undercoat or fully groom your dog.

Grooming by coat type

Short-haired dogs like Dalmatians, beagles, and pugs are easiest: a slicker or pinhead brush teases out knots and a short, firm bristle brush removes dirt and loose fur, with a rubber brush or mitt for heavy shedding.

Long-haired breeds like Afghan hounds, Bernese mountain dogs, border collies, and King Charles spaniels need more time — regular slicker-brushing, a long-toothed comb for tangles, and an undercoat rake for shed fur.

Coat texture matters too. Wirehaired dogs often need hand-stripping — gently pull tufts that stick out; if they come away easily, the coat is ready (or use a stripping comb, or a pro). Silky-haired dogs may lack much undercoat, making them prone to mats and to skin irritation from over-brushing — use a tipped pinhead brush gently, and trim stubborn tangles with scissors rather than yanking. Curly-haired dogs like poodles and bichon frises have dense coats that shed little; keep them groomed with a slicker brush.

Why and when to bathe your dog

Grooming handles most cleaning, but occasional baths are still needed — dogs roll in all sorts of things, and some have skin conditions that improve with bathing. Don’t over-wash, though: bathe only when your dog is actually smelly or matted. If an unpleasant odor persists after a bath, see your vet, since a clean dog that still smells may have an underlying problem.

Training your dog for baths

Most dogs aren’t keen on baths, but they can learn to tolerate them. If your dog already accepts grooming, the main hurdle is the bath (or sink) itself. Start by spending relaxed time in the bathing area — petting, treats, a favorite toy — before ever running water.

When you’re ready, see it from the dog’s view: a hard, slippery surface makes many dogs anxious, so add a rubber bath mat or line the sink with a towel for secure footing (this also protects the tub). Train them to “go to the mat” or feed them on it first. Then turn on the faucet so they get used to the sound, which is often louder than they expect. Lift smaller dogs in or encourage larger ones, always going at their pace, speaking calmly, and trying again another day if they’re distressed.

During the bath

Once your dog stands calmly in a dry tub, turn the water on slowly — don’t be surprised if they dislike wet feet at first. Build up to a couple of inches of water, then work up the legs and back until you can wash them all over. Keep water out of the eyes and ears by tilting the snout up and pouring from the brow backward.

Tip: for treat-motivated dogs, a smear of peanut butter on the tub wall can keep them happily distracted while you wash.

Always use a shampoo made for dogs — human shampoo strips their natural oils and leaves skin dry and irritated. Keep the water lukewarm so they’re neither burned nor chilled (check a sun-warmed hose in summer). Work the shampoo into a lather in the direction the fur grows, combing it down to the undercoat with your fingers, and praise them throughout. Rinse thoroughly, add conditioner if you like, and on the final rinse run your hand firmly over the coat to push out excess water.

After the bath

Have an absorbent towel ready — dogs shake off the moment they can. Hold the towel above (not pressed against) them to let them shake while containing the spray, then rub them down to remove as much water as possible.

You probably won’t get a thick-coated dog fully dry, and many will dash to the nearest carpet to roll. Blow-drying usually isn’t necessary and can frighten or burn your dog — let them air-dry somewhere not too cold instead, and finish with plenty of praise.

If your dog is shedding, brushing right after a bath pulls out a lot of loose hair. Double-coated breeds like Labradors and German shepherds can be brushed wet, but get finer-haired dogs as dry as possible first to avoid creating mats.

Training a dog to accept grooming and bathing takes consistency, but it pays off in a healthier pet, a great bonding routine, and far less fur to vacuum off your floors and furniture.