Dog and Cat Breed Grooming Guide

Dogs and cats across every coat type covered in the breed guide

How much grooming a dog needs is set by its coat, not by its breed. A Poodle and a Golden Retriever are similar dogs to look at, and nothing about their grooming is alike. The Poodle needs cutting every four to six weeks and combing through to the skin in between. The Golden never needs a haircut at all, and needs its dead undercoat raked out a few times a year instead.

Coat carries across species too. A Poodle and a Devon Rex come with much the same instructions, because both hold on to shed hair rather than dropping it, and both felt if nobody combs them. Length on its own is not the problem: an Oriental Longhair has long hair, no undercoat, and barely mats. Undercoat plus length is what mats.

Grooming intervals run much further apart than most owners expect. A hairless cat needs attention every week or two, because skin with no coat has nothing to move its oil along. A Beagle or a Boxer needs no salon appointment at all. The four to six weeks every salon quotes fits only a minority of breeds, and which one yours is depends on the coat below.

Dog Grooming and Cat Grooming

Cats are assumed to handle it themselves, and the long haired ones do not: a Persian mats to the skin without daily combing. Cat grooming also costs more than dog grooming, because the price is set by the handling rather than by the hair.

Dogs of many breeds and coat types being groomed

Dog Grooming by Breed

8 groups

From Chihuahuas to Great Pyrenees. Sorted by coat, by size and by group.

Dogs

Cats of many breeds and coat types being groomed

Cat Grooming by Breed

5 groups

From Persians to the Sphynx. Cats share the same coat types as dogs.

Cats

The Six Dog and Cat Coat Types

Double, curly, wire, silky, smooth and hairless. Each takes different tools at a different interval, and the mistakes are not interchangeable. Clipping a double coat can damage it for good. Not clipping a curly one lets it felt to the skin.

Double Coat

Never clip · High matting risk

A soft dense undercoat under a coarser weather-resistant top coat. Huskies, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest Cats.

Grooming a Double Coat

A Poodle and a Devon Rex, tight curl and soft wave, both coats that trap shed hair instead of dropping it

Curly Coat

Clips safely · Severe matting risk

Tight curls or a soft wool texture that traps shed hair instead of dropping it. Poodles, Bichons, doodle crosses, Devon Rex, Cornish Rex and Selkirk Rex.

Grooming a Curly Coat

Wire Coat

Strip rather than clip · Moderate matting risk

A harsh bristly jacket over a soft undercoat. Most terriers, Schnauzers, Brussels Griffons, the wire Dachshund and the American Wirehair cat.

Grooming a Wire Coat

A Maltese and a Persian, long fine coats that keep growing rather than shedding out

Silky Coat

Clips safely · High matting risk

Long fine hair with little or no undercoat that keeps growing rather than shedding out. Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese, Shih Tzus, Afghan Hounds, Persians and Turkish Angoras.

Grooming a Silky Coat

A Beagle and a Bengal, short flat coats where shedding is the issue and matting never is

Smooth Coat

Clips safely · Low matting risk

Short hair lying flat against the body with little or no undercoat. Beagles, Boxers, Vizslas, Bengals, Siamese and British Shorthairs.

Grooming a Smooth Coat

A Sphynx and a Chinese Crested, skin care rather than coat care

Hairless

No coat to clip · Low matting risk

No functional coat at all. Sphynx, Peterbald, Chinese Crested and the Xoloitzcuintli.

Grooming a Hairless

How Dog Size Changes a Groom

A Chihuahua and a Newfoundland can carry the same coat type and still be completely different appointments. Weight decides drying time, how the dog is lifted and held, whether a salon has a bath and dryer big enough to take it, and most of the price.

A Pomeranian and a Yorkshire Terrier, both under ten pounds

Toy

Under 10 lb

Under about ten pounds. Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese and Pomeranians.

Grooming Toy dogs

A Bichon Frise and a Shih Tzu, the ten to twenty-five pound range most grooming books are written around

Small

10 to 25 lb

Ten to twenty-five pounds. Shih Tzus, Bichons, Cocker Spaniels and Miniature Schnauzers.

Grooming Small dogs

A Border Collie and a Cockapoo in the twenty-five to fifty pound range

Medium

25 to 50 lb

Twenty-five to fifty pounds. Border Collies, Springers, Standard Schnauzers and most doodle crosses.

Grooming Medium dogs

A Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle, where drying takes longer than cutting

Large

50 to 90 lb

Fifty to ninety pounds. Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Labradors and Standard Poodles.

Grooming Large dogs

A Newfoundland and a Bernese Mountain Dog, a half day appointment and often two groomers

Giant

90 lb and up

Ninety pounds and up. Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, Great Pyrenees and Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Grooming Giant dogs

Dog and Cat Breed Groups

Terriers, hounds, working dogs, herding dogs and the rest, plus 5 groups for cats. A group tells you what a breed was bred to do, which predicts temperament well and grooming badly. The Sporting group holds both the Vizsla, a five minute coat, and the Cocker Spaniel, which needs a groomer every six weeks.

All breed groups

206 Dog Breeds and 69 Cat Breeds, A to Z

Every breed with its own guide: how often it needs a groom, what a full groom involves on that coat, what it costs, and the thing that most often goes wrong on it.

All dog breeds All cat breeds

Find a Dog Groomer Near You

Search 37,863 grooming salons by town and state. Read your coat type first and you will know what to ask for when you get there.

Find a Local Groomer Coat Types