Eliminating Static in Your Dog’s Coat

Eliminating static charge doesn’t have to be a pain

Static charge can build up in your dog’s coat just as it can in your own hair. Have you ever been brushing your hair and gotten zapped by a little charge? It hurts, doesn’t it? Well, your dog doesn’t like it either! My dogs have long hair that require frequent brushing so I have to do what I can to keep the static out of their coats when I’m brushing them. It’s not always easy.

Static can be caused by dry, cool air in your house or rubbing and building up an electrical charge on the carpet or an area rug. Any type of friction can build up some static so even brushing your dog can create static if you do it vigorously enough. But there are some solutions!

Reduce the friction!

Sometimes increasing the humidity in your home can reduce the static charge in the atmosphere and in your dog’s coat. You may wish to get a humidifier for you house to raise the humidity. This can be good for both you and your dog. They are not as expensive as you might think. You can get a decent one for under $50. Check out our favorite one on Amazon.

Grooming Shouldn’t be a Shocking Experience

Your dog’s hair is usually most prone to building up static when he has been recently bathed and dried because there are fewer natural oils in his coat to help keep it under control.

You can try two things. First, use a conditioner after you shampoo your dog. This will add more moisture to the coat. Try a deep conditioning treatment for dry coats. This will adds tons of moisture in the coat and will leave it super soft too!

You can then  take the charge out of your dog’s coat by using a spray-on conditioner or detangler before brushing your dog. This is effective because it adds in moisture so that brushing your dog is a less “shocking” experience.  The great thing about a spray on product is that you can use it anytime, whenever you notice that your dog’s coat has static. You don’t have to wait until bath time to “take charge.”

You can also spray it directly on your dog’s brush before you brush him. This will help reduce the static that the brush could cause when you use it on your dog’s coat.

Dogs are not laundry!

Some people like to rub their dogs with a dryer sheet to reduce static since they reduce static in clothing. However, some dryer sheets contain chemicals which can be dangerous for dogs. They’re probably all right used lightly on your dog’s coat but you should be very careful not to leave any lying around where your dog could make a snack of one. The same advice goes for when you use dryer sheets with the laundry. Be careful not to leave them where your dog can get to them, either before or after they’ve been used in the dryer.

If you do like the simplicity of rubbing a dryer sheet on your dog, get the ones from Grab Green. They don’t have gross animal fat on them and they’re about as natural as you can get.

You should not use anti-static laundry sprays on your dog’s coat. The chemicals in these sprays can be dangerous for your dog, particularly if he licks his coat.

Prevent build up

If you have a certain area of your home set aside for brushing and grooming your dog you may want to consider getting a rubber mat for the floor. Rubber will help prevent an electric charge from building up in the area. This is a great idea for groomers who have to deal with lots of static charge.

No more static

Raise the humidity in your home and use products designed for dogs instead of laundry and you should see a reduction in the amount of static in your dog’s coat. No one likes the ouchies that go along with static, least of all your dog!