Best Brush for a Bernese Mountain Dog
A Bernese Mountain Dog does not mat evenly. It mats behind the ears and in the britches — the feathering at the back of the thighs — long before anything happens on the back. So forget "which brush for a Berner" — the real question is which brush for those two spots, and in what order. Short version: a slicker brush behind the ears and through the feathering, a wide-toothed rake face for the britches and the skirt, and always outside-in — tips first, roots last.
Get the order wrong and you drive a small tangle into a mat instead of taking it apart.
The two spots, and the tool each one takes
| Spot | Coat there | Tool | Working spec | Why this one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behind the ears | Fine, soft, close to skin | Slicker brush | 220 pins, 0.5 in (1.3 cm) long, 4 × 2.6 in (10 × 6.5 cm) plate | Small flat bed reaches a small curved area |
| Britches and tail feathering | Long, dense, hangs free | Rake — wide face | 9 teeth, 2.8 in (7 cm) head | Opens felted clumps without pulling at skin |
| Back, sides, chest | Silky topcoat over dense undercoat | Rake — dense face | 17 teeth, 2.8 in (7 cm) head | Bulk undercoat, fewest strokes |
| Legs and belly | Thin, loose skin | Slicker, light | 0.5 in (1.3 cm) pins | Rake teeth catch loose skin here |
Source: specifications of our own Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush and Double-Sided Undercoat Rake. Tooth and pin spacing vary by maker — compare the gaps, not the counts.
Berners run 70–115 lb (32–52 kg) and mat in two spots first: behind the ears and in the britches. Work those before the body.
Why those two spots and not others
The AKC describes the Berner coat as "longer, thick, silky" and tricolored, over what it separately calls a "thick double coat." The dogs themselves "stand proud between 23 and 27.5 inches, and weigh between 70 and 115 pounds."
Mats form where three things line up: the coat is long, it moves against something, and air doesn't get to it. Behind the ears ticks all three — soft fine hair, an ear flap rubbing over it, and no airflow underneath. The britches tick two of them hard: the longest hair on the dog, swinging against itself every step.
The back doesn't mat much on a Berner, which is why owners who brush the back weekly and feel diligent still find a felted lump behind an ear. You can groom a Berner conscientiously and still be grooming the wrong part of it.
On frequency the AKC is specific: "the best way to maintain a Berner's lush coat is with weekly brushing. During shedding seasons, daily brushing will keep them looking their best." It also warns that Berners "shed a lot more than you'd think, with heavier periods of shedding twice a year."
The order that works
1. Ears first, while the dog is still patient. This is the spot most likely to hide a problem and the one a fidgeting dog makes impossible. Lift the ear flap, work the hair underneath and immediately behind it.
2. Britches and tail next. Longest coat, second-most likely to be matted.
3. Body last. Back, sides, chest — the easy, satisfying part, and the part that can wait if the session ends early.
Most people do this exactly backwards, because the back is where a brush feels productive — twenty strokes down a Berner's back leaves a visible pile of hair and the satisfaction of a job done. Behind an ear, the same twenty strokes leave almost nothing to show for it, right up until the week you find the mat.
The slicker: ears, feathering, legs
The AKC's brush guide puts slickers on "medium-coated, long-coated, wire-coated, and curly-coated dogs to remove mats," which covers the feathered parts of a Berner exactly.
The self-cleaning slicker runs 220 rounded stainless pins standing 0.5 in (1.3 cm) proud of a 4 × 2.6 in (10 × 6.5 cm) plate. That plate size is the point for this job — it's small enough to work the pocket behind an ear, which a 2.8 in rake head physically cannot get into without the dog objecting.
Rounded pin tips matter here more than on the body, because the skin behind the ear is thin and you're working close to it. Go in short, light strokes, and never press.
The one-click release is a practical detail rather than a feature: a Berner's undercoat packs the pins fast during a shed, and pressing the button retracts the plate so the collected fur comes off in one piece instead of being picked out by hand. The brush is 4.4 oz (125 g), ABS body, non-slip TPR grip.
On a tangle: start at the tip of the hair and work back toward the root in short passes. Never set the brush at the root and pull outward through the knot — that tightens it and hurts, and it's the single most common way a manageable tangle becomes a mat. (If you want the mechanics of that, we went into it in what is a slicker brush for.)
The rake: britches, skirt, and the body
The double-sided undercoat rake has 9 stainless teeth on one face and 17 on the other, across a 2.8 in (7 cm) head. On a Berner those two faces have genuinely different jobs.
The 9-tooth face is the one for britches. Wide-set teeth go into a dense clump of feathering and separate it, which is a different action from combing through it. Work in short passes from the outside edge of the feathering inward, and stop as soon as the teeth run clear.
The 17-tooth face is for the flat body — back, sides, chest — where you want the undercoat out rather than the tangles open. On a 70–115 lb dog the 2.8 in head is doing useful work here; on the ears and legs it's simply the wrong shape.
The whole tool is 4.1 oz (117 g), and the TPR handle holds grip when wet, so it's usable during a bath rather than only after one. (Background on the tool type is in what is an undercoat rake.)
What you don't need
A third tool. A slicker and a double-sided rake cover a Berner. There's a whole category of breed-specific "kits" that add a pin brush, a curry, and a dematting rake with a cutting edge — the first two just duplicate what you already have, and the dematting blade is the one to actually skip, since cutting through a mat removes the mat and the coat around it.
Brushing harder, if the mats are already felted, doesn't work either. It won't take out a mat that's flat against the skin — it just hurts. That one goes to a groomer, who can lift the patch out without taking the coat with it. And if the skin under it is red, weepy, bare, or smells, see a vet first.
Quick decision
| Where | Tool and face | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Behind and under the ears | Slicker, light | Tips first, short strokes |
| Britches, tail feathering | Rake, 9-tooth face | Outside edge inward |
| Back, sides, chest | Rake, 17-tooth face | With the lie of the coat |
| Legs, belly | Slicker, very light | Hold loose skin taut |
| Mat felted to skin | Neither — groomer | — |
If you want to compare head widths and pin lengths before buying, they're all listed on the dog and cat brushes and deshedding tools page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How often does a Bernese Mountain Dog need brushing?
A: The AKC calls for weekly brushing, moving to daily during the two heavier shedding periods each year. The more useful adjustment is not frequency but coverage — a short session that includes behind the ears and the britches beats a long one that only does the back.
Q: Why does my Berner mat behind the ears even though I brush him?
A: Almost always because the brushing is happening on the body. The hair behind the ear is finer, sits under a flap that rubs it, and gets no airflow. It needs its own thirty seconds every session, with a tool small enough to fit there.
Q: Should I trim the feathering on the britches to stop mats?
A: Tidying the feathering is a normal grooming choice and a groomer can do it without changing the coat's structure. That's different from clipping the body coat, which the AKC advises against on double coats — the two layers regrow at different rates and the result "no longer functions properly."
Q: My Berner's shedding got much worse suddenly. Is that seasonal?
A: It might be — the AKC notes heavier shedding twice a year for this breed. A sudden change outside those windows, especially with thinning patches, flaky skin, or itching, is worth a vet's opinion rather than a new brush.
Sources
- American Kennel Club — Is the Bernese Mountain Dog a Good Fit for You? (https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/bernese-mountain-dog-right-for-you/)
- American Kennel Club — Bernese Mountain Dog Breed Information (https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/bernese-mountain-dog/)
- American Kennel Club — How to Choose the Right Dog Brushes (https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/types-dog-brushes-shedding/)
- American Kennel Club — How to Groom a Double-Coated Dog (https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-groom-a-double-coated-dog/)
- American Kennel Club — What Is a Double-Coated Dog? Coat Types, Grooming, and Care (https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/double-coated-dog-breeds/)