The awkward part of a slicker brush is not the brushing, it is what happens afterwards: picking a dense wad of fur off bent pins with your fingers, usually over a bin, usually dropping half of it on the way. A retracting head removes that entirely. Press the button and the pins withdraw into the head, sliding the collected fur off in one sheet you can lift away and drop straight in the bin.

The pins themselves are fine and slightly angled, which is what lets a slicker reach into a coat and lift loose undercoat and small tangles before they set into mats. Rounded tips keep the working end off the skin. The handle is moulded with a non-slip grip, because deshedding is a job measured in minutes rather than strokes, and a brush that hurts your hand is a brush that gets put down early.

• One-push retracting head lifts collected fur clear of the pins
• Fine slicker pins with rounded tips
• Loosens tangles before they turn into mats
• Non-slip ergonomic handle
• Suits cats and dogs with short to medium coats
• Operated one-handed while the other steadies your pet

A note on the description. It is the self-cleaning slicker; the two-sided wording is theirs and it is wrong.

Who it's for: Owners of short and medium-coated cats and dogs who deshed regularly and want the fur off the brush without picking at it.