A coat that tangles easily punishes the wrong brush within seconds — pins too short skim the surface, pins too stiff catch and pull, and the dog decides grooming is something to avoid rather than tolerate.

This pin brush uses long, gentle, round-ended pins built to tease out tangles without dragging, suited to long, wiry, silky and curly coats that mat more readily than a short, smooth one.

• Long, round-ended pins
• Suited to long, wiry, silky and curly coats
• Gently tease out tangles
• Brush in the direction of fur growth
• Do not push into the skin or pull matted fur

What the label does not say. There's no pin count or pad size given for this one, and the makers simply say not to pull on matted fur — for an already-matted coat, that points to a dedicated mat tool rather than this brush.

Who it's for: owners of a long or curly-coated dog doing routine detangling, rather than working through an existing mat.