We recently added a 4 month old German Shepherd/Border Collie mix to our family, that was very fluffy. Grendel had a very thick undercoat and looked like an over sized powder puff, his breeder suggested we buy a FURminator. He said it would cut his shedding down by 90% AND he was right!
We ordered one on-line from amazon.com after I spent a couple of hours reading many reviews and viewing a few YouTube demonstrations. I was honestly amazed at all the fur it removed and the huge difference in his coat.
Grendel isn't as hot and no longer pants when he's outside playing. The FURminator was definitely worth the cost and there can be a huge difference in cost depending where you purchase it from. We paid roughly $35 for the "long hair" deshedding tool.
There are FURminators for different coats to include short haired. I had no idea how bad a Great Dane could shed considering it's short coat and we also ordered a short coat one as well for ours.
There are also FURminators for cats and my neighbor tried our "long hair" deshedder on her long haired cat and was totally amazed.
The FURminator has made a huge difference on our puppy and I no longer have to sweep and vacuum twice a day.
I can't say enough about it and am looking forward to the short haired version being delivered.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Has anyone used FURminator on your cats or dog? We have seen the ad and wonder if it is worth the money?
By Carolyn from Lebanon, PA
I have one and although I like it, and it does get some fur off of the dog, I am going to buy a rake. But that being said, my German shepherd loves it so much that when I come over with it, she drops on the ground in anticipation of it!
So yes it does remove a lot of hair I couldn't get, and no it doesn't do as much as the ads say it does. But I am going to get a rake too for German shepherds..also and compare it...
I will tell you that the nail grinder thing is so funny! I don't know a dog that would sit still for that..if you have any questions of whether your dog will stand still for this, turn on a blow dryer. LOL
But the furminator is great I just have to keep a hold of the little plastic thing that covers the teeth.
I would say it would be worth it!
Robyn
Ask for one on freecycle.org first you may be able to get one for free.
For best results use it in little paint brush strokes and not one long stroke.
Dont push too hard or too light either...it is really nice... I like to brush them out really good too with a regular brush, to make sure their skin gets a good feeling of brushing, and it is healthy for them.
A wash rag on the skin with nothing but warm water several times a week is good too, but not before the furminator is used.
Robyn
I used the cat Furminator on my shedder cat this morning! I got it from the vet's office. I took my shedder in for a routine visit, and the vet noticed how much she was shedding (you just look at this cat, and her hair is on you!). So she got out a Furminator and started using it. In a few minutes, I think we had enough loose hair for a small kitten! It was pricey, but very worth it for this particular cat.
I don't use it too often -- they warned me that it could thin out her fur too much if we aren't careful. And I read a negative review on Amazon, where someone complained that she was mindlessly brushing while on the phone and gave her cat a bald spot (not the Furminator's fault that she wasn't paying attention). I use it only on the one cat, because the others don't shed very much.
I told my best friend about the brush, and she got one for her dog who sheds a lot. They think it's a miracle, too! :-)
I'm a professional groomer and manage a salon with a staff of 6, we use furminators daily and I'm quite the fan. They are wonderful and are most effective on dogs and cats with thick undercoats. They aren't useful and can actually harm short coated breeds such as boxers, bulldogs, etc.
I recommend a rubber curry brush for short haired/wire haired breeds. Actually, a rubber curry brush is good to use in addition to the heavy coated breeds as well, it is more effective on the harder top coat hairs.
Never buy it at a pet store cause they overcharge. Rubber curry brushes are amazing and you can find them online or at farm supply stores for under ten dollars. I have clients that want to keep the fur to spin into yarn! I have done this myself on my own pets and hand spun yarn that I have made pet blankets out of, they love it!
We had one for our bassett hound and loved it! They are definitely worth the price!
Greatest pet invention ever. The first time we "furminated" our chocolate lab, we got a plastic grocery bag full of fur, but, of course, labs shed twice their body weight annually (now just think about that for a minute) so it needs to be done often.
Carolyn, when my cat sees me taking the FURminator out of the basket where I store it, she runs to my bed, jumps up on it and lays spread-eagle so I won't miss "furminating" a single inch on her. I love it because she is so happy about it and because I get so much fur off of her. That way I know she is not getting a lot of fur in her stomach from her many many baths. I know her idea of "kitty heaven" would be a FURminator on every corner.
I have a Yellow Lab that sheds year round. There get to be balls or yellow/white fur in the corners. When I use the furminator on her regularly it really cuts down on the fur balls. Buy a generic or buy it on Ebay. I got the large size for about $25 on Ebay. Good Luck
I have 4 cats, 3 short hair and one long hair. I swear by the furminator. It works great! You can get almost another cat worth of hair when you furminate a long hair. But, do be careful to never over brush, you can pull out too much hair on a short haired cat. Love it!
It sounds great. Just one question...what the heck is a furminator?? Never heard of it before.
You can buy them at PetSmart or Petco, so try there first. We have 2 puggles (1/2 pug, 1/2 beagle) and the furminator is the ONLY thing I will use on them. I've tried several other combs & brushes and nothing works as good as it does.
