Customer Reviews

FURminator deShedding Tool

5 star:		(3,308)
4 star:		(524)
3 star:		(128)
2 star:		(64)
1 star:		(77)

 

 

In our 10-animal household (dogs and cats), fur is everywhere. I thought I had found the holy grail of grooming tools in the Zoom Groom (they make different models for dogs and for cats), which removes a lot of fur without giving the animal an unpleasant experience. Now I think the Zoom Groom is a great little brush, but when it comes to amount of fur removed, it's got nothin' on the Furminator. Even my long-hair cat who dislikes being groomed will let me use the Furminator on her for a good long stretch.

How does it work? Excellent question; I still can't figure it out exactly after extensive use, but I can tell you what it does NOT do. It doesn't pull or cut the hair; the comb-style "blade" does not have a sharp edge. Also, it doesn't cause discomfort for the animal; mine all seem to enjoy it very much, like it gives a pleasant scratching sensation. (I ran it along my own arm as a test, and experienced the same.)

If you go to the Furminator website and watch the grooming videos there, you will see tremendous amounts of fur being removed from dogs and cats after they have been groomed using a few different styles of grooming tools. These videos are not faked; I could not believe the piles and piles of fur I removed from my critters with the Furminator, even after using a fine-toothed flea comb on them. Their coats are so soft after I groom them, and the amount of hair shed on my furniture and floors actually seems to have decreased! Plus the critters -- especially those with heavy undercoats for winter warmth -- are way more comfy in the summer heat.

A downside -- the manufacturer does suggest you will need to buy replacement blades to maintain the performance of this tool; I am not sure how one can tell if the blade is "dull" but perhaps it will become clear after more use. All in all, however, the price is well worth the performance of this high-quality tool.

UPDATE: I wanted to add that this tool is designed to be used on clean(ish), dry, tangle-free fur. If the coat has more than a couple of burrs or tangles, use a different kind of tool (scissors or a comb) to remove these first before grooming, as the Furminator will just skim right over these areas. Also, it will not work very effectively on wet or really grubby fur; this is not the tool to reach for right after your dog's been swimming!

And I say it as an expert on just about any product that promises to reduce pet hair shedding, or make the clean up of it easier.

I have a Norwegian Elkhound, one very compact, highly intelligent, gorgeous and HAIRY dog. She has both a long coat and a very prolific downy white undercoat that seemingly sheds 24/7. It's got a cotton ball texture; tufts of it stick out, and if you pull it, you get a pouf of very soft white down that is guaranteed to stick to you and everything in its path.

My former regimen was to use a rubber curry brush for the long outer coat, and (the part I hate), an undercoat rake. No matter how much I brush her, I'm covered with hair, and there's a grocery bag FULL of hair. It's an hour to two hour task, and as much as I love my dog, a huge, hairy nuisance!

When I got the Furminator, I was impressed with the heft of it. I bought the large size with the idea that it'd be that much less effort (generally speaking, the small size is the cheapest, but it's so small, it would take forever on anything but the smallest or unhairiest dog. And the difference in price between the medium and large is, at most places, only a few bucks. If you're going to invest in the furminator, go for the size that makes the most out of every pass over the dog's coat.)

So I tried a few swoops on the dog. And yeah, it resulted in a ton of hair, but if I just run my fingers through her coat, I get pretty much the same result.

I got a grocery bag (to store the hair pulled off the comb) and set to work. On the initial combing, it took a little less than the usual hour it does. What was interesting, though, is that I used only the Furminator, not the undercoat rake and curry comb combo I usually use. In that sense, it was less time and effort.

The bag, as usual, was full. But the thing that really sold me on the Furminator is how good her coat looked. Very professional looking, like she had just gotten back from the groomer's.

Now it's a few days later, and lo and behold, one of the promises the maker of the Furminator made seems to actually be true: there is less loose hair on her. Usually I see long hairs and some of those fluffy white tufts peeking up, but that's not the case after her de-Furmination. NO loose hair, no undercoat tufts!

I can say that, based on me trying just about every comb, method, and grooming device, this is the first time my dog's been this relatively hairless since I got her.

The Furminator promises that there will be less of a hair problem with its use. All I can say is that based on one thorough use of it, that claim seems to be true. I'd recommend it (and it does have a 30 day money-back guarantee from the manufacturer.)

The only reason why I'm not five-starring this is because of the price. I still don't see why it's so expensive, and I got a good price on it w/shipping (I paid $40 and that's still too much!) I'm also worried about the cost of replacement blades for this. There's simply no reason it should cost so much!

I'd also recommend you shop around for price. I got the best deal on this (including shipping) from an ebay store (not a regular auction.) Just beware the shipping prices on places that seem to be cheap.

I live in Minnesota and have a twelve-year old German Shepherd who lives indoors year-round. Her undercoat EXPLODES in the spring and fall when the weather changes so drastically, and there is simply no way to keep up with all of the brushing and vacuuming that is needed during the shedding seasons. Until... along came the FURminator!

Believe me that I had tried everything on this dog for eleven years - shedding blades, slicker brushes, rubber brushes, metal combs, pin brushes, bristle brushes, the rubber Zoom Groom, rubber curry combs, shed-reducing diet-supplements, shampoos, conditioners and sprays... every product on the store shelves, and every new product that came out on the market I thought could help with the endless shedding. But alas, every brush and comb and glob of goop was as worthless as the last in the fight against the fur.

So when FURminator came out, I thought, why the heck is this brush so expensive? Could it really be worth the money? I saw that advertising image they use of the dog sitting with his fur in a giant half-circle on the floor all around him, and his coat looking flat and smooth. I wanted my dog to look like that! I imagined all of those piles of fur being slowly embedded in the carpet throughout the house over the course of the shedding seasons, and the constant battle to vacuum it all up. I was tired of that, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I've had the FURminator for about a year now, as I wanted to really test it out and make sure it continued to be as impressive as when I first got it, and it has. Every time I take it from its peg on the wall, my dog knows that it's time to get all that itchy, yucky, uncomfortable fur out of her coat for good, so she stands as quiet as a princess as I pull out heaps of hair (outdoors, of course.) The tufts of hair are so light and fluffy, that I also get the added joy of watching birds come pick up the puffs to build their nests in the spring. It has cut grooming down to about a quarter of the time I used to spend, with better results than I ever got before, when I armed myself with my box of brushes and sprays. This is the only brush I will ever use on any undercoated dog.

The FURminator is more than a brush - it is truly a grooming tool. You will not be disappointed.

This product is great for shedding dogs and cats but does not work well for specific breeds of dogs. I have a Siberian Husky who sheds his undercoat like crazy in the warm weather months. This brush barely got through his thick, artic breed type outer coat hairs to reach those pesky undercoat hairs. Works well on soft, long haired breeds like Goldens and Collies, etc. Definately not for Artic breeds!! Stick to your typical undercoat rake and a shedding blade for them.

I feel compelled to balance the...interesting...comment below. This tool is not meant for humans; likewise, it (as with any other intensive grooming tool) should not be used repeatedly over one area. Because it pulls coat, it can irritate the skin with overuse. *It does not conntain any blades.* However, cats can be very skin sensitive (I haven't tried it on my cat, she doesn't like much handling).

Having used it now on four dogs, I can say that dogs *love* the Furminator. Even my former-stray, who is hestitant about grooming because she had skin problems when I adopted her, will follow me around wanting to be groomed when I pick up the Furminator and stay calm and relaxed while I use it. It also pulls more undercoat than any tool I've ever tried, so I happen to love it too! However, despite what it says above, it does not appear to accomplish much with short-haired dogs (which makes sense, given their lack of undercoat).

Don't believe the naysayers -- take it from me, an owner of three cats in a small house.

I've used all kinds of brushes, combs, and rakes to get rid of all that fur. I even tried those sticky grooming gloves to no avail. Nothing worked to my satisfaction until I got this FURminator tool.

You would not believe the amount of fur I pulled off my three cats. The only other time I got so much fur out of the house was when Stanley Steemer came to steam-clean the carpet and raked it. No kidding.

This tool was worth the money I paid for it. Period. I will buy this product again and again to comb all that nasty fur from my fur babies.

And I say it as an expert on just about any product that promises to reduce pet hair shedding, or make the clean up of it easier.

I have a Norwegian Elkhound, one very compact, highly intelligent, gorgeous and HAIRY dog. She has both a long coat and a very prolific downy white undercoat that seemingly sheds 24/7. It's got a cotton ball texture; tufts of it stick out, and if you pull it, you get a pouf of very soft white down that is guaranteed to stick to you and everything in its path.

My former regimen was to use a rubber curry brush for the long outer coat, and (the part I hate), an undercoat rake. No matter how much I brush her, I'm covered with hair, and there's a grocery bag FULL of hair. It's an hour to two hour task, and as much as I love my dog, a huge, hairy nuisance!

When I got the Furminator, I was impressed with the heft of it. I bought the large size with the idea that it'd be that much less effort (generally speaking, the small size is the cheapest, but it's so small, it would take forever on anything but the smallest or unhairiest dog. And the difference in price between the medium and large is, at most places, only a few bucks. If you're going to invest in the furminator, go for the size that makes the most out of every pass over the dog's coat.)

So I tried a few swoops on the dog. And yeah, it resulted in a ton of hair, but if I just run my fingers through her coat, I get pretty much the same result.

I got a grocery bag (to store the hair pulled off the comb) and set to work. On the initial combing, it took a little less than the usual hour it does. What was interesting, though, is that I used only the Furminator, not the undercoat rake and curry comb combo I usually use. In that sense, it was less time and effort.

The bag, as usual, was full. But the thing that really sold me on the Furminator is how good her coat looked. Very professional looking, like she had just gotten back from the groomer's.

Now it's a few days later, and lo and behold, one of the promises the maker of the Furminator made seems to actually be true: there is less loose hair on her. Usually I see long hairs and some of those fluffy white tufts peeking up, but that's not the case after her de-Furmination. NO loose hair, no undercoat tufts!

I can say that, based on me trying just about every comb, method, and grooming device, this is the first time my dog's been this relatively hairless since I got her.

The Furminator promises that there will be less of a hair problem with its use. All I can say is that based on one thorough use of it, that claim seems to be true. I'd recommend it (and it does have a 30 day money-back guarantee from the manufacturer.)

The only reason why I'm not five-starring this is because of the price. I still don't see why it's so expensive, and I got a good price on it w/shipping (I paid $40 and that's still too much!) I'm also worried about the cost of replacement blades for this. There's simply no reason it should cost so much!

I'd also recommend you shop around for price. I got the best deal on this (including shipping) from an ebay store (not a regular auction.) Just beware the shipping prices on places that seem to be cheap.

at last -- a solution for pet hair that works! i have two domestic short hair tabbies who produce copious amounts of hair. they suffer from hairballs and are constantly throwing them up. i saw this tool on home shopping tv and instantly bought it. it is fantastic and gets both the top hair and the undergrowth off. my catties love it! they love to be groomed now as it does not hurt them the way other brushes do. i was amazed at how much hair came off them. plus it is very gratifying to do this for your pet. their coats come out beautiful and soft. you can really see the difference on them. well built and durable. WORTH EVERY PENNY. i saw it on hsn tv and bought it from hsn for about $30 which included shipping. got here very fast. works on dogs too.

I don't hate this product, because the less hair the better in general.

BUT BUT BUT!!! From what I can tell with use on my long-haired American Eskimo, the tool actually thins the hair, it doesn't just remove dead and/or undercoat. The tools' sharp edged "blade", the manufacturer actually calls it a blade, cuts out hair to thin it. So, yes, you get off mounds of hair, but it might be hair you want to keep on the dog...you know, for a nice looking coat. I will continue to use it sparingly (I think anyway), but only because my dog has a really thick coat and thinning isn't necessarily bad. JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR'E THINNING/CUTTING good, bad, dead, live, over, under-coat, everything. After using it, you'll clearly see that your dog's coat isn't as fluffy and looks thinner, and it's not just because you removed dead and undercoat!

I've done nothing scientific, but that's what I think is happening with this tool.

I won't recommend it to friends without cautioning them about this, and telling them not to get mad at me if their dog's coats look meek and thin after use.

The furminator removes far more hair than any other brush, comb, or rake that I have tried. I used it for 4 days straight, 20 minute sessions, on my golden retriever, and she would just stand there very calmly as I brushed her. I also inspected her skin afterwards for irritation or reddening, but didn't see any problems. The amount of fur removed is amazing! and her coat looked much more smooth and flat. It doesn't eliminate shedding but it definitely cuts down on it. I know friends who use it on their cats, and if your cat enjoys being brushed, then this is a good tool for them too.