Does anyone use a Furminator?

T

Tangaroo

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 December 2005
Messages
2,534
Visit site
I have a sprocker spaniel and she has a lovely coat which doesnt really need clipping but at the moment she has loads of dead hair on top of her coat. She is meant to be blue roan but at the moment she has so much of this hair she is almost black.
I have seen the furminators advertised and just wondered if they would do the trick. Its not undercoat, its more like a top coat.
 
They're great, but they do break hairs.
I use one on mine because they're not show dogs and they have very harsh coats because of where we live, and for the purpose they are great but if you don't want to damage the coat I'd use a rake or wire slicker brush.

A friend has to x-tie and muzzle their dog to use a Furminator on him :p
 
I have two...one for the dogs, and an equine one for the horse.

They are brilliant at removing any loose/dead hair, but do not affect the healthy growth at all. My dogs, and the horse, love being groomed with them, and they are VERY effective, well worth the money, and the best piece of grooming kit (dog or horse) I ever bought :-)
 
X-posted from another board, 'how to use a Furminator' from someone who's clearly damaged their show dog's coat :p

"Place it firmly in your hand.
Raise your hand above your head and behind your neck.
Now propel your arm in as fast a manner as you can in a forward direction letting go of the furminator as you reach optimum speed"
 
I have one, but am not convinced i like it.
It is fine on the short coated jack, but it seems to break the hair of the wire coated one, he has a thick almost curly ridge along his back. and it did'nt look right after i used it.
If you decide to buy one get it online, mine cost £ 5.00, at a pet shop they were asking nearly £30.00
 
I was thinking about getting one for B. I know sod all about grooming but she has suddenly got VERY hairy.

Is it worth me getting one? or should I just chuck her at a groomer :p?
 
So, would anyone recommend them for my samoyeds?

I looked into getting one a while ago and decided it wasn't worth the effort, and I'd stick with the normal, but hard work, grooming method.

I don't show my gang anymore, but I still want them to have a good coat, so, is it a good idea to get one?
 
littlemisslauren said:
I was thinking about getting one for B. I know sod all about grooming but she has suddenly got VERY hairy.

Is it worth me getting one? or should I just chuck her at a groomer :p?
Click to expand...

I personally don't think they are worth it.
The reason people get a lot of hair out is because it pulls out attached hair not just the dead loose stuff and splits and destroys the remaining.

I would personally just go with a small toothed rake.
 
katielou said:
I personally don't think they are worth it.
The reason people get a lot of hair out is because it pulls out attached hair not just the dead loose stuff and splits and destroys the remaining.

I would personally just go with a small toothed rake.
Click to expand...

Thanks Katie, will be going to PAH or similar this weekend so I'll remember to pick up a rake. The sheer amount of hair she is leaving around the house is getting a bit silly now. I feel sorry for anyone wearing black coming into my house:o
 
I own a "Huska-Pug" (not really but it feels that way sometimes). I SWEAR by the Furminator. I use it roughly every three weeks, and it removes a carrier bag of dead hair. I haven't noticed it damaging his coat, either--he is silky for a good ten days after use, after which the dead stuff starts to build up.
 
As a groomer I use one very sparingly. Peronally, no my own dogs - never.

Don't think it'd be all that useful on a sammy. While it's half a clipper blade, it's not the cutter bit, but it's not that it'd cut the hair, it'd just not be useful. Better with a rake as pointed out earlier. On shorter coats eg Pugs, Labs etc, it's fine. For GSDs, Sammy's, Husky, etc I wouldn't bother. And on stuff like yorkies, bichon etc, they have absolutely no place at all. ;)
 
Here's probably more information about Furminator than you ever wanted to know...

Furminators were invented to help poor old groomer's with their aching hands. There's a technique called "carding" which is mainly used for terriers. It's basically using a clipper blade with the cutter removed, or some folk use a stripping knife...and these are raked across the coat in order to muck out dead hair. This is to improve the texture so that it grows back wiry. On a terrier coat where there isn't a mass of heavy coat (like a sammy, mal or husky) it's highly useful. It's very beneficial to do this pre-clipping as it helps to preserve the natural coat texture and color. So some guy came along and stuck a big fat handle on to a clipper blade and called it a Furminator. This was marketed to mainly to groomers as a way to do this "shedless" treatment along with a bunch of marketing bumph, training how to videos and shampoo/conditioner at a bargain rate of some $400....and it was never intended to go to the end user as a home grooming tool.

But then I think perhaps when sales started to recede in the professional market, Furminator decided to market it to end users as a miracle tool, for any and all breeds of dog-- minus the marketing and how-to information. End result - lots of people buying these cheaper (£40 in the UK to start with and then cheaper still eventually) versions for completely inappropriately coated breeds for this item.

So love them or hate them, they definetely have their uses. But sadly they aren't "all that" without the proper know-how.

Laube, a clipper manufacturer came up with a good tool that makes furminator with an interchangeable head for attaching several different rake heads. I like this tool much better.
 
I have one for my lab, but only use it twice a year when she has a big moult.
I have experimented with a rake to the point that I can't get any more hair out, followed by the furminator, and then can get a further bag full.

However, I am careful how and where I use it as it definitely pulls the hair (going on wimpy dogs reaction), and again I think it rips out more than dead hair.

They definitely have their uses, but the are definitely not suitable for all dog hair types - I think they warn of this
 
I have a rake thing that I adore. Gets loads of without damaging her coat. She goes all slinky. *considers doing it when we're back from holiday*
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top