FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge Reviews

by Justin on Jul.08, 2010, under Pets

:4Inch, deShedding, Edge, FURminator, Large, Reviews, Tool, Yellow

10 Comments for this entry

fdr
July 8th, 2010 on 1:02 am
Review by fdr for FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge
Rating:
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!

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Katy Lake
July 8th, 2010 on 1:22 am
Review by Katy Lake for FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge
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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.

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A. McCallum
July 8th, 2010 on 1:42 am
Review by A. McCallum for FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge
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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.

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citywulf
July 8th, 2010 on 2:30 am
Review by citywulf for FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge
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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).

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Jacqueline Mastorakis
July 8th, 2010 on 3:14 am
Review by Jacqueline Mastorakis for FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge
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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.

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Bill
July 8th, 2010 on 4:01 am
Review by Bill for Outward Hound OH00679 Back Seat Hammock, Black
Rating:
I bought this having read the other 5-star reviews, including the one that says the hammock has a “chemical or dirt” smell. Well, now that I’ve got the hammock, it’s so incredibly easy to use and setup, I can’t believe I was putting down an old blanket before. But the other reviewer was right: That chemical/dirt odor (and seriously, I couldn’t have come up with a better description than dirt, myself!) is really strong. It probably will wear off eventually, but leaving it out in the sun, spraying it with Febreeze, and even washing it on the mild cycle with hot water and “fluff” drying it without heat (DO NOT TRY THIS as it tears the nylon backing!!!) have not rid it of the smell. If the smell ever goes away, I’d rate this as a 5, but for now, I’m optimistically giving it a 3. Might not be a bad idea to check the other hammocks available out there and spend a bit more money to see if you can get a non-dirt-smelling seat cover!

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Peekablue
July 8th, 2010 on 4:22 am
Review by Peekablue for Outward Hound OH00679 Back Seat Hammock, Black
Rating:
I am a Vet Tech, so I am able to take my dog to work with me & I take him almost every day. He is a Golden Retriever, so he sheds A LOT. My GMC Jimmy’s back seat is pretty much covered with hair & it kind of smells like dog in there. Well, I recently purchased a new car & definitely do not want the back seat to be trashed like the old one is.

This cover is very easy to install. There are four adjustable straps that fit around the head rests of your seats. They have clips for easy removal & replacement. It fits pretty well in the back seat of my car, which is a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. It took me 10-15 minutes to hook everything up & get the straps adjusted just right. There are velcro slits that allow for access to seat belts. There is also a velcro slit at the edge of the seat which enables you to open it to allow a human passenger to sit in the back without removing the entire cover.

As for cleaning, I just run it through the washing machine, on the gentle cycle, & hang it to dry over my shower curtain. I think the instructions say not to put it in a washing machine but I have not had any problems, so far (after about 5 months of use).

My dog looked at it a little funny when he first saw it but he jumped right in & seems to ride comfortably, if not more so, since he doesn’t fall off the seat when I have to hit the breaks.

The down sides:

It doesn’t “grab” the dog hair, so the hair is free to just float around in the car.

The part that comes across the back of my front seats & acts as a barrier does not stay taught, so my dog could easily come up front if he wanted to. Fortunately, I have him trained to stay in the back. Also, it’s still a good idea to use a seat belt harness with this product.

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Johanna Humbert
July 8th, 2010 on 4:31 am
Review by Johanna Humbert for Outward Hound OH00679 Back Seat Hammock, Black
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After getting at new car at Christmas, I just had to find something to keep the backseat decent. My two Briards (80 and 70 lbs.) sit together in the backseat of the Forester (used to be a Golf, this is spacious!).

The hammock hangs easily between the seats from the headrests. It only took a few minutes to put it in. Now the dogs ride comfortably and their muddy paws stay where they belong.

I was concerned when I first saw it that the velcro would rip open from the weight of the dogs, but that has not happened in nearly two months of use.

All in all, this hammock has made it possible for the dogs to have more frequent rides in the car — isn’t that the best news?!

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T. Gaston
July 8th, 2010 on 4:39 am
Review by T. Gaston for Outward Hound OH00679 Back Seat Hammock, Black
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Our dog is a large greyhound, and this is what I’ve found.

Pluses of the hammock

1. adjustable

2. keeps the dog on and in the back seat area

3. protects the seats

4. fairly fast to install

drawbacks

1. material is a bit rough (tarp like), so we cover it with a blanket

2. dog can occasionally unsnap a seat restraint (there are 4 to keep it in place)

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PghGirl
July 8th, 2010 on 5:04 am
Review by PghGirl for Outward Hound OH00679 Back Seat Hammock, Black
Rating:
There are similar higher quality products on the market, but you can’t get more for less than you get with this product. I have a 70 lb lab and leather seats and haven’t had one problem with this hammock. Obviously, protecting your seats is best benefit, but it is also great for preventing your dog from falling behind the seats. My dog loves leaning against the hammock when sleeping on a longer ride. (Although, if your dog like to visit you up front, you might want to find another restraint, it may not hold them back depending on how persistent your dog is).

At first look, it doesn’t seem like much but mine hasn’t torn and my seats are in perfect condition after 6 months of continual use to and from hiking/swimming trips. Like others have said, I’m not sure how long the velcro (used to remove the “hammock” feature if needed) or the straps will last but I figure it will last long enough vs. the cost. It doesn’t have a perfect fit at the upper corners near the head rests, but since the dog doesn’t paw there, it doesn’t matter to me.

If you care that it “looks nice” as well as be functional, this isn’t for you, but if you want a good low cost cover that protects your seats – I highly recommend it.

Another added benefit – It’s great for hiding personal belongings behind the driver/passenger seats.

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