[Labradorable]

Do any of you have any experience with the FURminator? It looks like it could be a great deShedding product, but I would worry about it taking out too much fur.

 

[HersheyK's Dad]

Looking for an answer on this one. I picked one up for when my son's yellow comes over to visit. I swear that it is never done. Just keeps on taking out more and more fur. Is there some limit to how many strokes one should take on a given area?

 

[Dexter Dogg]

My wife has a work colleague who says it is brilliant. He has two labs.

Subscribing to this thread to get more opinions...

- Dave

 

[NM Lab Lover]

I really like the one we bought. I did not use it when they were little but once Abbey and Coco got to be about 6 months old I started using it regularly. It is very warm where we live so they started to shed in April or so. I do not push down hard; just run it gently and it does get out much of the loose hair. I go over them a couple of times until the hair coming out is less and less. They love it because it helps get rid of the itchy, loose hair. Then I go over them head to toe with a pin brush and curry brush. The last once gives them a massage of sorts and they both just relax and enjoy.

The one I bought has a yellow head for larger dogs. That is another reason I didn't use it when they were little. The curry brush and pin brush did a fine job on the little pups.

 

[MicksMom]

Someone here (labby maybe?) mentioned that it breaks the coat. I also read on another board that it will take out too much hair and leave bald spots if over used.

Honestly, I've found a Zoom Groom and comb work the best.

 

[labby]

Yep it does cause outter coat problems. I use my furminator on my horse along with a shedding blade. I use the zoom groom on the dogs.

 

[Labradorable]

Someone here (labby maybe?) mentioned that it breaks the coat. I also read on another board that it will take out too much hair and leave bald spots if over used.

Honestly, I've found a Zoom Groom and comb work the best.

That's what my line of thinking was. I looked at their website and saw how much fur was being taken out and wondered what the pets would look like after multiple uses. Eeep.

I've always used a Zoom Groom as well. They're awesome.

 

[amazongold]

I use the Zoom Groom and a pin brush on Champ, the Furminator, Zoom Groom, and pin brush on Buddy. Bud's coat is different from Champ's and he doesn't shed loose hair much in the house, it has to be pulled out.

 

[Melissa]

Laura, I don't know if you'll pop back in here or not - Otis is shedding worse than he has in the 6 years that we've had him. He'll actually leave little clumps of hair around the house. When I get home at the end of the day, I can tell where he's laid on the floor because there's a black hue on that section of the carpet. Is that normal? Anyone?

 

[labby]

It doesn't sound "normal" Melissa. Any changes in food, energy levels, etc? I might do a full thyroid panel if one hasn't been done recently. Sometimes we'll see changes in the thyroid as a dog ages.

I've got some which are shedding a lot right now. I'm not sure if it's more coat to shed out or what, but I will do some bloodwork if it keeps up.

 

[Melissa]

No food changes. His energy is about the same, but he's having a lot more trouble getting around lately. It all started when he came home from the kennel after our vacation. I just figured with his hips getting worse, this long trip to the kennel was especially hard on him.

I think I'll buy a zoom groom on the way home tonight and get as much hair off of him as I can. Then see if it keeps falling out the way it has been. If so, vet time. Thanks, Laura.

 

[kelli]

I use both the furminator and the zoom groom.. the furminator seems to get the loose undercoat much better than the zoom groom which is better at the surface coat.

I do not furminate more than once a week and it has worked really well for me. Tuck sheds more than koda, but i can get a the shedding down to a low roar with the furminator.

 

[BigBrownDog]

I just gave away my Furminator. I loved it for my Shepherd - but she's gone, Diesel's coat is too sparse to begin with and I don't want to ruin Blaise's very nice proper Lab coat.

I use a pin brush and a comb mostly.

 

[Lexis Mom]

I have a Furminator & love it. Lexi is not one to sit still for long periods, so using the Furminator allows me to make decent progress in a short spurts. You do have to be careful as vigorous brushing in area will cause thin spots, but otherwise you should be good.

Also, Lexi is just my loveable little pet, so whether her coat is a correct labby coat or not does not matter.

 

[YellowJakesMom]

I use a shedding blade (designed for horses) on Jake when he's blowing coat only. Other than that I don't really brush him much aside from toweling him off after swimming

The problem I've seen with the furminator is getting carried away and the resulting bald spots. Additionally, in dogs with very sparse coats to begin with (not much undercoat) it can leave lots of little scrapes on the skin - which can lead to hot spots. I think it's great for some dogs though!

 

[Samson]

I really like the one we bought. I did not use it when they were little but once Abbey and Coco got to be about 6 months old I started using it regularly. It is very warm where we live so they started to shed in April or so. I do not push down hard; just run it gently and it does get out much of the loose hair. I go over them a couple of times until the hair coming out is less and less. They love it because it helps get rid of the itchy, loose hair. Then I go over them head to toe with a pin brush and curry brush. The last once gives them a massage of sorts and they both just relax and enjoy.

The one I bought has a yellow head for larger dogs. That is another reason I didn't use it when they were little. The curry brush and pin brush did a fine job on the little pups.

Can I come over ? Even I enjoy the sound of that and I'm not moulting !

 

[Samson]

I would like to add that I don't think Dylan is a Labrador ! I can rake through his coat and there might be six or seven hairs on the comb ! Jasper fills up the comb with a 1" of brushing !

 

[justine]

I have a Zoom Groom, Furminator, fine-toothed comb and a shedding blade.

Mostly, I just use the Zoom Groom and the comb, but the Furminator comes out when she blows her coat. She doesn't have a real Lab coat, it's much different, but I have seen the damage over-brushing with the Furminator can do to a Lab's coat. Not pretty!

 

[3TailsWaggin]

I use it. It really pulls that fine undercoat out. Amazing. If it breaks coat, I don't really see it. I don't show my dogs so that wouldn't be that much of an issue anyway. Their coats still look good to me. I highly recommend the furminator! I don't brush mine that often, so maybe that's why I don't see coat issues. I use it mainly when they are really blowing coat.

 

[BauersMom]

I have a Bamboo FurBuster (close to a Furminator). I only use it when he is blowing coat, but it really works well. During those times, I use it once a week and only go over each section once. For normal grooming I use the Zoom Groom, and he LOVES IT! He almost always falls asleep while getting Zoomed!