I totally agree. I have 4 pugs who shed nonstop. I just used the quote because it was from one of my groomer message boards.

I don't want people to think that the Furminator isn't great -- it is. I'm just saying that I don't like the fact that they are now being marketed to every one in the world at some pets' expenses. If you know how to use it on the proper coat using the proper technique and are able to recognize when the coat is no longer releasing and starts cutting the hair, then it's perfect for home use.

BUT, you can get the same results for most breeds with combs, brushes, and rubber zoom grooms. Truth be told, I use the furminator tool rarely.

LOL. No, his name is Casey. But "he" gave my wife the hardback, illustrated copy of Marley for Christmas last year. A few days later, he chewed half the cover off. :D

LOL! My Golden was a 'Marley' for years, but he eventually grew out of it. Every time he did something bad he would look at me with those soulful, cute Golden eyes and I would just melt. He pulled the cute card and it worked.

Sorry to Hijack BUT....I can't wait for the movie to come out, but I will go to it with tissue in hand because I know I will cry at the end.

I just made a Dogster page for my dog, Kylie. She is an 11 year old Jack Russell.

http://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/95...1228354813.jpghttp://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/95...1228356616.jpghttp://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/95...1228355516.jpg

One of my favorite dog products is the Chuckit. It's a ball launcher, basically a stick with a cup for a ball. It's great because you can throw the ball farther AND you don't have to touch the slimy ball with your hands. My dog goes nuts if you say "Chuckit" in her presence.

lol now that is SO cute. I would love to see that.:D

I use this on my dogs and love it. Of course both my dogs are short haired (a lab and an American Bulldog), but looking at the device I'm not sure how fur could get caught in the rotary head unless its some long fur. The hole on the safety guard is pretty small, really only big enough for the nail to fit in.

I personally as a non-dog expert thought the safety precautions were laid out pretty well in the instructions. They are pretty clear about making sure you ONLY file the nail for 3-5 seconds because of the heat from the friction and you are supposed to check every 3-5 seconds to make sure you aren't quicking the dog. If someone is too dumb to read the instructions or follow them, well maybe they shouldn't have a dog!

For us Pedipaws is pretty much the only think I will use here again, and I'm pretty much a novice at dog nails. Cat nails is another story LOL. The difference in behavior of my dogs at nail trimming time is insane. Molly (the lab) will sit nicely and let me do all her nails at once, with treats, which she NEVER did with the clippers. I would do one nail with her struggling the entire time, treat her, and she would inevitable wriggle away and I'd have to chase her down to do another nail. I hurt her a few times with the clipper because of her struggling. She has black nails which makes it even harder for me to clip with her squirming. This is so much better.

Murphy (the American Bulldog) was EXTREMELY anxious about getting his nails done-to the point of urinating, shaking uncontrollably, and becoming aggressive. When we realized we couldn't do it ourselves, we took him to the vet who muzzled him. Even with 4 adults holding him, he still struggled free and began bashing his head on the exam table every time the vet picked up his paw. For a long time we were having him sedated to trim his nails. After working with him awhile on being comfortable with paw handling, we tried slowly reintroducing the clippers. He was better but as SOON as he felt the pressure of the clippers clamp down on his nail, he freaked out. On getting the PediPaws, we spent awhile introducing it to him and when we turned it on the first time, he jerked his paw away, but didn't flip out. After a few days trying this, he let us do a whole paw, then all paws without EVER urinating or becoming aggressive.

So yeah, that's why I like it. Even though I'm not a dog expert or groomer in any sense, I feel MOST of these products can be used safely if people weren't dumb enough to use them without reading or following the directions.

She is ADOREABLE!

Tippiechick's referring specifically to American Eskimos in her post about the Pedipaws. They have long hair on their feet and in between their toes. Unless the directions specifically say "cut the hair in between and around the toes very short so as not to get the fur caught in the dremel" I would read and follow the instructions and still hurt my dog. And look at him in my post - he's too freakin' cute to hurt.

So there ya go. I wouldn't call myself dumb, but I found Tippie's advice on how to care for my dog and how to find a good groomer helpful. You can call me dumb if you like.

Oh no, I wasn't calling YOU dumb at all! I wasn't really referring to the hair thing either when I said that. I think given the design of the Pedipaws, it would be pretty difficult to get a pet's hair stuck in the rotary head, and if someone has seen that happen with the guard on, my mistake!

The guard covers the WHOLE rotary head so the only exposed part is the opening for the nail, which is only really big enough then for the nail. I've seen traditional dremels and the filing head on them is very small and I could see with one of them, long hair could easily get wound around the base. With the PediPaws, the rotary head is pretty fat-like probaby 2 inches across and given the size of the hole on the guard, the fact that it covers the entire filing head AND base, and the size of the head, I think it would be quite difficult to get any fur down there to get wound up, unless again, it is some long ass hair. But that's just me-thinking about the mechanics of the thing.

And yeah, if someone used it WITHOUT the guard on and injured their pet-they are stupid. If they leave it on the nail longer than 3-5 seconds and their pet's nail gets singed or bleeds, they are stupid. But then again, with the bleeders, its quite possible to cause a bleeder with the clippers too, and I have seen several a groomer (mostly the Petsmart ones, dont think Id ever take a dog to Petsmart for grooming) quick a dog that way. I've done it to mine! For the aforementioned reasons in my first post about the Pedipaws.

I'm glad you got good advice on finding a good groomer, there are SO many shitty ones out there. Thats personally why I keep dogs with coats that are generally pretty easy to care for at home-and using a groomer for the nails? Molly doesnt need it and no groomer would EVER touch Murphy the way he used to behave and even now probably. He'll let me use the filer on him, but I can't imagine he'd take too kindly to a stranger doing it.

We live in the city, so the sidewalks do a pretty good job of keeping his nails under control. He only gets them clipped when we go to the vet or the groomer. That way I don't have to worry about quicking him. He gets brushed once a week between visits to the groomer.

Petsmart groomers are shitty because they only get a few weeks of training. (Yes, I KNOW they say they offer months of training. But, I also know a current Petsmart groomer and some former groomers who now run other grooming businesses...)

I apprenticed under a master groomer for a year before I got any of my own clients.
But, one of our old kennel employees didn't want to do on-the-job training to learn to groom well. So, she went to Petsmart and had her own clients within weeks of leaving us. They don't care how GOOD the groomer is. They just want the commission off of their grooms. It's all volume and not personal attention to detail and temperment.

And I've heard the same thing about their trainers. Luckily the trainer at our Petsmart had BEEN a trainer since 1980 and was just doing Petsmart a few times a week for fun. She was great. Have heard some HORROR stories about training there though.

We live in the sticks, most of our walks are in grassy/wooded areas. I HAVE heard that tennis courts are excellent places to take dogs to wear down the nails though. Makes sense, tennis courts are like large emery boards.

Sammi's fur between her pads gets so long she can't walk on the Pergo floor. I am comfortable trimming that with salon scissors, very carefully. She lets me do it. She pretty much lets me do anything to her. I trim her nails myself. She has white nails so it's easy to see where to cut. My ex-husband's dog has black nails and he asked me if I would do hers and I said "no way". Besides, she's hyper spaz so I could see her pulling away. The local groomer will do hers for $12 so I introduced him to them. Sammi has a hard time getting into the car now because her hips are getting arthritic so I don't take her out for grooming like I used to. Things like the rake work ok when she's not blowing her coat, but when she's blowing her coat, the tufts of undercoat pop up and it's easiest to just take them out with your fingers. I can fill up a couple grocery bags a day for 3 weeks when she's blowing her winter coat. That's just life with a Mal :) It's worth it though!

I cant figure out how those work! A lot of people in my neighborhood dog park have them and anytime I try to use them I end up slamming the ball straight into the ground lol.

My Hairy Beast is exactly the same way! We can brush her for hours every day, and could keep going. And I'm always pulling out big chunks of white undercoat that loosen up on their own at other times. ;) But she is so cuddly and fun that it doesn't matter a bit.