any dog lovers out there?

[WarEagle07]

I have a 7 yo Golden Retriever who is the sweetest dog ever! And I have a mutt who is mostly corgi and perhaps some shepherd who is about 5 years old and as lazy as can be. He gets super excited every day when I put my socks on because he knows that socks lead to shoes, shoes lead to keys, and keys lead to a car ride!

By far, the most essential and indispensable dog related item I have is the FURMINATOR .
If you have a dog who sheds you have to give it a try, it has saved my sanity.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by WarEagle07

I have a 7 yo Golden Retriever who is the sweetest dog ever!

Our Golden is just over a year old. He too is a sweetie (and really handsome), but he still has lots of puppy energy. He still can't be unsupervised in the house -- there's just no telling what he'll get into.

[WVU alpha phi]

Originally Posted by WarEagle07

I have a 7 yo Golden Retriever who is the sweetest dog ever! And I have a mutt who is mostly corgi and perhaps some shepherd who is about 5 years old and as lazy as can be. He gets super excited every day when I put my socks on because he knows that socks lead to shoes, shoes lead to keys, and keys lead to a car ride!

By far, the most essential and indispensable dog related item I have is the FURMINATOR .
If you have a dog who sheds you have to give it a try, it has saved my sanity.

My mom got a furminator for our dog back home, Bella (german shephard and rottweiler mix). It gets SO much hair off her. I tried it on my dog, who sheds like crazy, but it didnt do much for her. I wonder if its because she doesnt really have an undercoat.

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by WarEagle07

By far, the most essential and indispensable dog related item I have is the FURMINATOR .
If you have a dog who sheds you have to give it a try, it has saved my sanity.

PLEASE be careful when using that tool.

1) It is supposed to "card" the coat and remove EXCESS hair, right? Problem is, if you keep going past where groomers know to stop, you're actually removing good hair, too. That turns what you're doing into a type of "stripping." It basically yanks the hair out at the root and causes it to regrow. Since some dogs are not meant to be stripped, you can cause bald patches that might not grow back.

2) This product was designed by a groomer. She took a SURGICAL clipper blade, removed the back plate and put it on a handle. I say this because you can actually slice a dog open with this tool. Look at the teeth.

I have had several clients who used this incorrectly and went to the vet for stitches.

*** This product is a fabulous tool. But, many groomers, like myself, do not support the public release of this product. It can cause great injury to the dog if not done correctly. And 99% of all hair removed by a furminator can be removed JUST AS WELL with a rubber Kong-type Zoom Groom AND a COMB... ***

[awkward1]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Our Golden is just over a year old. He too is a sweetie (and really handsome), but he still has lots of puppy energy. He still can't be unsupervised in the house -- there's just no telling what he'll get into.

Would his name be Marley?

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

PLEASE be careful when using that tool.

1) It is supposed to "card" the coat and remove EXCESS hair, right? Problem is, if you keep going past where groomers know to stop, you're actually removing good hair, too. That turns what you're doing into a type of "stripping." It basically yanks the hair out at the root and causes it to regrow. Since some dogs are not meant to be stripped, you can cause bald patches that might not grow back.

2) This product was designed by a groomer. She took a SURGICAL clipper blade, removed the back plate and put it on a handle. I say this because you can actually slice a dog open with this tool. Look at the teeth.

I have had several clients who used this incorrectly and went to the vet for stitches.

*** This product is a fabulous tool. But, many groomers, like myself, do not support the public release of this product. It can cause great injury to the dog if not done correctly. And 99% of all hair removed by a furminator can be removed JUST AS WELL with a rubber Kong-type Zoom Groom AND a COMB... ***

I use a Furminator religiously! I don't see how it can hurt an animal because it is not sharp at all and I have never had it pull out excess hair or leave bald spots. I don't even see how that can happen unless you are super zealous with the brushing or something. Maybe the public Furminator is different from the professional one. Mine resembles a flea comb but with the teeth closer together and has absolutely nothing sharp that could hurt a dog. Yeah, we used to pay a groomer to Furminate but now we do the job just as easily at home about 2 times a week. I have almost no hair on my floors, so yes, I swear by it. The groomers used to brush the dogs for 30 minutes total in two 15 minute intervals. I brush for maybe 5 minutes, that is all it takes to remove enough hair so that I don't get furry feet from walking around my house.

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by awkward1

Would his name be Marley?



I use a Furminator religiously! I don't see how it can hurt an animal because it is not sharp at all and I have never had it pull out excess hair or leave bald spots. I don't even see how that can happen unless you are super zealous with the brushing or something. Maybe the public Furminator is different from the professional one. Mine resembles a flea comb but with the teeth closer together and has absolutely nothing sharp that could hurt a dog. Yeah, we used to pay a groomer to Furminate but now we do the job just as easily at home about 2 times a week. I have almost no hair on my floors, so yes, I swear by it. The groomers used to brush the dogs for 30 minutes total in two 15 minute intervals. I brush for maybe 5 minutes, that is all it takes to remove enough hair so that I don't get furry feet from walking around my house.

It's the same one. They can hurt a dog. I've seen it happen to clients that bought them from Petsmart and didn't know how to use them. They are modified clipper blades on a stick. Good for you if you know how to use it correctly.

I'm a kennel attendant at a vet's and we use and sell Furminators. To be honest, on short-coated terriers and pugs they don't seem to do much more than any other kind of rake, but for long-haired cats and dogs like shepherds, huskies and spitz breeds, they are amazing. Even at $60 a pop we sell them all the time, though mostly to shepherd owners.

The important thing to know when using it is that the important movement involved is the pulling ACROSS the fur - DO NOT bear down against the skin. As it IS much like a clipper blade, you do not want it scraping the animal's skin. We had one idiot at work push down too much when she was furminating a corgi and the poor thing broke out in a rash. http://forums.somethingawful.com/sho...readid=2948345

The owner of Groomingdales, Tricia Fox, said the FURminator is effective but only on short-haired dogs like Sam.

When it is used on long-haired dogs, the FURminator's teeth aren't long enough to pull any hair. In fact, Fox says it actually does more harm than good in that case.

"It rips their hair off. It's not healthy. It will break off," said Fox.

She added the brush can actually cause big problems if it's used on the wrong dog.

"They're selling these to owners of long haired dogs and people are coming in with knots or dogs that are matted," said Fox. http://www.abc-7.com/Articles/readne...leid=19163&z=2

Well I just have to butt my nose inhere again on this one. I have to give credit where credit is due though... th groomer who came up with this idea is quite clever and had one heck of a marketing person. As to the furminator... it is a 40 blade, if anyone thinks there is not a cutting edge they are wrong, on all metal blades, when they are sharpened BOTH the base and the cutter are sharpened... there is NO safe side. Way to many owners are going out and buying these tools and hurting their pets, and just so you all know... the directions to follow for using the furminator, great idea.... charge more because you are doing more work, but just in case any one cares to know the facts... you are merely razor cutting the coat... that is all, it produces alot of hair and it feels like it is all undercoat but you are also razoring/splitting the healthy coat too. BUT then you have a customer for life because they HAVE to keep coming back to keep up the treatments. I work with a lot of breeders, they would not touch this thing... now she has shampoo's and all the grooming stuff for you to go out an buy... a gimick is what it is and I feel rather old fashioned in saying so but what the heck are owners doing?... why did you adopt or 'buy' a dog that sheds and expect it not to some?

If you really want to know if a tool will be worth your money... talk to a breeder or show person... they will tell you the truth.
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/p...7&postcount=32

[awkward1]

Awww, darn.
My dogs get so excited when they see the Furminator! They love it! Ah well, I will be careful with it in the future.

My back up favorite product is the Sheddin Blade. I usually follow the Furminator with the Sheddin Blade which appears to be a safe tool...I think.

BUT as for the last sentence in that last quote...(Tippie, this isn't directed at you just the author of the quote)

I love my dogs and I am willing to do the work it takes to keep the stray fur under control. Just because I hate fur in my food, drink, attached to my socks, or tickling my nose doesn't mean that I shouldn't own a dog who sheds. My dogs love getting combed and I would never trade my Golden Retriever away because I hate shedding. I am way too smitten with Goldens...I can't imagine not having one of these goofy, gentle, wonderful dogs in my life.

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by awkward1

Awww, darn.
My dogs get so excited when they see the Furminator! They love it! Ah well, I will be careful with it in the future.

My back up favorite product is the Sheddin Blade. I usually follow the Furminator with the Sheddin Blade which appears to be a safe tool...I think.

BUT as for the last sentence in that last quote...(Tippie, this isn't directed at you just the author of the quote)

I love my dogs and I am willing to do the work it takes to keep the stray fur under control. Just because I hate fur in my food, drink, attached to my socks, or tickling my nose doesn't mean that I shouldn't own a dog who sheds. My dogs love getting combed and I would never trade my Golden Retriever away because I hate shedding. I am way too smitten with Goldens...I can't imagine not having one of these goofy, gentle, wonderful dogs in my life.

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.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by awkward1

Would his name be Marley?

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.

[violetpretty]

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



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.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

My dog goes nuts if you say "Chuckit" in her presence.

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

[ZetaGirl22]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

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



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.

She is ADOREABLE!

[WVU alpha phi]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

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.

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.