# Is the Furminator worth the money?



## Sasha2008 (Feb 19, 2008)

I know there has probably been a ton of posts on this. But I couldn't find one specifically talking about it.

The Furminator is 69.99 for the large size at our local petstore..there is a similar one called the furbuster that is about 30.00 less..

Are these brushes really worth the high price tag? Is the furminator better then the furbuster which I'm guessing is a knockoff.

think I put this in the wrong forum section but not sure how to change it now...sorry about that

thanks in advance,
Bogart's Mom


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

I have the Medium size Furminator and absolutely love it. It's a great tool for getting fur off the pupper, and the Medium is the perfect size.

I bought mine for $32 from Amazon.com, and shipping was free. It was a lot cheaper there than at any of the local pet stores.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Same as Chris, give or take a few bucks. It's worth that, certainly not worth $60. We end up making a new dog every few days, so it's a great way to remove the fur! It does break the coat a little, though.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I'd love to have one, but they run around 70 to 100 dollars here!


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## MustLoveGSDs (Oct 31, 2008)

I swear by it. You can find them really cheap on ebay..try there first.


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## eak0429 (Dec 2, 2007)

I have a furbuster in medium and a cat sized furminator and from what I can tell there is no difference. The blade can be removed on the furbuster which is kind of a plus if you want to have another size blade or need to replace the blade or something.


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## syntheeya (Mar 22, 2008)

I got mine on eBay for about $20. Large size.

<u>Totally</u> worth that. I have 5 dogs (4 GSDs), and the pile of fur is huge within a few minutes. 

I wouldn't say it's worth $70 - only if it actually brushed for me, haha.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

worth it? absolutely.


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## bookjunky4life (Sep 11, 2008)

I have a GSD but I also have an Alaskan Malamute. Would a furminator work on that long/thick of a double coat?


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## acurajane (May 21, 2008)

It worth it. Just ask the hungry monster under my couch. LOL


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## Nikkoli110 (Sep 9, 2008)

SO worth the money. I got a medium for $24ish on ebay. Get one, you'll be happy with it!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I think it depends on the dog. I just use a regular rake ($8 at Target) and it works just fine for us. I HAVE seen a GSD that was over-furminated. The coat did not look nice at all, a lot of the outer hairs were broken. I do have a Furminator but don't use it on my GSDs, only on the hair behind Coke's ears and on my cats.


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## Hilary (Apr 12, 2005)

It's worth it. Check out Amazon, too.


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## derby98 (Feb 9, 2008)

It is worth it!
I got the large one on Amazon for $35.00


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## VALIUM (Nov 15, 2007)

Yes check it out on Amazon. It is worth every Penny..


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## gmcenroe (Oct 23, 2007)

I think its worth it as well, much faster brushing time. Its good as long as you don't overdo it and end up breaking overcoat.

Glenn


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I have one - want to buy it?

I think it 'breaks' the coat and won't use it anymore. Not sure what size it is but I can check if you are interested.


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## Dohhhhh (May 1, 2006)

I LOVE MY FURMINATOR. I have the large one. I sure noticed a difference in the amount of dog hair on my floor (not on my floor) since using it regularly on my 4 GSD's


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## well_armed (Mar 20, 2007)

absolutely worth it! I got a large one off ebay for around $25 shipped


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## chruby (Sep 21, 2005)

YES!!!! I have a large one and I love it and glad I got that size as well.


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## Branca's Mom (Mar 26, 2003)

<span style='font-size: 11pt'>*Yes, well worth the money! This is Branca after being brushed with it....*</span>








[/img]


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

with so many YESs i was reluctant to respond.
i'm pretty sure it depends on the type of coat your dog has...
neither of my dogs are 'typical'...
with one LH and one short/tight coat - the furminator was NOT worth my money.
it works better on Gia than Tilden, but either way its not my "omg tool".

i don't even know where it is currently.


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## foader (Dec 19, 2008)

Love mine. Works really well but follow the directions and I wouldn't let a kid use it on the dog. Also mine came with their waterless shampoo and condition which I tried once on Chewy and it worked very well I'm still looking for regular shampoo for him that makes his coat that soft.


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## DnP (Jul 10, 2008)

I'm another furminator fan. I got a medium one on ebay for $20. Be careful about using it though. I keep to once a week or once every two weeks on dry fur as you can damage the coat. It was a godsend when Phoenix was blowing his undercoat last spring.


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## ragingbullm (Nov 25, 2007)

I am kind of with Camerafodder but probably for a different reason. I have a furminator but I no longer use it. It was the medium size and it just seemed like it was causing too much damage to Jack's fur, like it was cutting his fur rather than grooming out dead stuff. It definitely removes a lot of hair, but I use an undercoat rake, shedding blade, and slicker brush now. If OP wants mine I'd be glad to send it.. It has no use here! no charge of course.. I know I have it somewhere around here 

Oh yeah PS I did read that you are not supposed to groom daily with the Furminator but sometimes you need to groom daily.. I found the rake to be better and it pulls a lot of undercoat out anyway. Jack didn't like the furminator either he'd always get very fidgety when I'd try to groom.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Didn't work for me either. It was okay on my cats, useless on my longcoated dogs. The undercoat rake is much better for both cats and dogs.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

I actually like the Oster rake better for the dogs. I have a smaller furminator, which is wonderful for cats, you can pick out matts on long haired fat cats who can't reach everywhere to groom themselves...

You can overdo grooming with any of these rakes which have razer blade type teeth - and destroy the guard hairs. I know a guy who stripped his dog nearly bald. He said he did not shed much so his wife was happy









Lee


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## sleachy (Aug 10, 2001)

No, I don't like it. I have used it on several different dogs of 3 different breeds and found that it broke off a lot of the outer coat.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

We originally liked the furminator, and have spoken with folks who swear by it, But Clover being a long coat, I find a comb/rake to be much better. We are also using the comb on Max as he grows his hair in thicker.


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Lee - What's an Oster rake? Different than my regular ol' undercoat rake?


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I believe these are the ones Lee is talking about. I refer to these as cutting rakes:










As opposed to what I would call a regular rake:










The cutting rake is useful if you are dealing with matts.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I use a slicker brush and an undercoat rake. Though when I use them on Diva outside, I have to make sure I tell anyone that is coming over that I brushed the dog out there and that it is NOT a dead animal! (I get a pile of hair as big as, or bigger than, the one in the pic of Branka. Only it is black/dark grey since Diva is black. )


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

I think the furminator is worth the money if you don't brush daily or have a coat that responds well to it. Ozzy has a very sleek short coat, it works as well as a regular rake. On Sandi, it does nothing. Large Furminator. Sandi does well with a shedding blade, but it doesn't give a finished look.

I inherited my furminator from my sister when her dog died, it worked very well on her dog, but her dog was also groomed frequently so the soft supple coat may have had nothing to do with the furminator, but the Master Groomer. 

My groomer is not a Master, she is just a pet store (her store) groomer, she doesn't like it. There are groomers out there who will use the furminator on coats, Masters and regular's alike....

I wouldn't spend money to get one personally. A member on here posted about the Greyhound Comb, it is a great little piece. I find animal "things" to be very fad driven. This is the food to feed, this is the vac to own, this is the grooming tool one needs, this is the only toy. The truth is different dogs and owners will be comfortable with different things. I tend to buck the trend. I don't feed jump food whenever a new one comes out, refuse to own a vac based on the word animal before the name or an English gentleman on the commercial and don't believe the hype on the furminator. Because it isn't the best grooming tool for my animals. Others might find it is.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Yes Lauri/Barb - that is the rake I was talking about - you have to be VERY careful and only use it when coat is blowing and not overuse it or you have a bald dog!

The furminator is more like a clipper blade with a handle....which I have used to break matts on cats with forever. 

Lee


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Ok, thanks Laurie and Lee - I'll stick with my 'regular' rake


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## BritneyP (Oct 26, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The GangI have one - want to buy it?
> 
> I think it 'breaks' the coat and won't use it anymore. Not sure what size it is but I can check if you are interested.


Ditto x's 1000.

I thought it was the greatest tool on earth because it took SO MUCH hair off my dog each time I used it, which wasn't every day...

then I met a girl who is a groomer this past spring and one of the first things she said about my dog was, "Do you use a Furminator on him?" I said yes and she told me that was the reason why his coat was so short, broken and brittle on his body, but lush and full on his head. I stopped using it immediately, and by this summer/fall, his coat was full and gorgeous again!









While using Furminator:









Post Furminator use:


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

I received one for Christmas. My pup is 6 months old and I tried it out and the only fur that was removed was black. The pile of Branca's fur looks all light coloured (Bianca has more black on her than my pup). I wonder if I'm using it wrong or if Dakota still has a puppy coat and it is not effective yet.

I took the zoom groom to her this morning and it took off a lot of loose dead fur. I use the zoom groom on my cats and they love it.


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## AndreaG (Mar 3, 2006)

We have one; don't really use it. It does cut if you put ANY pressure on it. Now we just brush with a retractable slicker.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I bought one of these "imitation types" at the fair this summer:
http://www.love2pet.com/love2petgroomingbrush_large.html 
One side is a rake, the other the same as the furminator. I use the rake first to get any tangles out (It seems like the furminator would hurt if there are tangles), and only use the furminator when it looks like he is starting to shed, and definitely when he is completely blowing his coat. 

Before that, I was using the Zoom Groom (by the Kong makers), and that worked really well too, but not as well as the furminator. I still use the ZG sometimes when I don't feel like using the other.

(btw, as for the black only hair, Max didn't get an undercoat until his thyroid was treated)

Sounds like, if used, used in moderation is important here.


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## doxsee (Jun 14, 2007)

I love mine. Got if from Amazon.com for a lot cheaper.


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