deShedding Tool by Furminator

Dog Grooming Review - A Merryvaluation

by Angie McKaig 

Oh, pugs are so cute. They have such short hair.

If you've never met a pug before, I bet you think they're all easy to care for and practically shed-free, right?

Oh, silly reader - that's where you'd be totally wrong. Because pugs are whirling dervishes of shed. They create entire tumbleweeds of cream colored hair everywhere you turn. They save up extra piles of the stuff for the moment you've finished cleaning the floors and furniture, or the moment when you're about to walk out the door wearing black, and then they unleash their scary pounds of fur all over. And I mean all over.

Most grooming brushes are a nightmare with their tiny short hairs. I've met one or two that are almost worth it, but still, it's always been an uphill battle.

Until I fell in love. With the Furminator.

It sounds like a funny name. You may gasp at the price compared to other grooming brushes. But I'm here to tell you:

I'm never going to use another brush on the pug again as long as we both shall live.

This brush was a revelation. It easily doubled or tripled the amount of fur I could pull off the pug in a single grooming session, thereby reducing the amount of pug tumbleweed running around the house afterwards. The product is billed as something that helps to:

       Remove the dead undercoat

Not damage the top coat

       Reduce shedding by up to 90%

It does all that, and how. You can completely see how it pulls out the undercoat; it's a different texture and color than the top coat. But it left Merry with a smooth and glossy top coat. And yes, she sheds less as long as I keep up with the tool at least once a week.

You can see in the third and fourth pictures how much came off the pug in a single, simple, five minute grooming session. And frankly, we tried it on our long haired kitty, and it pulls off BAGFULS of her hair every time we groom her, which saves my clothes (and my allergies!). I can imagine that on a long haired dog it would be nothing short of miraculous.

Keep in mind the brush won't work for every breed - cat or dog. The Furminator web site has lists of which breeds and which breeds can't use the brush.

One caveat: these grooming sessions can get messy. Because its focus is on pulling out dead overcoat, a fair amount of static cling builds up in the dead hairs as they're being removed. And that means they stick - to everything. Your clothes, the floor, your hands, the dog, and anything else that wanders by. My suggestion: dress lightly (shorts and a tank top work best, since the hair has a harder time sticking to your legs than to, say, a pair of yoga pants), and grab big handfuls of hair and roll them between your hands to make a rolled up ball of hair, thereby neutralizing the "static" to some extent.

But honestly, this mess is totally worth it. Think of the mess you're saving yourself later on.

Hands down, four paws (well, actually eight since the cat gets a go with the brush weekly too) down, the best grooming product we've ever tried.

If you have a shedfest in your house, and you don't have this product yet, you are seriously missing out. Go right now. Buy buy. Thank me later.