Is the Furminator Good For Dogs? An In-Depth Review

A good grooming brush was one of the first things we bought before we brought our pup home. Never having owned a dog before, we weren’t sure what type to get but after doing some research, we decided on the Furminator.

There are a couple of different Furminator brushes available, including ones for short haired and long haired dogs. Our dog’s fur is on the shorter side so we opted for the former.

The brushes aren’t cheap. They go for about $30-40 depending on the model but we figured it’d be worth it if it prevents our pup from shedding like crazy.

So…was the Furminator brush worth it in the end? Keep reading to find out!

The Furminator DeShedding Brush – First Impressions

Just from picking up the brush, you can tell it’s made of quality materials. It definitely feels a lot more durable compared to some of the cheaper pet grooming brushes out there. The handle curves nicely around your fingers, which makes it easy to hold and there are also grippy dots that prevent it from slipping in your hands.

The FURejector button is also conveniently located at the top, which makes it easy to press with your thumb. It doesn’t require much force to press down either so you won’t have to worry about hurting your finger!

The stainless steel DeShedding Blade is also a nice thickness. It’s sharp enough so that it grabs our dog’s loose undercoat hair but not sharp to the point where it would hurt his skin.

*Note: Our Furminator DeShedding Brush (the one pictured in this post) is from 2013 and will look different from the current model. However, the main features are the same.

Is the Furminator Easy to Use?

The Furminator was the first deshedding brush we ever used and we’ve never had any issues with it. What we do is we gently glide the brush along our pup’s back (or wherever we’re brushing) and the loose hair in his undercoat will gradually accumulate on the blade.

After a few strokes, the blade will pretty much be completely covered with fur. At that point, you just press the FURejector button and the loose hair will come right off. We highly recommend putting it in a plastic baggie for easy disposal as things can quickly get messy if you leave the loose fur on the floor!

Is the Furminator DeShedding Brush Effective?

We got the DeShedding model as opposed to the simple grooming rake, which is designed to minimize shedding by removing loose undercoat hair without damaging the top coat.

Does it completely prevent our dog from shedding? No. But it does minimize the amount of hair that would otherwise end up on our carpet and sofas. Our dog blows his coat aka gets rid of his undercoat twice a year and regular brushing during those periods really helps to keep the shedding at bay.

You can tell the Furminator brush is effective because loose hair will be everywhere once you start brushing.

Will the Furminator Damage My Dog’s Coat?

If you’ve looked into the Furminator, you’ve probably read that it’s bad for your dog’s coat. We also heard that when we were doing our research!

And that can be true – if you mis-use the brush. It does have a metal blade, after all.

We were also a bit worried about damaging our dog’s coat the first few times we used the Furminator but we quickly realized it’s safe as long as you use it properly.

It’s also super important that you don’t overuse the brush as that can damage the top coat. Ideally, you should only be using the Furminator once or twice a week (maybe more often if your dog is currently blowing their coat).

Using the Furminator DeShedding Brush Properly

The most important thing to remember when using the Furminator is to be gentle. Remember, the goal is to remove loose hair not scratch the skin!

This means using gentle pressure when gliding the brush across your dog’s coat. Don’t press down too hard; you don’t want to turn the Furminator into a weapon.

Is the Furminator DeShedding Brush Worth the Price?

You might be thinking, “I can just get a cheaper brush” and that’s true, but it probably won’t be as durable as the Furminator.

To put things into perspective, we purchased our Furminator brush back in 2013 when we first brought our dog home and even with regular use over the past 12+ years, it still looks pretty much the same as day one.

As long as you keep the stainless steel blade dry in between brushing sessions (which you should be) there shouldn’t be any rust. We haven’t experienced any issues with the handle degrading or the FURejector button getting jammed either.

So for us, the Furminator DeShedding Brush has been well worth the price. It cost us about $40 and has lasted over 12 years (and counting)! As long as your dog doesn’t think it’s a chew toy, it should last for many years.

Overall

We’d highly recommend the Furminator DeShedding Brush if your dog has a double coat. Just make sure to get the right type for your pup (short-haired vs long-haired model), be gentle when brushing, and it should do the job well.