FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool for Dogs Review

FURminator • Dog Grooming • What it is built for and who it suits

Reduces shedding up to 90%. Stainless steel deShedding edge reaches through topcoat to safely remove loose hair and undercoat.

What it is built for

Reduces shedding up to 90%

Stainless steel edge

FURejector button

Multiple sizes

What to check before buying

Expensive for a brush

Can irritate skin if overused

Not for all coat types

How we scored it

Effectiveness: 10/10 · Build Quality: 9/10 · Value for Money: 8/10 · Ease of Use: 9/10

These are our own scores for the things that can be judged from the specification, the materials and how the product is built. They are not Amazon's customer rating.

What a deshedding tool actually does

A deshedding tool is not a brush. It has a fine-toothed stainless steel blade that passes through the topcoat and pulls loose undercoat out from beneath it.

That distinction explains both why it works so well and every problem people have with it. A slicker brush teases out loose hair near the surface. This reaches the dense, wooly undercoat that double-coated dogs shed in volume — the hair that ends up in drifts on your floor.

If your dog does not have an undercoat, you do not need this tool and should not use it.

Which coats it suits, and which it damages

This is the most important section on the page, because used on the wrong coat this tool causes real damage.

Works well on: double-coated breeds with a dense undercoat — German Shepherds, Labradors, Huskies, Malamutes, Corgis, Golden Retrievers, Australian Shepherds, and most northern and herding breeds. These are the dogs that "blow coat" seasonally.

Do not use on:

Single-coated breeds — Poodles, Maltese, Yorkshires, Shih Tzus, Afghan Hounds. There is no undercoat to remove, so the blade cuts and thins the coat the dog needs.

Wire-coated breeds — many terriers, Schnauzers. Wire coats are hand-stripped, and a blade tool ruins the texture.

Curly and continuously growing coats, for the same reason.

The "reduces shedding up to 90%" claim

Read that as marketing shorthand for "removes a great deal of loose undercoat in one session", not as a measured, sustained reduction in how much your dog sheds. The dog still sheds. What changes is that the hair ends up in the tool rather than on your sofa, and only for as long as you keep using it.

That is still genuinely valuable — it is the difference between vacuuming daily and vacuuming weekly during a coat blow. It is just not the same as the number implies.

How to use it without hurting the dog

Over-use is the main way this tool causes harm. The hair keeps coming, so people keep going, and past a certain point you are working the blade against skin.

1. Brush out tangles first with a slicker or a comb. Never start with the deshedding tool.

2. Work on a dry, clean coat. Wet undercoat clumps and pulls.

3. Short strokes in the direction of hair growth, never against it, never in circles.

4. Light pressure. The blade does the work. Pressing harder does not remove more hair, it just drags on skin.

5. A few passes over any one area, then move on. Do not work one patch until nothing comes out.

Never shave a double coat

Worth saying because people reach for clippers when shedding gets bad. A double coat insulates against heat as well as cold, and the undercoat is what does it. Shaving it removes that insulation, exposes skin to sunburn, and in many dogs the coat grows back patchy or with a permanently altered texture.

Deshedding is the correct answer to a hot, shedding double-coated dog. Clipping is not.

Sizing and the eject button

Sizes are matched to the dog's size and coat length. Too wide a blade on a small dog is unwieldy and hard to keep flat against the skin; too narrow on a large dog makes the job take forever. Long-hair and short-hair versions differ in tooth length — the long-hair version is for coats where the blade needs to pass further through the topcoat.

The eject button clears the packed hair from the blade with a push. It is a small thing that makes the tool much more pleasant to use, and it is the main reason people prefer the branded versions to cheap copies.

Frequently asked questions

Which dogs should not use a deshedding tool?

Single-coated breeds like Poodles, Maltese and Yorkshires, wire-coated breeds like many terriers and Schnauzers, and any curly or continuously growing coat — there is no undercoat to remove, so the blade cuts and thins the coat the dog needs. Never use one on a matted coat either.

How often should I use it?

Once a week for most double-coated dogs, two or three times a week during a seasonal coat blow. Ten to twenty minutes per session, then stop even if hair is still coming. Daily use is too much for any dog and is the main way this tool causes skin irritation.

Does it really reduce shedding by 90%?

Read that as shorthand for removing a lot of loose undercoat in one session, not a measured sustained reduction. The dog still sheds — the hair ends up in the tool rather than on your sofa, and only while you keep using it. That is genuinely useful, just not what the number implies.

Can I use it on a matted dog?

No. Dragging a deshedding blade into a mat pulls against the skin and hurts. Cut or tease mats out first with a comb and mat splitter, and take a badly matted dog to a groomer.

Should I shave my double-coated dog in summer instead?

No. A double coat insulates against heat as well as cold, and the undercoat is what does it. Shaving removes that insulation, exposes skin to sunburn, and often grows back patchy or with an altered texture. Deshedding is the correct answer; clipping is not.

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