Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing tool with "rotating pins" works well for our golden!
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2021
[Picture of our golden's back leg/hind quarters to compare left side after one session with this tool.]
Holy smokies, this Furminator tool is AMAZING! We had the old version with the flat, close-in pins (for long-haired dogs), and while it worked, our dog wanted nothing to do with it.
I broke this out of the packaging, let him sniff it, went to work on his coat, and was immediately impressed by how well this worked--without needing to add pressure or tug at tangles!
*PROS:
- Easy to use (again, without adding pressure)
- The "rotating" pins really seemed to help move tool smoothly through the coat (no catching and pulling hair to cause discomfort)
- Works on mats and smaller tangles with little effort (might have to start at the bottom for the bigger ones)
- Pins are long enough to get through our golden's coat and massage his skin
- Rounded pin tips prevented discomfort from scrapes and scratches
- One tool does it all for us! Brushing, massage, deshedding...
*BONUS: He was wagging his tail and staying still while I went to work, even when I attacked his neck/chest beard and ears! I collected handful after handful of undercoat after what I considered a long and successful brushing just 2-3 days earlier.
*CON: The tool helped loosen the hair so well that small clumps of undercoat would literally fly into the air (rather than bunch up *on him* at the end of my stroke, as happened when using other brushes/combs). I think I got even more hair on me than usual (and my black pants--because aren't goldens only supposed to be brushed when you're wearing dark colors? 😜), but I'm okay with this.
What we tried before:
- wire slicker brush: Worked well, especially with any matted hair, but he really didn't like the wire bristles. Great with tangles, but I'd have to be really careful not to apply too much pressure or I could scratch or puncture him (or myself).
- Furminator rake: With this tool (got one specifically for long-haired dogs), I never really got why Furminator was so positively regarded. For the most part it just semed to catch and *pull* at his hair (the pins were so closely set!). I had to apply extra pressure to get to the undercoat, which doggo didn't like (it could/would scrape his skin), but it got the job done. Overall it was too cumbersome to use regularly, but I kept it in an attempt to be a responsible golden retriever dog owner (even if I didn't use it).
- combo plastic bristle + pin brush: This was our go-to tool (until now, heh heh heh!). Our doggo liked/tolerated this one well. Any increased pressure made the pins massage his skin harder (without causing discomfort), while the bristles caught the loose hairs/undercoat. Unfortunately, it did NOT do well with mats or any small knots/tangles, so I'd break out the wire slicker (above) for those sessions.
