Monday, July 14, 2008

Debra - Fur Balls

I'll be the first to admit that I don't get hung up on dog hair. Or cat hair. If you have animals, they shed. Plain and simple.

But here's the thing, if I'm watching television, I shouldn't see an air borne fur tumbleweed waft past in front of the screen. THAT will get my attention. Yes, it happened. I'm not making this up. I'm sitting there minding my own business when a fur ball floated by.

The dog scratched (one time, just a side swipe) and out comes a chunk of hair.

I dialed doggie 911 (my best friend is a Labrador breeder). http://www.seawindlab.combellebody

She said all the cool dog people use the Furminator, which of course she has and is willing to loan me. (There will come a day when I'll have to repay the favor and make bullet-ridden corpses look good but that's a small price to pay to rid myself of fur tumbleweeds.)

The gadget doesn't look impressive. You hold it in your hand and think, "Huh." You wonder how furminator this is going to get rid of hair.

You wonder if the company has over-hyped their product. These things aren't cheap. It does have a heft and a weight to it that feels solid. Feels like quality materials.

But really is it going to do what the pictures say it will? Will you get enough hair out of your dog's coat to knit a sweater?LG_whiteShepard Will it take all day to get that much hair out? Seriously, look at the German Shepherd photo on the right. Doesn't that look like product hype?

I'm here to tell you that while I didn't get quite that much hair off my dog, I was amazed. Thank heavens I did it on the back patio. There was hair everywhere. Oodles of that little fine soft dead hair. No, it didn't look like the dog on the right, but probably only because the wind was blowing it off the deck as fast as I could comb the dog.

My dog doesn't look bald; she just looks less puffy. The Furminator didn't "cut" the hairs. It pulls out all the dead and loose hair.

I rate this product a MUST HAVE. Suffice to say the cats are hiding because they know they are next.

Have you got a fur problem? A solution to living with hairy family members? And have you tried this Furminator??

BY POPULAR DEMAND: Try these places for a Furminator.

Amazon.com
Entirelypets.com
Pets.com
Dog.com
Petsmart.com Petco.com (I bet these places have them in the stores.)

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG, this is EXACTLY what we need.

Sign me up.

Jane said...

We don't have any pets, so no fur problems. I saw a commercial for giant adhesive sheets that you could use to pick up animal hair. They showed the girl in the ad using it on the couch. It looked kind of fun.

Lori said...

We have the Furminator. I absolutely love it! I couldn't live without it. Seriously.

Keri Ford said...

Made by 100% dog hair. Wash cold water with like colors only. Hang to dry.

Come on? Can't you see it?

That is really amazing at the amount of hair that thing pulled off. My mom probably would have been all over that years ago when they had a long-haired dog that came inside during the winter. And then during the summer as she got older.

Helen Brenna said...

OMG, I'm getting one!

With 2 very hairy dogs, this is always and issue at our house. I've been using a shedding blade that people use on horses and it's been good, but this thing looks amazing!

Thanks, DEB!

Anonymous said...

My dogs are Dobermans so you'd think the hair problem would be less. Not so. I must--well, the DH must--swiffer every day to keep ahead of the hair.

So, this looks like something we could definitely use. One question, though. Does it make any noise? At all? My older do is very sensitive to noise.

Christie Ridgway said...

Oh, I SO need this for my yellow lab. I've been complaining about the dog hair for weeks and his also is coming off in chunks. I use a shedding blade, too, but I'll try one of these.

What I really want is something that would not only get the fur off, but capture it in a bag at the same time. Sort of like a vacuum/shedding blade in one.

Michele Hauf said...

Yes! Can you get this in a regular pet store? I'm so on my way, if you can. I have two cats, and yesterday I was just walking through the house picking up 'cat bits'. The one cat seems to drop little clumps like he's putting out cat seeds, or something. I'd love to de-fur them both, as much as possible.
I use a sort of curry-comb thing right now, but it doesn't seem to get very deep.

Unknown said...

I have schnauzers (gloat, gloat) which don't shed. But occasionally a hair or two comes out and I know I ought to brush them more than I do.

Furminator, eh? I may have to check this out! thanks, Deb!

Anonymous said...

I think I need this to use on myself! I shed something awful and I hate it. It's a good thing I have thick, fast-growing hair, but still. *g*

Debra Dixon said...

Helen-- It’s kind of like a shedding blade or a stripping comb but it doesn’t cut the hair. The handle is a good size and grip. I really recommend it.

Candace- No noise. If you can brush your dog, you can furminate him. And that Dobie hair can get everywhere. This would be great.

Debra Dixon said...

Christie--

I also VACUUM my dog. Yep. I started just by rubbing her tummy with one of the small bristled attachments for a week or so.

Then I added the tubes to it. Then I attached those to the vaccuum so it was just sitting there during tummy rubs.

Then I started using the brush all over--tummy, back, sides.

Next I attached everything I had to get distance from the vaccuum and put the vacuum outside a partially shut door.

Started brushing her and then had hubby turn on the power. She jumped but didn't want to give up the tummy rubbing. Then we opened the door.

Now, if you start the vaccuum cleaner up, she's right on top of you waiting for her close up. LOL! You can vacuum dirt and hair off. Love it!

Debra Dixon said...

Michele-- They have sizes for cats too. And if Petsmart and Petco have them in their online stores, I'm betting they have them at the bricks-and-mortar too.


Betina-- No fair! Although I have to say Irish Wolfhounds never shed like this stray does. Husky/German Shepard is just asking for hair balls.

Debra Dixon said...

Tori-- I'm sorry. But I must now hate you. Full, think, fast growing hair. I soooo needed something else to covet today! LOL!

Unknown said...

Deb-- I have mental images of you being attacked by a suction-hungry doggie! What a smart dog trainer you are. If I were your hubby I'd be quaking in my shoes at the thought of your powers!

:) Betina

Michele Hauf said...

Okay, I just ran out for some errands, and the Furminator! Picked it up at PetSmart. $40. Gulp. But I just combed the cat. And I have a pile the size of the cat sitting next to it. It so works! Worth every penny. Two thumbs up. I didn't know my cat had that much hair in it.

Okay, do we so sound like an info-mercial today? :-)

Anonymous said...

The guy I share my home with is a Red Alaskan Husky- fuzz, fur, and hairy stuff is just the beginning. I've looked at these and didn't know how they worked so didn't want to spend the $, but with all this positive feedback one may find it's way to my world.

Anonymous said...

Focus on the fact I shed enough to make a sweater. *g*

catslady said...

Glad to hear someone used it on a cat - I have 6. But only one or two like to be brushed. I have one long haired cat that I'd love to get that thing to use on him. 6 divided into $40 doesn't sound bad lol.

Unknown said...

Deb, what bullet riddled bodies are we talking about?????

Estella said...

I really need this for my five cats!

Anonymous said...

I have two cats and two Shelties. This is on top of my TO DO list for tomorrow. Petsmart, here we come. The dogs LOVE to go shopping. :-)

Thanks for letting us know.

Debra Dixon said...

See? See? Told ya.

My work here is done.