The Furminator

[Bassetluv]

First of all, I have to say the name of this product sounds like something out of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. But that aside, I'm wondering...for those of you who have one, are they as fantastic as the ads make them out to be?

I'm considering purchasing one on ebay and just wanted some feedback on their performance first. Out of my two rabbits, one cat and one dog, the dog and Yofi (who else?) are shedding as though the Earth had moved 20 degrees closer to the sun, and they're in a bidding war to see who will lose the most fur first. Because of the way he's shedding, right now Yofi looks like he's wearing a furry pair of bunny undershorts (I'd take a pic but my camera's out of commission at the moment). And my dog...when she shakes the entire room winds up coated in Kaya-fur.

Both of them have thick dense undercoats, which I've heard the Furminator can remove quite well. So now I'd just love to hear from those who have one...how do you find it works on your rabbit? And what size did you get for your bunny...the smallest (purple) one? Or would a medium blue size be better for a rabbit of Yofi's densitosity? (hehe, okay, not a real word)

 

[Pet_Bunny]

I tested several brushes and found the Furminator the best. The small blue or small purple one is what most people are getting. The size lets you comb around things easier (you could probably do it with a larger size, but I haven't tried it).

Here is the link when I bought the Furminator on Ebay.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=39934&forum_id=5&jump_to=526671#p526671



This is the seller I bought it from. Looks like the price went up, and the exchange rate is higher too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/FURminator-Small-Blue-Dog-DeShedding-Tool-Brush-Rake-2_W0QQitemZ110301032166QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item110301032166&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[Bassetluv]

Okay, thank you! I'm waiting to hear back from a seller to see if he/she ships to Canada, as they have one for a pretty good price. Mind you it's the smallest size (the purple one) but if it will do the job, then that's all that matters. Yofi has been shedding up a storm since this spring; not sure why. Anna shed in the spring and then stopped, and now she is just barely starting to shed again. But Yofi's been shedding an entirely different way; while Anna molted all over and then was done, Yofi's is continuous and seems to be moving slowly down his body...right now he looks like he's wearing pants, as he has a molt line around his rear and the fur is thicker on his hind end. It's the fine undercoat that has been getting everywhere, and that's what I find so hard to remove. I have a wire dog brush but it's too harsh to use on Yofi...even my dog doesn't like it, and I brush her gently.

If this works out well on Yofi I'll probably buy a bigger one for my dog. I swear, sometimes it looks like an animal walked into the house and exploded, the hair is so thick and gets into everything!

Thanks again Pet_bunny!

 

[kherrmann3]

I, sadly, don't have the "Furminator", but I did get a "Shed-Ender". I don't think the Shed Ender works very well on bunnies. I have heard good things about the Furminator, though.

 

[Jenk]

Honestly, my bunnies don't like to sit still long enough for me to use the Furminator to its best advantage. I spent $30 (or $35?) on it and still use the Zoom-Groom more, since it loosens much fur.

Jenk

 

[Bassetluv]

Oh, I'm fortunate with Yofi...he will lie back and take it all in if he thinks he's getting a massage (or any kind of attention). Anna tends to be a bit jumpy, but I'm still able to control her enough to brush her coat. The only area that both of them hate having touched is their bellies - then they both turn into furry jumping beans! LOL (I swear Yofi is saying with every twitch, "NOT the belly!! NOT the belly!!")

 

[tiabia0]

I have the furminator. I spent $30-$35 on it. Out of all of the brushes I've tried I feel that this one works the best and definitely takes less time because it removes more hair, quicker. My rabbits don't sit still well when it comes time to brush them but I sit in a small area where they can't get through so they pretty much have to sit still

I feel that it's worth what I paid for it. The only thing is you must be gentle with it because it is sharp. Rabbits have very thin skin and it can easily tear so you just have to press gently. In this video you can see he doesn't push too hard and it still removes a ton of hair!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOr3laZENGg[/ame]

 

[JadeIcing]

Jenk wrote:

Honestly, my bunnies don't like to sit still long enough for me to use the Furminator to its best advantage. I spent $30 (or $35?) on it and still use the Zoom-Groom more, since it loosens much fur.

Jenk

I wish I could spend that on one. I need one bad.

 

[RexyRex]

I have the blue furminator and I LOVE it! The medium works for my bunnies and they are all pretty small (3.5-6lbs). I got the medium so I could use it on my dogs too. I think that it's worth the money.

 

[Leaf]

They are well worth the money spent to buy..

 

[Bassetluv]

Thanks for the input everyone!

tiabia, I'm wondering about the issue with the teeth being sharp...I have a dog slicker brush that has sharp metal teeth and won't use it on the rabbits because it's just too sharp for their skin. Looks something like this one:

I still use it on my dog, but even on her I have to be careful and use very gentle strokes because the tips are just so sharp. This is one reason why I was curious about the Furminator. (I also have a wire slicker brush that looks like a horse slicker tool...metal teeth in a curved loop, but the hair flies everywhere when I use it; very irritating, and it's too big for the rabbits.)

So on the Furminator, would you know if the teeth are any less sharp than a slicker brush? Yofi in particular has extremely sensitive skin, moreso than Anna. The video is quite impressive in showing undercoat removal, I must say!

 

[Jenk]

JadeIcing wrote:

I wish I could spend that on one. I need one bad.

I wish that I hadn't spent that much on mine, especially since other forum members have had obtained them for much less using a coupon. And trust me...With me not yet earning a paycheck (since Jan. '08) and nearly $8K spent on one year's worth of vet care (for two buns and one cat), hubby and I are sitting very tightly in the present....

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Bassetluv wrote:

would you know if the teeth are any less sharp than a slicker brush?

That's the good thing about the Furminator. You can use less pressure or gentle strokes and it will still pull out the hairs. You will get use to how hard you want to rake out thefur.

The slicker brush, is merely a brush. It doesn't get under the layers of fur that the Furminator does.

The FurBuster is verysimilar to the Furminator but not as effective. Get the Furminator. I tried the FurBuster and returned it at Petsmartthe next day (they have a 30 day return policy). If you want me to explain the difference, just ask.

The ShredEnder is like a metal comb. It just combs the hair and the handle gets in the way.

I use both the Furminator and Zoom Groom brush when I brush my bunnies now. I also have the vacuum running to catch all the loose hairs. My ShredEnder sits on the shelf unused.

It's what works best for you as they are just tools.

 

[gentle giants]

Jenk wrote:

JadeIcing wrote:

I wish I could spend that on one. I need one bad.

I wish that I hadn't spent that much on mine, especially since other forum members have had obtained them for much less using a coupon.

How do you get a coupon?? I would love to have one, but I can't afford to spend $30 dang bucks on a brush, either.

 

[Bassetluv]

Yes, I decided to go with the Furminator after all (just waiting for the seller to let me know shipping cost). It was $15.00 U.S., not too bad a price for the medium size.

I saw a Youtube video where someone was comparing the Furminator to the Shedender, and the Furminator did look better. It seemed to pull more undercoat loose, and the way the handle was on the Shedender, the person said it's more awkward to use.

I'm glad to hear that less pressure is needed with it too; good to know! Thanks Pet_bunny...

 

[Bassetluv]

The seller just got back to me and shipping is $6.99. So in total the brush is costing me $22.00 U.S. Not too bad I guess, as I looked it up online and in a couple of Canadian websites it was $35.99 (U.S. - even tho it was a Cdn website) before shipping charges. It was much more on other websites...and a used one was selling for $40.00 on Kijiji. The one I purchased is a small size apparently, it's the one with the blue handle. I'll be happy when it gets here!

 

[Pet_Bunny]

gentle giants wrote:

How do you get a coupon??

You could checksome online stores. These are only goodin the U.S.

http://www.1-coupons.com/

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Bassetluv wrote:

So in total the brush is costing me $22.00 U.S.

It pays to shop around.

I ended up paying around $27.00 CAN from Ebay.

The Petsmart store in town charges $43.00 CAN + tax.

 

[mouse_chalk]

I got a Furminator! I can't remember exactly but I think we paid about £20ish, which is about twice that in US dollars (actually maybe slightly less than double).

I don't regret the cost for one minute! Barney was in such a terrible molt then and I literally got handfuls and handfuls off of him with it. I could have made another bunny! He seemed to quite like it as well and tooth-purred through it...

Honestly- the Furminator is the best grooming tool ever. I've not tried them all, but I don't need to, because the Furminator is all I need!

I should be their spokesperson or something lol...

 

[Star and Stone Rabbitry]

I work at the local pet shop and I am supposed to try and sell as many Furminator's as I can. I can honestly say that I would even if I didn't have to! It's amazing. I got the medium one for Stone and it's like magic. It takes everything out, plus a lot more that you didn'teven knowwas there.

I didn't know that you could use it on rabbits until I tried it this summer at the 4-H show. And it worked just as good =) And now it's what I will continually use.

lol I guess I'm lucky. I get 40% discounts, so I got my Furminator for about $20

-Tiff