i just bought one but people say its bad for the skin etc. what do you guys use for grooming and bathing cause i have a white husky and she gets dirty quick. i usually use a wet towel and just clean her but she doesnt look as white as if i would bathe her.

Hey!

I used to use a furminator but I saw that its scratches her skin and yanks the hair out.. which drives her crazy. But i used a Oatmeal Shampoo for her. it helps repel dirt and it helps her skin as well! she tends to like the feeling of it as well, so she is pretty calm when i bathe her! try it i bought it at petsmart!

genesis32 wrote:

Hey!

I used to use a furminator but I saw that its scratches her skin and yanks the hair out.. which drives her crazy. But i used a Oatmeal Shampoo for her. it helps repel dirt and it helps her skin as well! she tends to like the feeling of it as well, so she is pretty calm when i bathe her! try it i bought it at petsmart!

You are right. because i used the furminator yesterday and it even hurt me lol how the hair felt like it was pulling them out of the skin. so i just started brushing them . imma try that oatmeal shampoo

Apparently the Furminator is a razor of sorts and the problem is that it cuts the fur off of a Husky, who have the thick undercoat unlike a lot of dogs. I don't know if it is bad across the board for all dogs, but from what I've seen the consensus around here is that it isn't good for a Husky's coat density.

I recently inquired about grooming tools to a member who has show Huskies and working Huskies and the way to go is a high velocity dryer, but as far as brushing tools a slicker, an undercoat rake, and a pin brush is perfect for a Husky.

I was initially seduced by the Furminator too but after reading up on them here and asking around we went with the 3 brush combo above and it definitely is more gentle. Now I just need to learn how to use the rake.

The rake does wonders (as long as your dog is still young and comfortable with being brushed!). Shaqua's grumpy with brushing, but that is completely my fault for not getting her more used to it when she was younger.

My pup doesn't mind it as of right now He's not blowing coat yet though.

To this day I still don't know what's the fuzz about the Furminator.

I use it and maybe I'm doing it wrong but don't see where Meeka is hurt, don't see any pulling, etc.

Although I will say this much, her coat is still not the normal husky adult coat yet. Maybe that explains it...I don't know.

It doesn't seem that people necessarily imply that it hurts the dog or causes pain, it's more the specific way in which it removes the undercoat and/or guard hairs. The difference of course being cutting or slicing rather than pulling or grabbing.

My big issue with the Furminator is this- most of us know better than to shave our Siberians, but we consider using a sheering razor on a fixed handle to groom? I don't think that makes a lot of sense. The Furminator blade is a 40 blade grooming sheer, that is the same sheer a vet will use to shave prep surgical sites- And they want you to believe it is a good tool. The truth is that the blade does cut the guard hair which causes irreparable damage to the function of the coat.

I second the high velocity drier....amazing. Not just for show dogs!

I use a slicker brush, rake, and combs. Combs are amazing...and flea combs are great to smooth out the furry butt chaps(yes I call them furry butt chaps).

I also love my High Velocity Dryer, I have a K9II and I don't even know how I lived with 3 huskies before it! I used to have 2 furminators and I hate them, they rip out the guard hairs and don't even get the undercoat.

Another high-velocity dryer fan, here. It's an amazing tool when used on the dogs. It also has a ton of other uses around the house.

I used to use the Furminator, but I too noticed it pulling out guard hairs. It's been in storage since.

I've used the Furminator for 5 years on Nara and Paw Paw and haven't seen any damage done. It doesn't irritate them or their skin or fur. They look forward to it almost as a soothing massage. If it was hurting them or damaging their coat, I would've noticed and stopped using it immediately.

But for Beowulf, his coat is too thick and the Furminator doesn't work at all, so I had to get a rake with the wide spaces between the teeth, and that works great for him.

So I think it all depends on the individual dog and their style of fur. When I was a new dog owner, I tried all of the various styles of brushes, and none of them worked as well as the Furminator.

I use oneD(that should have said USED! I use a Kong Zoom Groom now!) on Kennedy, and I tried it ONCE on Sheba. She literally squealed in pain and it was literally ripping her hair out. I did one stroke and I will never do it ever again. Furminators are not meant for double coated breeds. Sorry, but they aren't.

An undercoat rake is the most amazing tool ever..along with a HVD. It may take a little bit more time, but who cares. If time really matters, a husky may be the wrong breed of choice.

the furminator works fine on my boy's coat, and doesn't take out the guard hairs. I use a combo of the furminator and a slicker brush... on both him and the cat!

I found this awhile ago on how to groom a dog, Using the main simple tools- And I think it is great! So, I will post it for anyone to read and learn about if they wish

http://espinay.com/grooming.cfm

thanks... that's a great link!

Quote :

what do you guys use for grooming and bathing cause i have a white husky and she gets dirty quick.

I'd also like to add that being a husky, you really wont need to bathe her that much. I take Karli to the dog park, she gets all muddy, I take her home, put her in her kennel, and an hour later she's dry and clean. Then I clean out the kennel. There really is no need to bathe a husky very often at all. I bought puppy shampoo when we first got her, but have only used it once.

cinnamonbits wrote:

I take her home, put her in her kennel, and an hour later she's dry and clean.

I wish I was that lucky. My two pups take hours to dry, even with me toweling them off. I can't wait till my birthday when I can ask for a HV dryer.

i purchased the large dog long hair FurMinator. It was a god send for our house, my husky Koda loves it, she enjoys when we use it on her and shows no signs of coat damage or discomfort, we use the same one on our beagle mix that has wirey hair. We have also used it on 5 different cats that all loved it. Mine just pulls the dead hair out with out cutting any.

I got the long hair furminator and it does a pretty good job. I found with light pressure and angling the handle downward (parallel or towrds the dogs body) there were no guard hairs cut. If I brush with the handle upwards (angled away from the dogs body) then i'd get lots of cut hair.

The Furminator is NOT a razor. Run it down a strand of your own hair, it will NOT cut it. I use it on my girls all the time, does it look like their coats are damaged? The BIGGEST mistakes people is pressing to hard with the Furminator. You don't have to press hard. Just lightly brush the dog. It will remove the loose undercoat very easily. The other mistake people make is they KEEP brushing! I only use it a few mins each day or every other day during non coat blowing seasons.

It actually IS a blade. There are so many tools out there that do the job better without the need for such a harsh tool. And they don't cost $60+

It isn't a cutting blade.  It doesn't cut hair.  It's not a cutting blade.  I have been using one for a long time.

I don't like the furminator. I felt like it did rip hair but thats just me. I however think whatever works for you is fine! It just didn't work for maggie.