how do i know that the coat does need anymore grooming i use a FURminator it works great but i don't know when i have taken enough fur off

Do a search for furminator on here. I believe members have mixed reviews (I don't use it) due to it cutting the coat..

Personally I just brush or use a wide toothed comb and pull the tufts of fur as they appear.

I brush my dogs just to the point you feel the fur is soft and nice again...that's enough....
I do it sometimes once a day,sometimes once a few days

and u don't have to brush for an hour of course,just a few times everythere

I don't like the furminator brush but as far as brushing goes..I use a angled wire slicker brush. I brush my boy every other day, religiously for about 15-20 minutes. A little bit everywhere, I spend the most time in the thigh area.

me too, i brush Leo for about 10-20 minutes every day if he looks like he needs it or every few of days. i usually feel for the fur to be soft and not to mush fur comes out when your brushing. i use a jw undercoat rake brush and comb. i use the furminator  to collect any loose fur that's left on him.

We brush every day using an undercoat rake and a comb-never a FUrminator. I go all over until I'm sure there are no matts hiding. We usually do short sessions, just 20 minutes at a time.

I don't think you can brush "too much" with a northern breed. You can brush all day and hair will keep coming

I used to used the Furminator on my previous Husky, it does get rid of the hair but it also cuts to close to the skin. The breeder recommends a slicker brush or JW's two size wire comb that I bought. It has 2 different lengths and apparently works amazing. http://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-GripSoft-Shedding/dp/B0002AQQ0G

The things you need to be aware of if you brush to often and to hard you can irritate the skin and get what groomers call brush burn. This is more an issue if you push hard or brush for a really long time.
But a little bit every day is fine. I keep an eye on Simon's pants(back of his back legs) they gett a little bunchy if it's been to long and then I make a point to brush him.
But Simon also gets a full groom every 2 months.