Furminator to the Rescue

So earlier this week, we got an early Christmas gift: a donated Furminator. For those of you not familiar with the tool, it's to help get out loose hair from your pets to reduce the shedding around your home. We applied to the company to get one after the arrival of Teddy the Malamute who was just covered in mats. So here's how the test went tonight:

Teddy: hates it. It could be that just his personality does not permit him to sit still longer than two seconds, but definitely not worth the hassle with him. We'll be calling on Hoof and Woof next week to take care of that bad boy.

Vienna, 8-year-old 38-pound pug/black lab mix: mixed reviews. She liked it for a little while, but then got tired of the brushing. I was astounded at how much fur came off this girl. She's got such incredibly short hair, you would never think so much is just sitting on her. But we both really liked how much shinier her coat now appears. Since she's going to be on TV tomorrow morning (very early), I feel better about how she will look. Perhaps her new shine will get her a new home.

DaVinci, 3-year-old Rottweiler/Malamute mix: Loved it, or maybe it's just the attention he loves. He hasn't been to the groomer in two months, and it showed. We filled an entire grocery bag and then some with his sheddings.

Hannah, 1.5-year-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever: Liked it just fine. Of all the dogs, she tolerated the brushing the best, but that's probably her nature. Hannah remained perfectly still and never balked once at the brushing. We filled a small trash can in my office with her sheddings.

Hemingway, 10-month-old Malamute mix: Hated it, but really, it's probably his puppy ADD that is the problem. I gave up after about 10 minutes of trying. I'll have to get him his own appointment for grooming soon.

So, that's how the dogs fared. Here are my thoughts:

1. The handle needs to be longer. Granted, most people won't be brushing for two hours or longer like I have to do for multiple pets, but my hands still hurt right now. The constant motion I have to use to get the fur real well hurt my wrist a bit.

2. I did not anticipate how much of the fur would stick to myself. I got up off the floor and my red scrubs were covered in black and white fur. The static from the fur also was sticking to the dogs, so I was having to run my hands over them to grab the loose stuff. Given the amount of fur left on my floor and the amount which I inhaled, I almost wonder if this might be a chore better suited for the outdoors.

While the dogs' coats (those that allowed the full grooming) do look better, I really have no way to tell if it helps with the shedding around the house. If there were ever a fur donation program for hairless pets, we could outfit an army of them from what I sweep up every day.