# Please help! I think I brushed too much of my golden retriever's undercoat/hair



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

It's not permanent and his hair will grow back. My hubby did the same thing to one of our dogs when he was about 7. It grew back, but it took a while. We threw our Furminator out after that.


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## BajaOklahoma (Sep 27, 2009)

It will grow back.
The furminator basically has a razor blade between the tines, so the tines pull some of the loose coat out and the blade cuts the coat.
I tossed mine too. I have a "rake" and a comb.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Yes, there is such a thing as too much Furminator. That happened once to my Bridge Kid, Maggie. I learned from that to use a light hand and only on the areas where you can actually see the undercoat shedding out, like on sides of the rump. I never use it on his back, chest or tail.

IMO, the one thing to remember is, a Furminator is a grooming tool, not a brush.


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

I use the Furminator on Ky because as you can see from this pic she actually blows her entire coat, top and undercoat twice a year. This pic is how it comes out on it's own, I use the furminator on the places that take the longest to finish like her throat area.
I would never use it on Bentley's coat. I use a pin brush and a rake brush for him.

Take heart though, even though Ky goes down to skin and baby fuzz her entire summer coat grows in very quickly. Relax and breath


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

I used to use a Furminator and thought it was awesome. Then I got a job in a boarding/grooming salon and my coworker said using a Furminator is pretty much just like taking a blade for the shearers across your dog. It pulls out good hair, not just dead.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## cannonfields (Apr 3, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the replies, I feel a lot better about everything. I will just be patient and wait for it to grow back, and in the future, only use the furminator in the places he needs it most, and use a pin brush everywhere else thats needed. Thanks again!


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Dump the furminator. I groom and I do not use one even on dogs that come in mid-shed. It just breaks and ruins topcoat.

All you really need is a soft pin slicker brush, a pin comb, and a metal flea comb. Use the slicker to line brush starting at the rear of the dog and get out most of the shedding hair. Then use the pin comb over the whole body. It will slide through the coat when you have removed the dead hair. I like the flea comb for pulling out shedding undercoat.

When they get to the point where the coat is starting to blow I also do a shedding bath. Brush the dog out, then shampoo and rinse, and then put a whole bottle of cheap cream rinse (like Wella Balsalm or whatever cheap no name you can buy) and work it into the coat. Let it sit for five minutes and then rinse with fairly high pressure. The dead hair globs up and rinses out. Dry with a force dryer (or a vacuum on blower setting) and you will blast out more of the dead coat. gets the shedding misery over!


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I live in SC also. I hated the Furminator. I only used it twice and did not like what I saw it doing to Luke's coat. 

Luke has a beautiful coat and grooming him only takes me about five to 10 minutes a day (well, and a bath every two weeks. He loves bath time.) I use an undercoat rake and a slicker brush.

The undercoat rake works perfectly for removing loose hair that is shedding. There's no need to be rough with it either. 

By doing this every day on our porch, Luke's hair isn't a problem in the house at all. He also has hardly any matting because I nip them in the bud.


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## Deber (Aug 23, 2011)

When our two goldens were babes, I was at Petsmart and a family brought in their golden who looked like he had been tossed into a blender! Found out they had been using the furminator on him and realized too late they had cut the coat in places down to the skin. That poor dog was bald in places and all the guard hairs on his back were gone. He looked horrible and all Petsmart could suggest was to shave him and let him regrow. I found out then that the furminator was a "tool" not a brush and should be used very sparingly and only in areas that you know you can get the undercoat out without cutting the guard hairs. My two didn't need this, and I am a klutz, so decided to never use. 

But coat is coat and it will regrow, but the guard hairs sure grow back slowly!


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## AUSTIN2U (Jul 12, 2012)

I have used the furminator on Jaxon (14 months) a couple of times. It did remove a lot of the undercoat but it seem to dull his coat. I just received an Oster rake and used it on him. LOVE IT! Jaxon also enjoyed me using it on him. Took out TONS of undercoat. Highly recommend it. Got a good deal on Amazon


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## hockeybelle31 (Jun 7, 2012)

Is there a difference between the rake and a shedding blade? As in, do I need both? Is the rake better than the blade?


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

hockeybelle31 said:


> Is there a difference between the rake and a shedding blade? As in, do I need both? Is the rake better than the blade?


Big difference! There's a bit of a terminology overlap in some tools, I've found, but when I say "rake," I mean something like this that doesn't have any blade involved whatsoever. 

To me, that is hands down the most important tool for a pet person who's not cutting their dog's hair themselves. Going over your dog once a week with that type of rake will pull out the dead undercoat without damaging the guard hairs. The first time you use it, you typically get a spectacular amount of undercoat out of there. Regular use will keep ears and pants from matting and will also help the coat perform its heat regulation function more effectively, particularly in the summer when the free flow of air through the undercoat is so important.

I like to go over the dog with the rake and then follow up with a quick cleanup with the slicker brush to grab the stray hair. If I do that every week or two, they _never_ have mats, stinky coat, or hot spots. 

I own a shedding blade like this, but it seems to scrape at the guard hair without pulling free the dead undercoat effectively. I bet I could learn to use it better, but the rake really does wonderfully for us.

I don't use anything with a blade (including the furminator) when I'm just looking to get undercoat as part of regular maintenance for health. I use straight and thinning shears if I'm actually trying to cut the coat, and so far I've only ever done feet and ears that way.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

To the OP - sounds like you overdid it with the furminator and damaged/cut the guard coat. Fortunately, hair grows back and you haven't done anything permanent. It can take a while for the guard coat to restore itself, as it grows much more slowly than the undercoat, but it'll come back to normal. From now on, I'd drop the furminator and just use a rake and slicker.


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## hockeybelle31 (Jun 7, 2012)

tippykayak said:


> Big difference! There's a bit of a terminology overlap in some tools, I've found, but when I say "rake," I mean something like this that doesn't have any blade involved whatsoever.
> 
> To me, that is hands down the most important tool for a pet person who's not cutting their dog's hair themselves. Going over your dog once a week with that type of rake will pull out the dead undercoat without damaging the guard hairs. The first time you use it, you typically get a spectacular amount of undercoat out of there. Regular use will keep ears and pants from matting and will also help the coat perform its heat regulation function more effectively, particularly in the summer when the free flow of air through the undercoat is so important.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much! Ordering the rake now... the shedding blade seems to be working for us but I am so paranoid that I'm removing the wrong hair or something. It seems to be mostly undercoat though...

Again, thanks for the info!


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

Thanks Tippy! I just bought a rake brush with your link. 

I take Maverick to the dog park everyday and sometimes he gets "baths" from his friends, hopefully this helps a bit with the smell too.


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