FURminator deShedding Tool Guide (2026): Which Size, Short or Long Hair, and When Not to Use It
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Quick picks
Goldens, Shepherds, Huskies
FURminator undercoat deShedding tool for long hair
Peak shedding weeks on a long double coat.
Worth knowing: Overused it thins the guard coat; in moderation, and never on a matted coat.
Check price on AmazonLabs, Boxers, Rottweilers
FURminator undercoat deShedding tool for short hair
Labrador owners in a coat blow who want the most undercoat out per stroke.
Worth knowing: Used too often or too hard it thins the healthy coat; once a week is the limit.
Check price on AmazonCollies and Aussies
FURminator undercoat deShedding tool for long hair
Border Collies, Australian Shepherds and mid sized spitz coats.
Worth knowing: Never on a single coated dog or through a mat.
Check price on Amazon
Nothing removes dead undercoat faster than a FURminator, and nothing in a grooming kit is misused more often. The stainless edge reaches through the topcoat and drags out the loose undercoat a brush slides over; used lightly, once a week, on the right coat, it is the reason a Lab stops leaving a dog shaped outline on the couch. Used daily, pressed hard, or on a dog that has no undercoat to remove, it thins the coat the dog needs. This guide picks the right one of the six and gives you the rule groomers use.
Sizing and compatibility come from the manufacturer’s published specifications and each listing; the use rules are what working groomers follow. We do not claim side by side testing. For the whole deshedding field, see best undercoat rakes and best slicker brushes and deshedding tools.
The one rule before you buy
A FURminator is for dogs with an undercoat: Labradors, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Huskies, Corgis, Pomeranians, Newfoundlands and the other double coats. It has nothing to do on a single coated dog. A Poodle, any doodle, a Yorkie, a Maltese, a Shih Tzu or a Bichon has no dead undercoat to pull, so the tool only cuts the coat they have. If your dog gets haircuts, put this page down and read our thick coat clipper guide instead. And it never touches a matted coat.
At a glance: pick by weight, then by coat length
The six tools
Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Huskies and other big double coats
FURminator Large Dog, Long Hair
The one most people mean when they say FURminator. The long hair edge has wider spaced teeth that reach through a Golden’s feathering or a Shepherd’s dense undercoat without snagging the topcoat. During a seasonal coat blow it removes astonishing amounts, which is exactly why it wants restraint: once a week, a few minutes, light pressure.
Check price on Amazon →Labradors, Boxers, Rottweilers and other big short coats
FURminator Large Dog, Short Hair
The fine toothed short hair edge reaches through a Lab’s dense short coat and drags out the undercoat a brush slides over. On a short coat the FURminator is at its safest, because there is little topcoat to cut, but the once a week rule still stands.
Check price on Amazon →Border Collies, Australian Shepherds and mid sized spitz coats
FURminator Medium Dog, Long Hair
The same long hair edge in a width that suits a 25 to 50 lb dog, so it follows the body instead of bridging it. A Border Collie in coat blow is the textbook use.
Check price on Amazon →Beagles, Bassets, Staffies and other mid sized short coats
FURminator Medium Dog, Short Hair
A medium short coated dog in full seasonal shed sheds more than its size suggests, and nothing else removes as much as fast. Fine teeth, medium width, the usual rule: once a week at most.
Check price on Amazon →Pomeranians, Shelties, Papillons and small double coats
FURminator Small Dog, Long Hair
A narrow long hair edge for a small dog with a surprising amount of undercoat. On a Pomeranian it is the tool that keeps the coat full without ever clipping it, which matters because a clipped Pom coat may not grow back right. Gentle, brief, weekly.
Check price on Amazon →Pugs, French Bulldogs, Jack Russells and other small short coats
FURminator Small Dog, Short Hair
The narrowest edge, for a small dog whose short coat still sheds year round. A Pug owner usually discovers this is the first brush the dog tolerates, because the strokes are short and the hair comes away without pulling.
Check price on Amazon →How groomers use it so it helps instead of harms
- Clean and dry first. Bath, then a full high velocity dry, then the FURminator. The dryer blows out most of the loose undercoat; the tool takes what is left. On a dirty dry coat it grinds grit against the skin and dulls its own edge.
- Once a week, a few minutes, light pressure. Stroke in the direction of growth and stop when hair stops coming out in clumps. The edge does not know the difference between dead undercoat and live coat.
- Not on the belly, legs, ears or face. Thin skin and thin coat; a slicker or a comb there.
- Not through a mat. Mats come out with a comb, a dematting tool or a clipper, never a deshedding edge.
- Routine with a rake, blowout with the FURminator. A rounded pin undercoat rake is gentler for the weekly pass on a Shepherd or a Husky; the FURminator earns its place in the two weeks a year the coat lets go.
The coats that should never see it
Poodles and every doodle, Yorkies, Maltese, Shih Tzus, Bichons, Havanese, Greyhounds and Whippets: single coats with no dead undercoat. On them the FURminator cuts the coat the dog has, and on a curly coat it also pulls. Those dogs want a slicker and a comb, and for the curly ones a clipper. And no double coated dog should be shaved as the alternative; our guide on why you should never shave a double coated dog explains why the FURminator exists in the first place.
Breed by breed: Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Huskies, Labradors. Salons that run on GroomBoard record which deshedding tool each dog tolerated and how its coat looked afterwards, so the next groom starts from a note instead of a guess; the free trial takes a photo of a paper book.