Will the FURminator be good or bad for your corgi? Will their famous de-shedding tool help with heavy shedding, or could it cause serious problems?
The FURminator de-shedding tool is effective, but not recommended for your corgi. The de-shedding tool is easily misused and can potentially cut off healthy topcoat hair. FURminator have other brushes more suitable.
Just to clarify, we love the brand FURminator, and we do use their products. But as we explain below, you might want to avoid the de-shedding tool and opt for one of their other brushes.
What Is The FURminator De-Shedding Tool?
FURminator is a well-known brand making a variety of dog brushes, but their most famous brush by far is the De-Shedding Tool.
This brush is designed to remove dead undercoat hair and well, de-shed! They have a variety of different de-shedders depending on the coat of your dog.
It is widely used and very well-known and we have to give it credit, it definitely does what it says.
The problem is that the de-shedding tool is made a little too sharp, and owners across the globe have made the mistake of accidentally cutting off patches of the healthy topcoat.
This is what gives owners mixed opinions about the FURminator de-shedding tool. Let’s run through this in more detail in the next section.
FURminator For Corgis: Is It Good Or Bad?
While the FURminator de-shedding tool does what it says, it’s easy to misuse. And that’s where the problems start.
- The de-shedding tool is a little sharp and if owners aren’t overly careful with what they’re doing the tool can remove the topcoat. Which is the last thing we want to do!
We’ve seen some reports online of it even cutting the dogs skin. *But this has not been verified.
Can it be used properly? Absolutely, and many owners do have success with it after all.
But down to the fact that it can be misused, we prefer to avoid it. Plus there are more effective brushes to use for shedding anyway! (next section)
Better Brushes To Use For Corgis (Still from FURminator)
We’ve always recommended the two following brushes for all dogs that shed heavily, including corgis. So far, nothing has outperformed these two brushes when combined together.
1. The FURminator Undercoat Rake
The undercoat rake is a simple, blunt toothed “rake” that is easy on the skin, and perhaps the safest brush to use. It will never remove the topcoat or damage the skin.
The “undercoat” rake is made for the purpose of de-shedding.
The long metal teeth reach down past the topcoat and GENTLY remove the dead hair in the undercoat. The teeth never tug or pull on the coat, yet they’re still close enough together to effectively remove all the dead hair that is necessary.
Simplicity usually wins, right? We think it does here, and 10 minutes of this brush outperforms most de-shedders. Especially when finished off with the next brush.
2. The Slicker Brush
The slicker brush is perfect for completing the brushing routine and it focuses on cleaning up the topcoat (plus removing the last remnets of dead hair).
FURminator does have their own slicker brush, but we also like one from Hertzko. You can decide which is best.
The slicker brush is also widely used and is made up of very thin metal wires about 1 inch in length depending on which brand you opt for.
This brush, when used inconjunction with an undercoat rake provides the ultimate overall grooming session that hits the undercoat and topcoat. And is much safer and more effective than using a de-shedder.
So, Should Corgi Owners Avoid De-Shedders?
Ultimately, the decision is yours and it’s perfectly okay to test out the tool. But we strongly advise watching a few youtube videos about using it first.
In our honest opinion, a simple undercoat rake with a slicker brush is safer, easier to use, more effective, and will be more enjoyable for your corgi.
You’ll see tons of positive reviews for the de-shedders, and that’s because after all they do the job of removing hair.
But, a corgis coat is so beautiful and precious, we don’t think it’s appropriate to take the chance with it.
The topcoat can regrow in funny ways after being cut off, so it’s best to avoid that issue to start with.
Handy Brushing Tips for Corgis
Before finishing let’s run through some handy brushing tips for corgi owners to implement today!
1. Brush little and often
To really stay on top of shedding owners need to brush daily. Even brushing for 10 minutes a day will see much better results than brushing a few times a week for an hour each time. Little and often is the key to reducing shedding.
2. Using the correct brushes
Yup, we had to mention it. The best brushing routine must of course use the best brushes. Use the undercoat rake first for 5-10 minutes to remove dead hair, then use a slicker brush for another 5 minutes to remove the last of the dead hair and smooth out the topcoat. Thank us later!
3. Switch to natural ingredient dog shampoo
Bath times are important, but they can be awful if you’re using the wrong kind of dog shampoo. After years of testing out different products (and vet visits) it remains to be that the best shampoo is a natural-ingredient dog shampoo. These shampoos preserve the natural oils in the coat and never dry out the skin (because they do not use harsh chemicals!)
4. Increase hydration
Do whatever it takes to get your corgi drinking more water. Our dogs are usually dehydrated and they never drink as much as they should be, and dehydration can lead to a big increase in shedding. One easy way to tackle this is to place more water bowls around the home, and always keep it topped up and fresh. You can also actively encourage more drinking.
5. Supplement Omega 3’s
Fish oil or Omega 3 can have a big impact on skin and coat health, and ultimately reduce shedding to a certain degree. Of course with any kind of supplement it’s important to talk to your veterinarian first, but this should definitely be looked into if you aren’t already providing extra fish oil.
- And lastly, check out our article all about corgi shedding. This goes in detail about how to best handle your corgis shedding.
Last thoughts
FURminator is a great brand and has many awesome brushes. However, when it comes to the de-shedding tool, we prefer to avoid using it.
Ourself and many other owners have accidentally cut off healthy topcoat, and this is NEVER something we want to happen.
Instead we like to use their undercoat rake and slicker brush for a better and safer overall grooming session.