The Furminator.
From all of my reading about German shepherds, a warning that is always repeated is that they are SERIOUS shedders. There is little that can be done to prevent this, but the degree of shedding can certainly be lessened with a healthy diet and regular grooming.
I love grooming dogs. This might be weird, but I think it’s a hold-over from my girlhood. I never grew out of the brushing My Little Pony’s tail-phase, apparently. At one point in middle school, I had even decided that my life calling was to be a dog groomer. While I’m glad I didn’t end up doing that, some days, it still really appeals to me.
The one magic tool I have heard of and used is the FURminator. It’s expensive, yes (ranging from $40 to $75, depending on where you shop. FURminators at a discount can be found at PetEdge), but it really, really helps strip off the dead coat–better than most tools. If you haven’t used one before, you will literally be astounded at how much hair comes off. After just a few minutes of using the FURminator, I think you could very easily stuff 10 full-sized pillows with all of the excess hair.
Dogs seem to love it, too! I’ve only used it a few times on different dogs, but they all seem to enjoy the process, even more than standard brushing. It is expensive, but I think it’s worth it. This is one brush that I’ll definitely be investing in once we bring our future dog home.
Do you use the FURminator? Do you have any other magic grooming tools you’d recommend?
