I give up - everybody seems so convinced that they work, I will buy one, since we still have a shedding problem here. But now there seem to be too many options. So does anybody have a furminator AND a long haired BC and can tell me which one is best for the BC.
I also have a smooth BC. I guess he would need a small Furminator? Or is there one I can use for both?

I have what I would describe as a classical feathery coated BC with a thickish ruff (as compared to my previous bearded collie X who was definitely long haired). She certainly isn't smooth coated.

I use a medium furminator and it works well on most of her although not so good on her ruff unless I pull the skin fairly tight as I use it and I don't use it on her plumey tail as I think it would pull too much for comfort!

I think the size bought has more to do with the overall size of the dog as it is the width of the whole thing that varies according to size.

Furminators are best for double coats so if BCs have double coats (which Google tells me they do) then the Furminator should work.
I'm not sure the different sizes vary in anything other than width - I have the Mikki Moult Master and saw the small and large one side by side and they were identical bar the extra half inch/inch or whatever it was, so went for the smaller one as it was a few quid cheaper. I imagine a larger one would've saved me a few minutes but I find brushing the dogs quite relaxing and Casper loves it so I was worried about it really.

I'm waiting for delivery of a large one for the BCs
My OH is quite happy using the slicker on Kleine - they have "conversations" whilst he is doing it
These are our dogs:

It's an older picture but their coats are the same.

I gave mine to Jo as I didn`t think it worked

I just didn`t get along with it.


I have a shedding blade and love it, it works better even on a Bernese Mountain dog and they have long thick coats.
My collie cross sheds her under coat like is going out of fashion and the ferminater just clogged up and annoyed me and was a waste of time on my BDM .
I also use a slicker brush as its what I`m used to, mind I`m only a groomer so what do I know

Can you try one out before investing?

I was very disappointed in mine, and felt it a waste of money.

I have double-coated shelties, and found that the Furminator tore their topcoats, and got stuck in their undercoats - leaving them a mess. Nora has a thinner undercoat (she isn't very 'puffy') but I still found it difficult to get through. It did a particularly bad job on Fat Grabby, who has a weird coat - extremely dense undercoat and very, very fine topcoat.

(Couldn't even get close to Monsieur 'Bad Hair Day' Linky, but I can't blame that on the Furminator. ).

Coat rake and slicker brush work best for us.

Those who didn't get on with it, were you using it like a regular brush? The manageress of the petshop mine was from showed me how to use it (demoed on Casper as I had him with me) and you don't use it like a regular brush, you need to do really short strokes in small areas and repeat all over. Brushing over Casper with it like a normal brush just grabs loose top coat but doing it with this method pulls out all his tufty undercoat. Then again, even in particular coat types I imagine coats vary greatly and what works for some won't work for others. The amount of hairbrushes I've tried and binned as they just turn my hair into a mess of knots it unbelievable, once I found one that worked perfectly I've kept a very close eye on where I leave it as I'd hate to lose it - my mum loves it too and pinched it once so I had to go on a stealth mission to pinch it back )

The Furminator doesnt work on my Border Collie - his coat is too thick and woolly but it is great on his pal the border collie X lab whose coat is shorter and it really gets out the dead fur.

I comb through my retriever/collie cross's coat first then use the large furminator.

You need to follow the lie of the coat.

There are several youtube videos showing it in use.

Hmmmm... good points.

I *thought* I was using it correctly, but given that the Wiggly Ones are, well, very wiggly when being brushed I might well have been working at cross-purposes with the tool.

*Toodles off to YouTube for further instruction...*

What sort of furminator/other brush/comb/rake might I need to comb this thing?

(Sasha is teflon coated as was my previous dog - I know NOTHING about grooming dogs)

Sasha looks self cleaning - Lucy was. She had exactly the same coat.
Harry to be honest doesn't need much, his short coat brilliant and I do call him Mr. Teflon, he only has got white longer hair around his neck which comes out, even if brushed daily.
But Libby does have a propper thick undercoat. She only looks like Sasha if she reguarly has her hair pulled out brushed with a dematting rake and that thing is just a bit brutal for my taste (and more to the point Libby's taste).
But I see your point - it's a lot of money if it does not work. I will try and borrow one before I buy.