Rake the Undercoat
Guys, I really don’t know why it’s taken me so long to really mention this here on It’s Dog or Nothing.
I link to this product all the time, yet I’ve never spent much time on it.
Today, we will be talking about my absolute favorite tool for raking the fluffies’ undercoat: the Oster Grooming Rake.
When Mauja started to get her adult coat, I decided to use the Furminator for brushing. I had purchased it for our lab/husky mix and it was absolutely ah-mazing. Unfortunately, I was not so thrilled when I used it on Mauja. The Furminator just ripped and tore her fur giving her the appearance of split ends!
Needless to say, I was not pleased and began the search for a better way to remove the pesky undercoat. After being completely disappointed with a few grooming rakes from our local pet store, I stumbled across a discussion on grooming tools in one of the Great Pyrenees Facebook groups I’m a part of. There were a ton of recommendations, but the one that stood out to me most was the Oster Grooming Rake.
I ordered it that day and have never looked back!
What I Love About the Rake
- It doesn’t scratch the skin. There was a brush I used to use (not a rake) with metal bristles. Atka absolutely hated when I used that brush. It took me far too long to realize that he didn’t like the metal bristles scraping his skin. Can you blame him?
- Fur cutting is minimal. My biggest complaint with the Furminator was that it cut their fur and made them look uneven. The Oster grooming rake gets out the dead undercoat with minimal cutting. I definitely notice a difference using this rake!
- It works. If you have a dog with a long, thick, double-coat, you know how difficult it can be to find appropriate grooming tools. I tried so many rakes that just untangled the outer coat and left the undercoat to mat.
What I Don’t Love About the Rake
While it doesn’t hurt Mauja and Atka, it definitely hurts me. After almost every brushing session, my hand is bright red and I usually end up with a blister or two. When things get really bad, I’ll put on a glove to keep it from destroying my hand!
Hey, Oster – we’d really appreciate it if you added a comfort grip to the handle! 😉
Other than the discomfort when brushing for long periods of time, I don’t have anything negative to say about it. For that reason, I want to offer a giveaway so one of you can try it for yourself!
Enter using the widget below to win an Oster Grooming Rake!
Have you ever tried the Oster Grooming Rake? Do you have another rake that works wonders for the undercoat?
I am not being compensated to talk about Oster and the giveaway is being hosted by us here at It’s Dog or Nothing!
Love rakes! I’ve never tried this one but I would like too! The one I have now lost it’s comfy handle so I know what you mean about it hurting your hand!
I’m thinking of trying to devise something to add to the handle to make it more comfortable!
Still trying to find the right rake that my two female Pyrs will tolerate. My big boy is much more amenable but my youngest female heads for the hills as soon as she sees me going to the brush box! Use an Oster brush on them, as well as on my horse’s mane and tail, so am not surprised that this might be the solution. Hope I win, but if not, I’m going to buy one.
Finding a brush that they will all tolerate can definitely be a challenge. It took awhile to find one that Atka was okay with me using.
No, I do not have a favorite. This one sounds barksome!!
It really is! I need to get a second one so that my husband and I can both brush the dogs at the same time.
I have never tried this one but currently do not have a favorite. This one sounds awesome!
Definitely the best one I’ve tried so far!
I am really excited to try this out. We are currently using a FURminator but I know what you mean about ripping and breaking the hair at times.
It seems like it varies depending on the dog. We didn’t have any issues with Kaeto, but it definitely didn’t work for Mauja’s fur.
No I don’t have a favorite grooming rake but this one looks great.
I’ve heard so many people have great success with it!
I’ve been interested in a grooming product that is most efficient for my dogs. I love the FURminator and it works great on all of our dogs except Rodrigo. It causes him pain, because it rips the hair out. I just don’t understand why it does that with him, but not the others. I figure it has something to do with the coat length.
That might be what it is. Kaeto’s fur was thick, but fairly short – more lab length.
I feel like such a loser- we SO need to try a rake for BO
My little man is an Aussie, so this beautiful long mane takes quite a grooming every weekend! Thanks for sharing
The long fur is definitely gorgeous but time-consuming for sure!
Would love to try this on my female GPX. Currently using a pin brush daily which seems to work well. Furminator does not work at all on her – I have it for my male ShepX.
The more I hear from people about the Furminator, I wonder if coat length is the main reason for it not working on some dogs.
I have never used a grooming rake on the dogs before but it sounds like a great grooming tool!! Oster is a great brand too. I love that it gets to the undercoat and doesn’t scratch the skin 🙂
Exactly! It can be really difficult to find a tool that gets out the undercoat without causing pain to the dog.
I do not own a grooming rake, just use a brush, but would love to try this one.
Hey! Just found this post. Do you use the wide or regular version of the rake?