FURminator Grooming Rake for Dogs & Cats Review (2026)
The tool you use BEFORE the FURminator — tested through a full spring coat blow.
MyPawAdvisor Verdict
FURminator Rake
★★★★★4.55,000+ Amazon reviews
$10–$18
on Amazon
The FURminator Grooming Rake is the best supporting actor in the deshedding lineup. It won't replace your deshedding tool, but during coat blow it transforms the job — more fur out, less pulling, no mats. For heavy double-coat breeds it's an easy recommendation at this price.
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Quick Specs
Our Review
Most people discover the FURminator Grooming Rake the hard way: they take their deshedding tool to a German Shepherd in full spring coat blow and find it skating over a dense, packed undercoat that won't release. The rake is the missing first step — and at $10–$18 it's one of the cheapest tools in the FURminator lineup.
We ran the Grooming Rake through an entire spring coat blow on two heavy shedders — a German Shepherd and a Husky mix — using it as the opening pass before the regular FURminator deShedding Tool. The combination removed dramatically more undercoat per session than the deshedding tool alone, with less pulling and a more comfortable dog.
The rake's rotating metal teeth are the key feature: they spin as they move through dense fur, working through tangles instead of dragging against them. It's a simple tool that does one job — breaking up and lifting packed undercoat — and does it very well.
Why the Rotating Teeth Matter
A standard undercoat rake has fixed pins that drag through dense fur — when they hit a tangle, they either rip through it (painful) or stop dead. The FURminator rake's teeth rotate in place, so when a tooth meets resistance it rolls through the snag instead of pulling skin. In practice this means you can work a packed winter undercoat with far less of the flinching and pulling away that makes dogs dread grooming sessions. Both of our test dogs tolerated the rake noticeably better than the deshedding tool on dense areas like the thighs and tail base.
Rake First, Then Deshed: The Two-Tool Workflow
The rake and the deshedding tool do different jobs, and the order matters. The rake goes first: its long rotating teeth reach the deepest layer of undercoat, breaking up packed fur and lifting out the loose clumps that block a deshedding edge. Then the FURminator deShedding Tool follows, capturing the finer loose undercoat the rake leaves behind. During peak coat blow, our rake-first sessions removed roughly half again more total fur than deshedding-tool-only sessions of the same length — and the deshedding tool glided instead of snagging. Professional groomers have used this two-stage approach for years; the rake makes it cheap to replicate at home.
Our Coat-Blow Test: GSD and Husky Mix
We started in mid-March, right as both dogs began dropping their winter coats. With the rake as the opening 5-minute pass, the difference was immediate: the rake pulled out dense gray undercoat clumps the deshedding tool had been sliding over, especially on the rear, the neck ruff, and behind the ears. Over four weeks of twice-weekly sessions, neither dog developed the small mats behind the ears that have appeared in previous springs. By week five, the rake's haul shrank to a light pass and the deshedding tool took back over as the primary tool — exactly how the two should trade off across a season.
Can It Replace the Deshedding Tool?
No — and it's not trying to. The rake excels at bulk removal and detangling but doesn't capture fine loose undercoat the way the deshedding edge does. After a rake-only session, a follow-up pass with the deshedding tool still pulled an impressive amount of hair. If you can only buy one tool for a double-coated dog, buy the FURminator deShedding Tool. But if your dog blows coat twice a year, the rake is the best $15 upgrade you can make to your grooming kit — it makes every deshedding session faster, more productive, and more comfortable for the dog.
Who Actually Needs the Rake
Be honest about your dog's coat before buying. Heavy double coats — German Shepherds, Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds, Great Pyrenees, Newfoundlands, and thick-coated cats like Maine Coons — benefit enormously, especially during seasonal coat blow. Moderate double coats (Labs, Goldens, Corgis) benefit during coat blow but can usually skip it the rest of the year. Short single coats (Boxers, Beagles, Frenchies) get nothing from a rake — the teeth are designed for fur depth those breeds don't have. For them, the deshedding tool or even the grooming wipes are the better spend.
Pros & Cons
✅ What We Love
- ✓Rotating teeth work through tangles without painful pulling
- ✓Reaches dense undercoat the deshedding tool skates over
- ✓Makes every deshedding session faster and more productive
- ✓Prevents mats behind ears and in the neck ruff
- ✓One of the cheapest tools in the FURminator line
- ✓Works on thick-coated cats as well as dogs
⚠️ Watch Out For
- ✕Not a standalone solution — designed to pair with a deshedding tool
- ✕Useless on short single-coat breeds
- ✕Mostly idle outside seasonal coat-blow periods for moderate shedders
Who Should Buy This?
👍 Perfect For
Owners of heavy double-coat breeds (GSDs, Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds) and long-haired cats — especially anyone who dreads spring and fall coat blow.
👎 Not Ideal If
Owners of short-coated or single-coat breeds, or anyone looking for a single do-everything tool — that's the deshedding tool's job.
Alternatives to Consider
FURminator deShedding Tool
The primary tool — the rake preps the coat, this one captures the loose undercoat
FURminator Adjustable deMatter Tool
If mats have already formed, step up to the dedicated dematting tool
Oster Undercoat Rake
Fixed-pin budget alternative — works, but no rotating teeth
Best for Coat Blow
FURminator Grooming Rake for Dogs & Cats
★★★★★4.5The FURminator Grooming Rake is the best supporting actor in the deshedding lineup. It won't replace your deshedding tool, but during coat blow it transforms the job — more fur out, less pulling, no mats. For heavy double-coat breeds it's an easy recommendation at this price.
Affiliate link — no extra cost to you
MyPawAdvisor Editorial Team
Our reviews are based on hands-on testing, ingredient and material analysis, veterinary input, and aggregated owner review data from 10,000+ verified purchasers. We only recommend products we would use ourselves.