Well, I just thought I'd share, as this purchase was somewhat inspired by some on this forum. I purchased a 'Furminator' today, as I was checking out with it the 'Golden Gal' at the register told me I would not regret it, and proceded to tell me about having used hers on a neighbors pet and then having others show up at her door the next day to borrow it. Well, I must say…yes. I did buy the one with the 'hair remover'/deluxe model, but It worked fantastically....and here's the kicker... my guy didn't mind it at all. Stood there like the king of the world and seemed to kinda like it!
I've used the gloves, curry combs, regular brushes, even the ( well I'm not sure what its called) metal thing I used to use on the horses (smaller version, of course). All of them made him and my previous guy want to go "giddy-up", for this, his just stood there...pricey, yes....worth it, gotta say, big yes!

All that being said - fish oil - I also remember reading a thread or some threads about it. My boy has, for the last couple of months, a bit on one of his haunches that seems to be overly dry and has shed to the point of hairless. He dosen't chew it and the skin underneath seems healthy, albeit dark, but so is a lot of his other lower skin. I've been giving him fish oil for the last 5 weeks and it really doesn't seem to be making a difference. Can dogs get skin cancer? Should I take him to the vet? Just for a 'look, see'? He is totally basenji in his behaviors, no weirdness at all.....So?????

Dogs can get skin infections that cause discoloration and hairlessness. I don't know about skin cancer, but I would probably have it checked out.

My brother has golden retrievers and swears by his Furminator. My basenjis have such short coats and no 'undercoat' so I haven't invested in one. Glad it works so well for you and your pups like it.

Thanks Mac I think I might just get him into the vet. I want to make sure its just a weirdness that I'm unfamiliar with. Its about time for his yearlies anyway so I'll give "Doc Tracy"'s office a call Monday.

I have the furminator and use it on Blaze and my horse. (ps your thinking a shedding blade). I can fill a kleenix box of Blaze's fur every spring and summer. As a person who is allergic, although not as bad as some people, the furminator has been amazing for me.

My Buddy has really thick fur so the furminator works great.

When was the last time you had a full blood work up done to check everything?

We put off getting a Furminator for our Shiba for two years, thinking it absolutely ridiculous that one should spend so much on a dog brush. But after we got it, we could only smack ourselves for having waited so long! It is THE brush to use for dogs with thick undercoats!

Didn't know they worked for Basenji as well, since their coats seem so much thinner in comparison. Good to know.

Absolutely wonderful for the ACD's as well ;);)…

@nobarkus:

My Buddy has really thick fur so the furminator works great.

I've been undecided whether I would consider Sonny's coat really thick but based on the amount of hair I'm getting off of him now that his coat is shedding….holy cow I could make another dog! :eek:

well worth the great deal I got on ebay!

I cant thankyou guys enough. I have tried a lot of different things for my two basenjis when it comes to dead hair. Especially my 11 yr female. She loves to just hold on to the dull hair. I have tried zoom and other brushes but were never really fully satisfied. I read this thread this afternoon after ordering a Stripping Knife on-line. And went straight to Petsmart to pick up the furminator….it is AMAZING !!! I must have taken off enough to make two other dogs :-)

Im now a believer....recommend this to any dog lover...once again thankyou for this thread....great job

Ahh, another Furminator convert. grin

Just to add though that you CAN overdo it with the Furminator. I now use it rather conservatively after my Shiba had a horrible bout of skin issues, etc. As a test, gently scrape it across your own skin to get a sense of just how jagged the teeth can be. My Basenji doesn't seem to have enough hair to warrant the use of a Furminator, but if she did, I probably would use it only when she was heavily shedding, and then use something gentler for the rest of the year.

Ouch! I haven't bought a Furminator since the first one came out some years ago. And I know I'd NEVER use that one on Kamar. And I can't imagine him having enough hair to make it work … because all it takes is the wool underneath the hair, right? I use it on my flat coated retriever, but he has tons of hair and wool underneath. Kamar doesn't (and I don't actually see him shed at all, so I don't see the point using a brush on him ...).

I just replied to another thread about my young boy with his shockingly hideous dry, dead coat… I have just been using the Furminator on him for about 3 or so weeks, and while it hasnt improved his coat colour, I have been truely stunned by the amount of under coat Ive gotten out of him just from the Furminator... We have had a very short summer this year, and until fairly recently they B's have had their coats on when they are outside and at night... I think he is having a huge shed now as the temp's have warmed up a little. I have a litre container that I have been putting in dead coat in, and I just loosely chuck it into the container, and it would be 3/4 filled with Java's undercoat !!!

By the way, yes, dogs CAN get skin cancer.