This is a specific conversation about Dog grooming tools — what you actually need — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A Saint Bernard and an Italian Greyhound in the same house — you're basically managing two opposite ends of the canine coat spectrum at once. The right grooming tools depend entirely on coat type, and what works brilliantly on your Bernard's thick double coat will be completely wrong for your Greyhound's paper-thin skin and minimal fur. A heavy deshedder can actually damage a fine coat like an Italian Greyhound's. So tell me: what's the coat situation on each dog specifically — is your Bernard the longer-coated type or the shorter rough coat? And what's your main headache right now, the Bernard's shedding or something else?
The Bernard is the long-coated type and the shedding is absolutely out of control — fur everywhere, all year round. The Italian Greyhound basically takes care of himself, I just need to keep his skin from getting dry and irritated. Mainly it's the Bernard I need help with.
inparticular.ai
That makes complete sense — long-coated Saint Bernards shed heavily year-round and then go truly nuclear twice a year during seasonal blows. Before I point you in one direction, a couple of quick questions: is the fur coming out in big clumps or more as a constant fine drift everywhere? And have you got anything you're currently using on him, or are you starting from scratch?
It's both honestly — constant fine fur on everything but then periodically massive clumps too. I've got a cheap slicker brush but it just seems to move the fur around rather than actually removing it. Starting from scratch really.
inparticular.ai
Right, that cheap slicker is why you're losing — it's not getting anywhere near the dense undercoat where all that shedding is actually coming from. For a long-coated Saint Bernard, you need a dedicated undercoat tool, and the one I'd send you to is the FURminator deShedding Tool for Large Dogs, Long Hair. It's specifically designed to reach through the topcoat and pull out the loose undercoat without cutting or damaging the guard hairs — and with a Bernard, that's exactly the distinction that matters. Used once or twice a week, most owners see an 80–90% reduction in fur around the house within a couple of weeks. For your Italian Greyhound, don't use this anywhere near him — a soft rubber grooming mitt used gently once a week is all he needs, and it doubles as a nice massage that helps with the skin. But the FURminator is your main event here.
That sounds exactly right. Is there a risk of over-using the FURminator on the Bernard? I've heard some people say you can strip a coat?
inparticular.ai
Yes, that's a real thing and worth knowing. If you use the FURminator too aggressively or too frequently — daily sessions, lots of pressure — you can thin the topcoat over time. The rule is: use it with light to medium pressure, go with the direction of coat growth, and limit it to once or twice a week maximum. During a seasonal shed you can push to twice a week, but outside of that, once a week is plenty. The built-in FurEjector button makes clearing the tool quick, so sessions don't drag on. You're removing loose undercoat, not raking through healthy fur — keep that distinction in mind and you'll be fine.
Perfect. And just to confirm — the large long hair version is the right size for a Saint Bernard?
inparticular.ai
Yes, large is correct for a Saint Bernard — the large covers dogs over about 23kg, which your Bernard will comfortably exceed. There's also an XL version but for most people the large is easier to manoeuvre around the legs, chest and ears without losing control. Long hair is the right variant because of the coat length — the short hair version has a different blade spacing. So: FURminator Large Dog, Long Hair. That's your answer.
