I Find Mitzie's Fur Around, So The Millers Forge Large Shedding Blade Isn't Working!

The Good: Durable, Easy to use, Relatively inexpensive
The Bad: Does not seem to remove dog fur the way it’s supposed to.
The Basics: A surprisingly disappointing product from a great company, the Millers Forge Vista Shedding Brush does not work as well on dogs as I would hope.


Having used a shedding blade on my cats (click here for my review of that!), I decided to pick up a shedding blade for Mitzie, my geriatric cocker spaniel. It’s not that I don’t like taking forever to get limited results with Mitzie’s slicker brush, but I figured a shedding brush might make shorter work of it for me. I went to Millers Forge for their Vista Large Shedding Blade in the large size.

Sadly, unlike most Millers Forge products, this is not an impressive grooming tool in terms of its functioning. The slicker I use on Mitzie seems to remove quite a bit more than this.

The Millers Forge Vista Shedding Blade is a single-sided shedding blade designed for dogs and horses. The Vista is a loop of metal (the actual blade) attached to a leather handle. The tool is over eleven inches long and the metal loop is 4” in diameter (at its widest) by half an inch tall. The metal loop is only a few millimeters thick and it is made of steel. This basic shedding has teeth on one side of the steel loop and a flat side on the other.

The shedding blade is best analogized as a saw blade that has been dulled and made into a loop. If one pictures a blade from a hacksaw or reciprocating saw and can imagine one that has been dulled quite a bit and made into a loop, you’ve got what this looks like. The loop is then attached to a 4" leather handle, which is little more than a reinforced strap. This is a more awkward grip than many would like.

Use of the tool is exceptionally easy. Simply set the shedding blade on the dog's fur and draw it back through the fur as if you were brushing their hair. The dog's loose and already detached hair comes right out and collects on the blade, in theory. Unfortunately, while I’ve had great results with my cat, the larger one for Mitzie does not seem to yield the same results. Instead, after fifteen minutes of brushing Mitzie with the Vista Shedding Brush, I accumulated only one small handful of Mitzie’s fur. As an objective test, I then used the slicker brush on her and I filled that brush twice in the course of five minutes.

As a result, the Millers Forge Vista brush might well be a quality brush, despite the somewhat uncomfortable grip on the handle, but my experience is that it is not the right tool for the job, at least for a medium-long haired dog like a cocker spaniel. And while Mitzie might like the attention, I tend to prefer results!

For other animal care products, please check out my reviews of:
United Pet Skunk And Tough Odor Eliminator
Millers Forge Nail Clippers
Millers Forge Large Slicker Brush

3.5/10

For other pet care products, please visit my index page for a concise list by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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