Undercoat Rake

An undercoat rake is a specialized grooming tool designed for double-coated breeds. It features a single or double row of wide-spaced metal teeth, typically with rounded tips to prevent skin irritation, mounted on a handle. The teeth are long enough to penetrate through the outer guard coat and reach the dense undercoat beneath, where they catch and remove loose, dead fur without cutting or damaging the topcoat.

Undercoat rakes are particularly valuable on breeds with thick, dense undercoats like Malamutes, Samoyeds, Great Pyrenees, and Newfoundlands. Unlike the FURminator, which uses a fine blade edge, the undercoat rake relies on its tooth spacing and length to mechanically pull loose hair free. This makes it generally gentler and less likely to damage the coat with overuse, though no tool should be used excessively.

In the professional grooming workflow, undercoat rakes are typically used before and after the bath. Pre-bath raking loosens dead undercoat and helps the shampoo penetrate to the skin. Post-bath raking (after force drying) removes the hair that the bath and dryer loosened. Many groomers prefer undercoat rakes over FURminators for their daily work because the risk of coat damage is lower, making them more forgiving for newer groomers learning deshedding technique.