Although the product may be found elsewhere I will talk specifically about the information found on www.lovelivingchic.com
The Knot Out Electric Pet Grooming Comb promises to “…help you keep your pet mat free by safely cutting out the knots and mats as they appear using tiny blades which are not able to come into contact with the skin.”
Shall we pick apart this? I think yes.
I found reading the product description to be exceptionally sneaky with the choice of wording leaving a lot of room for misinterpretation. The product description is using keywords to trigger thought that I believe would imply the wrong thing.
“Electric Pet Grooming Comb is the ultimate pet shedding tool in your pet supplies!”
– This Implies that this would help with a pet that is shedding or sheds a lot. It would not.
- Let’s take a quick look at the way it actually works or sounds like it works.
You have a mainly hard plastic tool with tiny soft bristles set back. Within the large plastic knobs are the cutting blades. You are supposed to run the comb through the dogs hair and when encountering a knot or a mat you simply push the red button and the cutting blades spin and cut the knot or mat free.
Back to the above website quote. A pet that is shedding is dropping hair the same as you do everyday. When a PET sheds though, there is a considerably higher amount of hair, which I’m sure you would agree. The statement that this tool would help with removing loose hairs would then be incorrect. A normal pet comb would be a far better option. In a scenario of a shedding husky, this comb in the off position would grab onto any loose hairs as would any other object rubbed over the husky. In the on position, the comb would begin to cut into the guard hairs of the huskies coat leaving them susceptible to heat and cold intolerances and damaging the top coat.
Using this comb for shedding breeds? INEFFECTIVE
“Features thick yet ultra-soft bristles that allow you to give your pet’s coat a nice combing.”
– I think the bristles they are referring to are the thick plastic ones? These are way too thick for a thorough combing. They will not be able to separate the thin strands of hair in order to smooth it out as you would when combing or brushing your own hair.
Using this comb as a…comb? INEFFECTIVE
“Should you encounter any knots, The rotating blades that are behind a guard on the bristle area allow you to cut through the knot with just the press of a button…”
– I agree some knots do need to be cut out as they can be quite tight. However with regular brushing you shouldn’t have any excessively tight knots that are so hard to remove they would require cutting.
Using this comb to cut out knots? EFFECTIVE*
“…which means that you will not have to pull on the knot to untangle it. With this feature, you will be able to get rid of the knots in your pet’s coat without causing pain or discomfort when trying to do so.”
– You’re not untangling it, you are cutting it out. To untangle the knot you would have to brush it out. They are using the words “pull it out” to make it sound like a negative thing. Dogs have different pain tolerances, some dogs couldn’t care less when you brush out knots and other dogs can whimper at the slightest of brushing.Cutting out knots, yes. Untangling knots, no.
Using this comb as a pain free knot cutter? EFFECTIVE*
IN CONCLUSION
The product is designed to remove knots from your pets coat. Personally, I feel it’s much better to prevent those serious knots that would otherwise need to be cut out. I can understand sometimes you may have no choice despite your brushing efforts. In this case, using a tool such as this would be effective in removing small knots and tangles from drop coated breeds such as Maltese Terriers, however, if you’re thinking of using it instead of a proper dog comb or brush, you may find it not very useful. Double coated breeds will be left with chunks of hair missing from where the knot was cut out by this tool. Get yourself a pin brush and metal comb and brush your dog for a couple of minuets every few days. Keeping it frequent and short so neither you or dog will get bored or fed up. That’s what will help keep on top of those knots! What would happen if you never brushed your hair?
* Based on their advertising video it looks like if you were to encounter a knot that is not close to the skin the blades would in fact cut through and remove the knotted hair.
** I have not used this product myself. This article was written based on my opinion of the products design and advertising materials seen.
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