There's a particular kind of despair that comes with finding your third fur tumbleweed of the morning, rolling gently across the kitchen floor like it owns the place. If you're in it right now, welcome to shedding season — and welcome to the grooming routine we wish someone had handed us years ago.
Why shedding season hits harder than you'd expect
Cats and dogs with double coats blow their undercoat seasonally, which means the soft, insulating fluff underneath the topcoat sheds out in clumps rather than gradually. Left ungroomed, that trapped undercoat can mat, trap heat, and irritate skin. Left on your furniture, it becomes a permanent home decor feature nobody asked for.
The four-step routine
1. Start with the undercoat rake. This is the heavy lifter. The curved stainless steel blades are built to get underneath the topcoat and lift out the loose, trapped fur without scratching the skin — this is where the bulk of the shedding actually comes from, so don't skip it even if it feels like the "extra" step.
2. Follow with a slicker brush. Once the undercoat is loosened, a self-cleaning slicker brush smooths the topcoat and catches what the rake missed. The self-cleaning retraction means you're not stopping every thirty seconds to pull fur off the bristles by hand.
3. Finish with a grooming comb. This is your detail pass — it catches any remaining loose hair close to the skin and helps you spot early matting before it becomes a real problem, especially around the ears, armpits, and hindquarters where fur tends to tangle first.
4. Do a quick nail and flea check. Grooming time is also the easiest time to glance over nails and run a flea comb through, since your pet is already sitting still and (hopefully) relaxed.
How often, really?
During peak shedding season, aim for 2–3 short sessions a week rather than one long weekly marathon — it's less overwhelming for your pet and keeps loose fur from building up between sessions. Outside of shedding season, once a week is usually enough to stay ahead of it.
Keep it low-stress
Short sessions, a calm voice, and a treat at the end go a long way. If your pet tenses up, stop and try again later — grooming should never feel like a wrestling match.
The Lab's take
We built our Starter Kit around exactly this routine — undercoat rake, slicker brush, grooming comb, and nail clippers in one case — because buying four separate tools one frustrated afternoon at a time is nobody's idea of fun. Wolfie is not a fan of grooming days, but even she'll admit the self-cleaning brush cuts the whole process in half.
Got a shedding horror story or a routine that works for your pet? Reply to any of our Instagram posts @moons.furlab — we love hearing what actually works.