In many ways it was seeing a demonstration for one of these that led me to get Sam after a few dogless years. We were at the Scone Game Fayre and saw a demonstration for a Groomit.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Groomit-Gr...item4173c0c422
We were strolling past the stand as the sales man approached a well groomed looking Labrador. As he starts to brush it clouds of fur were coming out. Moreover the dog was clearly not feeling any discomfort, so it was not ripping out fur. I could feel my hand instinctively going for my wallet. Now I did not have a dog at this time but I was dog sitting Kes and I did have two cats. Either way this seemed so impressive I had to try one.
Now I had a brush it was a surprising small step to get a dog to go with it, but I digress.
Kes had been with us for a week or so on this occasion and I had been brushing him with the normal brushes and combs we had, so he looked in good nick. Using the Groomit I was amazed at how much fur came out.
I have had this for about three years now and have used it a lot and am still amazed at how well it works. Bess, another dog that stays with us sometimes is a terrier cross and she looked like a whole new dog after I had used it on her. I use it on Sam fairly often to try and keep on top of how much fur she sheds. It makes a big difference, although you still get fur on the carpet etc. just not as much.
There are a number of different makers of these style of brush / comb / shedding tools. I think the market leader is the furminator. At least it is the one you see in big pet stores.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000FSN0A4
Although I have only used the Groomit I expect they will all perform as well. They are solid bits of kit and I can't imagine you wearing one out any time soon. I don't know if these were available when I had dogs years ago and I just did not know about them or if these are a new thing to the market in the last few years but in my opinion they are a huge step forward in dog grooming. If you have not tried one you really should. You will be amazed.