# Eletric Clippers



## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Hi, everyone. After getting Lexi's haircut I have am thinking that I could do it (and save $35 a cut). Could you please recommend some clippers?

I have never cut anyone (person's or animal's). Is there a good website or video I can get to help me?

Thanks so much for your help!


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i have gotten 2 clippers from petsmart! the first one was from oster--it was broken. i got pissed so i bought the andis clipper box set---they dont seem to go fast. i agree with nicole--just buy human type--they probably go fast. 

its such a pain in the butt to cut sprites hair because her hair is so fine and thin---i literally have to grab her hair taught and then use the clippers.. i cant just do it normal. i have to do sections. so it takes me 30 minutes to groom sprite---but 15 to groom ellie. and the andis clippers go sooo slow.

also--when you first get the clippers--i always put it against the palm of my hands so that i know how hard i push. and to make sure if it hurts or not. i dont want sprite or ellie to get hurt, you know?

good luck with grooming!!!


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Do you use the clippers to do the face and between the pads of the feet?

Thanks


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i use scissors on the face---i still feel uncomfortable with the clippers. <_< 

but i definitely use clippers for the pads of their feet. i like the wahl trimmer. it was under $20. 

i tried using my andis clippers on their feet---but it was hot...and it seems too big to get that area. 

THATS another problem i have---the andis clippers get sooo hot. i use an attachment...but if i didnt--it would hurt the girls. 

anyway, when you buy the clippers...tell me how yours works. thanks


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## pico's parent (Apr 5, 2004)

Recently, and I meant to add it to my Favorites but didn't, there was a breeder website listed in a post here that had the best instructions with clear diagrams for grooming a Maltese. Gave pictures of the tools you need, etc. It was just great, very step-by-step.

I had an oriental looking name.....does anyone remember? Bei, or Pei something like that?


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## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

Yep, that was me. The site is: Bhe-Jei Maltese

Great site, lots of good information. When you go to the page look at the left menu bar and you can find what you need.

Judi


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)

<_<


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## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

No I got Tiki locally (Texas)... I can't afford a puppy from Bhe-Jei :<( 
but I do love the site, lots of great information.

Judi


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## The B's mum (Apr 29, 2004)

I got a wahl rechargeable cord/less one and


Im still to try it on them not much noise I never used a clipper before 

so Im not sure if it will work but I have asked many barbers and they all agreed that it should work fine as Nichole too has said 


I must confess Im a bit terrified of these things myself so have to gain confidence first so they don't pick up the fact that Im insecure which they do 
when you groom them with confidence it becomes easily done I have found


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## The B's mum (Apr 29, 2004)

:lol: 

good to know there is hope!

ty


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Thank you for all of your responses. I am going to start looking around at different stores and seeing what kind of human hair clippers each carries. I am not planning on buying anything though until the middle of this month (budget reasons :lol: ).


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

Lol, tell me about budget reasons. i only make like $1200/month (and my sister makes a lot more, but bills are crazy around here) and i have been trying to save as much money as possible for dog training. anyway, so i save up the $995 that will cover 9 sessions and i call up the dog trainer and he's like "oh, i raised my prices to $1200 per dog" and i'm like "well, i only have $1100 in my account" and he was like "i'll give it to you for the price i quoted you 5 months ago" and so im all relieved but then he says "ok, so you pay now, and since you have three dogs--on the 15th give me $600 and then on the 30th give me $395-for the next 2 months...you'll have money left over"  and im like "







ok"

remember that when you buy your shaver---ask them what the return policy is. you want to make sure you can use it and like it.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I know! Since Feb. 1 I have moved to a new city, gotten my first apartment, and gotten my "first" dog (first that I personally owned). My savings is now non-existant. Thank god for charge cards. But now I have to pay them off. So I am hoping in the next couple of months I can start saving again. :lol:


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

ugh! we maxxed our credit cards($13,000) to get the down payment for our expedition(i dont have any credit, and they wanted a big down payment so we could get the 0% apr for 5 yrs). i thought "no problem, we'll pay it back in 4 months"........we had money problems for a while, so we paid only $1500 for 5 or 6 months....then the FIRST time i use online payment---they say it's late. wont even talk to me. so now the interest alone is $300/month. this is the situation that my family told me to never get into. lol. 

the cool thing is that all three are trained to do commands quickly on a loose leash, halt, BUT only if there aren't any distractions. i cant wait till i get them trained for off-leash. and im thinking that if the trainer does the evaluation on gruffi---that we could train him for protection. i dont know if it's going to work though....he's a little chicken.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I finally bought a clippers yesterday. I love it! I had talked to groomers at PetCo and PetSmart. They tried to talk me into $100-200 clippers. The kind they use 8 times a day. I was like I will only be using it once every 3-4 weeks. I ended up going to Sally's and getting the Wahl Designer. It is on sale at Sally's this month for $35 (the cost of haircut at PetSmart) and Sally's has a 90 day return policy. 

I used it on Lexi yesterday and was very suprised how easy it was to use.  I have to say she did not look to bad afterwards! :lol: I think what really helped was having someone else hold her still while I used the clippers.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Nichole, thank you for all of your advice. I am so happy that I got the guts to get the clipper and try it myself. It is going to save me a lot of money (which I will probably end up spending on something else for Lexi :lol: ). 

I also bought a nail clippers over the weekend and clipped her nails (almost all of them, we got into a little bit of a struggle and I gave up). Clipping the nails was a lot easier than I thought. 

Now I just need to figure out what I am going to use on her face and I will have all of the stuff I need to groom her. Scissors or small clippers? Any recommendations? She really does not like me doing anything with her face. She is starting to get use to it. But she only puts up with it for 30-40 seconds and then that is it. She is done with holding still. :lol: I am working on this with her but it is going to take a little while. This is why I am kind of scared to use a scissors. I am afraid I would accidently hurt her.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Nicole that sounds like a really good idea. But the problem is that Lexi is really light sleeper. If I so much as move an inch she wakes up. The only time she sleeps is when I am driving in the car (she is on my lap when we are in town) or at night when I go to bed I put her in her crate. As soon as I sit up in bed so does she. She has only fallen asleep on my lap at home once. Every time I would move (even just moving my arm) she would lift her head and look at me. I had to sit still for about 30 minutes until she woke up.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

I use a round tipped hair scissors for Tiki's face. You can buy these at some beauty supply stores. They look like kindergarten scissors, but they are quite sharp and intended for cutting hair. The round tip prevents you from accidently stabbing the little fella if he should move or jump.

Judi


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## twinglemom (Jul 14, 2004)

Angel doesn't like the clippers around her face so I use a pair of children's Fiskars school scissors. They are very cheap and can be found in the school supplies at Wal Mart or anywhere. They are sharp, small and they have a rounded tip.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

What do you all use to trim their paw pads? I used a pair of safety scissors but because of the rounded edge I couldn't really get down in there to cut the hair. I've heard that just letting the hair grow wild down there can mess up the way their feet grow







Tuffy has gotten better at letting me trim the hair on the surface, but he still has a ton of hair between the pads.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i use the wahl pocket trimmer for their feet. it works perfect.









nicole....thats hilarious!


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## LoveMaltese6820 (Apr 12, 2004)

I wish I was as skilled as you all at trimming their coat. I only trim around Casper butt and some around his feet, and it still looks jagged there for a little while!


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i feel bad cuz i did ellies hair a few days ago (im going to post some pics on monday cuz the battery died). anyway, it looks REALLY REALLY bad. i missed spots and she looks like she was butchered by edward scissor hands.







at least it grows out. lol.


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## twinglemom (Jul 14, 2004)

To Casper's Mom -

Don't worry you will get more skilled at grooming. It just takes practice. 

I also think sometimes that I am more critical about Angel's groom than other people are. When you groom your maltese you will notice little places that you might of missed but keep in mind that most people don't look at them as closely as we do.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## twinglemom (Jul 14, 2004)

Before I had kids, I had schnauzers. I have always loved them and grew up with one from the age of 5. When my husband and I got married I had a schnauzer and we couldn't afford to get him groomed. This is when I learned to groom myself. I groomed him for many years.

Anyway, when we decided to get a small dog a few years ago my husband said absolutely no schnauzers and that's how I ended up with my maltese. Angel has terrible fuzzy hair that has to be kept in a puppy cut or it's like one continuous mat all over. Brushing when the hair is longer only makes it fuzzier. 

So one day I decided that I had seen little male yorkies in a schnauzer cut so why not a maltese. I thought she looked cute but my family thought I was crazy. I guess the point I am getting to is that the hair does grow back. I tried a schnauzer cut, decided that it wasn't for a maltese after all, it grew out and now she keeps a puppy cut.

Don't be afraid to try. The only thing I would worry about is be careful not to cut your puppy. The hair will always grow back and each time you will get better.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i'm upset.......my shaver broke. i'm going to check out their website and see if they have a warranty.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

That sucks! Which clippers was it?


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

Andis. i forget the model and everything. i think im going to bring it to work so then i could maybe go to petsmart after.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

So far I have had really good luck with my Wahl Designer clippers and the Wahl Peanut clippers.

Hopefully they will let you exchange it or something. Clippers are not really the cheap.


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

I have been clipping Brinkley with a set I got at Walmart. They are Wahl. Just like the set I use for hubby, just less attachments.

At puppy class last week, we went to talk to the groomers at Petsmart. I set him on the table and said.."I groom him myself...does he look like crap?"  She said "no" although she could tell I wasn't sure what to do with his face...








She asked me.."You use a comb attachment on your clippers don't you? I said..."Of course, or he would be bald!"  I asked her how she knew that? Was that bad? She said his hair on his body part looked "choppy"- probably only to the trained eye, although I didn't think it was all that great myself. She said the comb attachments to that and suggested I purchase a longer attachment "blade". I don't know though. I may just use what I have and deal with a little "choppy"-and take him in for a pro groom when I can. The blades are 20-30 dollars a piece, and I would have NO idea what sizes I wanted...plus for my Wahl kind, I would have to screw and unscrew everytime I changed...yuck! Too much trouble.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Lexi's looks some what choppy afterwards too. But after she runs around it looks better. Within a couple of days it is really hard to see. I figure it looks fine for a free cut.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Lexi's looks some what choppy afterwards too. But after she runs around it looks better. Within a couple of days it is really hard to see. I figure it looks fine for a free cut.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

lexis mom, are these the clippers:










thanks.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

They look like the ones I have. I got mine from Sally's for $35. This is exactly what mine looks like:










It is called the Wahl Designer Professional. It came with I think 6 attachments and the oil stuff.

I also have this one:










The attachments go up to 1/2". Sally's regular price is $50 but it goes on sale every couple of months for between $30 and $35.


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