# Clipper choices, which one you recommend?



## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

Also in addition this one for the paws

Oster Whisper Quiet Finisher-Trimmer 

what is the #10 blade? will it work with these combs? I may get the 1", 1.25" , 1/2 "

Oster Universal Snap-On Combs 

will I need anything else?

Thanks in advance for you help









Also please tell me if you think I shouldn't even try.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I prefer Andis brand clippers. They're much lighter weight than the Osters. I find them easier to handle. 

You need to get a #30 or #40 blade to use under the snap on combs.


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

Thanks, I had no idea what the blade numbers are all about. but I make sure to get a #30 or #40







thanks


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I have a 5F blade that I would highly recommend getting at some point. It leaves a nice 5/8" cut without the bother of combs which can snag on every little mat.


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

you mean I can cut the whole body without the combs?







could that be dangerous for a beginner? I'm so scared


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## gattirenata (Jul 28, 2006)

good question!!I went out today and bought a clipper without even asking you guys and it seems I ended up buying a good one. I bought an andis clipper kit. it came with 8 snap on combs a scissor, and extra blade, oil for the blade and a DVD. 
I know it's a really stupi question but I'm such a begginer... I'll ask anyways. 
the larger snap on combs are for longer cuts????

thanks


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

> the larger snap on combs are for longer cuts????[/B]


I'm almost positive , but I'm a beginner too







and I haven't even seen one in person


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## Carla (Aug 30, 2005)

I can't recommend a clipper but I can tell you that my groomer uses a 2" comb for Shotzi's body.

Sparkey is going to be even cuter than he already was. (If that's possible.)

Carla & Shotzi 

P.S. I love your Halloween Siggy.


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

ok, I am not good at this myself, but I must say, you will do a good job in taking care of your cute Sparkey yourself. Does it realy take 6 hours in the groomer?







That is alot. Snowy only stays there for 2 hours. I stay with him too








but I think that it is better if I took care of him myself too. I don't like these groomers. So I will learn alot from your post here. Thanks









And one more thing, Sparkey will look cute no matter what, plus you at least have a hint of where to cut and where not to, so you will get good at cutting his hair and giving him a teddy cut









Then it will be easy to brong Snowy to you and let you groom him


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

> Then it will be easy to bring Snowy to you and let you groom him
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no problem, but I charge $50 an hour and it will take me 10 hours














I have a feeling that Sparkey wont even let me near him with the clippers.









just kidding about my charges







it's free but trust me you don't want me to do that to poor Snowy.


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=268527
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I think that you will be fine and it will take you less than 10 hours








About Sparkey, he will be busy with me learning tricks and stuff


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

> good question!!I went out today and bought a clipper without even asking you guys and it seems I ended up buying a good one. I bought an andis clipper kit. it came with 8 snap on combs a scissor, and extra blade, oil for the blade and a DVD.
> I know it's a really stupi question but I'm such a begginer... I'll ask anyways.
> the larger snap on combs are for longer cuts????
> 
> thanks[/B]


I think from the way you describe it, the clipper set you bought with the DVD is one of the less expensive sets. The larger snap-on combs only fit the full size, more expensive (over $100) clippers, I believe.

The larger snap-on set of combs is great for those of us who can't do a scissor cut. Laube makes them. Ryan's used to carry them, but they don't seem to any more so you'll have to Google it.

Yes, Fay, you can do the whole body with a 5F! It's really easy and ends up very even. I do find the combs to take longer and I have to keep going through it it get it even since the length can vary with the angle you hold the clipper.


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## gattirenata (Jul 28, 2006)

yeah... I bought one of the cheaper ones. I paied only $46. I thought it would be better to go with a cheaper one first, just in case it doesn't work out and I turn out to be awful at this... (poor little mac) 
It would be very sad to spend so much money and end up with the clipper on the back of my closet!









but this kit comes with 8 combs. going from a small one to the larger one. so there are even larger ones than that right???

so definitely if i learn how to do a good job I invest money on something nicer. 
I felt so sorry for the dogs on the video ... it's not that the woman was being too rough with them, but in my opinion she wasn't being that nice either. I thought specially when she was shaving the poodle's face... poor big guy!!!
poodle cuts are the funniest I think. that one looked like he had the biggest afro!!! hihihi

one thing that's bothering me now is mac's paw.... he looks so silly with that shaved skinny leg and a furry paw!!! looks like he is wearing one of those UGG snow boots!!!









ow I have another question... what is a leisure cut???
i saw it here
http://www.bhejei.com/groom-trims.htm

thanks


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Here are the extra long combs. They go up to 2". They are nice for those who like a longer puppy cut.

http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/product.asp?...pperAccessories

I've also heard the leisure cut (short body, long legs and face) called a lamb cut. You'll find there are many different names for basically the same cut - teddy bear, puppy cut, etc.

I think you'll enjoy grooming Mac yourself. I took Lady to the groomer 3 times when I adopted her. She got 3 bad haircuts and a bad cut on the top of her head, so I learned to do it myself. It's fun, but I hate cleaning up the mess!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

You need to bathe and fluff dry the dog before clipping. There should be no knots or mats left in the coat. You can "cheat" on a silky-coated dog with the combs to get a more even cut. Use a comb about 1/4 inch larger than the cut you want and go against the grain of the coat (so butt to head). NEVER do this with a blade. As long as I have put the time in to prep the dog, I don't see any different in difficulty of cutting with a blade or a snap on comb.


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## gattirenata (Jul 28, 2006)

i'm sure I'm gonna hate cleaning up the mess too!!! hihi but I'm the same situation. everytime mac goes to the groomer he comes back hurt. 
I mean, betty is nice, and he never got hurt with her, but she only cuts his hair. I do everything else. 


So.... against the grain huh??? that I didn't know... I thought it was against the grain just if you wanted a little shorter!!! 

thanks!!!


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## suTQ (Jul 13, 2006)

If you are serious, spend the money to get a quality clipper. I spent around $40 on an Andis pet clipper from Target and it was a piece of *@#%. It did not cut the hair at all, no matter how many times I kept going over it. It was definitely the clippers because I use a regular clipper on my husband and son and it works great everytime. I ended up having to do the entire cut with scissors---which turned out okay.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

> i'm sure I'm gonna hate cleaning up the mess too!!! hihi but I'm the same situation. everytime mac goes to the groomer he comes back hurt.
> I mean, betty is nice, and he never got hurt with her, but she only cuts his hair. I do everything else.
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Never go against the grain with the blade. Yes, it does cut shorter - that's why I said use a comb slightly longer than the trim you want.


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## gattirenata (Jul 28, 2006)

is it too bad I used my friend's dog to train???/
hahahahah
Mac doesn't need a cut right now. he just got one before his surgery... it's very uneven though, but I need to wait to grow more and try to fix it...

so I was talking to a friend, who has a silky terrier... poor guy took his first bath 2 weeks ago and he is Mac's age. It seems the vet just told them NOW he should take a bath every week....

anyways... so I offered to do it for them... and they asked me If I could trim him!!! YES!!! hahahahahaha

he has a lot less hair than mac and shorter.. so it was pretty easy.
I bought a 50 dollar andis clipper set and at least with BJ it worked really well... I thought it was very easy to use for a beginner.

But I did some stuff my way!!! LOL I brushed him very well... no matts at all (he doesn't matt as much) and then I clipped him. (before bath) 
I didn't do it against the grain either. I followed the instructions on the video... and then I trimmed his paw and legs and head and face with scissors.

I clipped his belly and bottom with only the blade... you know, the hygene trim? then I gave him a bath!!! 
he looked so good. I didn't have my camera to take a picture of him before... but I took a picture after... I'll post it later. 

i'm still a little scared of doing mac's hair... but I'm proud of my work on BJ!









his dads loved it!!!!


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

good job, I'm getting nervous justs thinking about it







but I have to do it. I don't care about the looks I just don't want any skin to go in clippers. is that possible







I think if that happens I will get a heart attack and die. and poor sparkey has no one to take him to the vet. I'm thinking that with the combs the chances of that happening is less.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

> is it too bad I used my friend's dog to train???/
> hahahahah
> Mac doesn't need a cut right now. he just got one before his surgery... it's very uneven though, but I need to wait to grow more and try to fix it...
> 
> ...



Sounds like you're a natural!

Just one pointer. Next time bathe before you clip. It will keep your blades sharper and make clipping easier.


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## gattirenata (Jul 28, 2006)

yeah... that's one thing it confuses me... 

so the bath before is because ofthe blades???? because It just bothers me the idea of doing the trimming or cutting or clipping after bath... I have this thing on my mind that even brushing him well after, he would still have lots of loose hair on him...

when mac was trimmed at the groomer that bruised his head, he had soooo much loose hair, and it tangled up on him. he had lots of mats because of that!!!
I don't know if SHe did a terrible job, or if that's what happens.

I dont know if it would be eaisr on mac to have him bathe before, but with BJ was very easy!!! I was afradi the clipper wouldn't work because it was the cheap one!!!
but as I said BJ's hair is very differnet from mac's hair and he had almost no mats.

but Ill follow your advice next time!

thanks




> good job, I'm getting nervous justs thinking about it
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i was afraid of that too!!!
but with the combs it's more or less like if you are combing their hair. so the blade doesn't go too close to the skin.
When I went to get his belly done and I used only the balde I was sooo scared... but I went very carefully and it was fine... I actually didn't touch the skin that much hihi

I also heard the blades get hot... I'm sure mine wasn't but still!!! 
when I did his little bottom part was the same way... I went very slowly, not touchng the skin, then went again till I had it the way I wanted it!!
and bj was soooo good!!!
he just didn't let me trim the hair close to his eyes so I didn't!!

xoxo


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## sweetbabybe (Sep 24, 2006)

Wow, you are so brave to just plunge in and do it like that!







I've just ordered the Andis AGC2 clippers off an Ebay auction for $100. Now I've got to figure out what blades and/or combs to get. This topic has been a BIG help. I am so nervous about cutting Chloe's hair too. I don't want to hurt her. But I'd rather do it myself than take her to a groomer. Even if it takes me a long time, I know I will be ever so careful with my little angel.









There's so many risks with groomers, from bad hair cuts, to rough handling, to scorched skin.







And my husband said he even heard about a dog that was left momentarily unattended at the groomers - it jumped off the table and got strangled to death on some cords









No, I'm definately going to do it myself.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

If you want a nice trim, you need to prep the dog first. That means brush out so there are no knots, then bathe and fluff dry. Then you trim. Clean hair cuts better. Also, it is straightened out when you blow dry so you will have a more even trim. 

I brush all of the hair off the dog before I let them off the table. You can blast them with the blow dryer real quick if you want to be absolutely sure you got it all.


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