Blade / comb combination to keep hair long

[Don & Gracie]

Hi everyone.

One of the reasons I wanted a doodle was 'cause I like shaggy dogs. The groomers always cut her too short, so I always find myself waiting for her hair to grow out, then when it does it's time for another grooming. dle, about 21 lbs.

So I decided to try grooming her myself, then I can keep her hair long and trim it a little bit every few weeks to keep the "look." I've been doing her face and head for a few months and I'm happy with the results and the compliments she gets from strangers.

From reading recommendations here and elsewhere, I bought the Andis Pro Clip UltraEdge clipper, and a set of Wahl stainless steel combs.  The Andis clipper comes with a #10 blade. 

Gracie is a mini Australian Labradoodle with wavy hair. She's (thankfully) past the puppy/adult change. I comb or brush some of her every day, so she's mat-free and (until she moves again) tangle-free.  The hair on her back (coarser and straighter than the hair on her legs and chest) is now about 4" long.  I'd like to cut off about an inch or so. Can anyone give me advice on which comb/blade combination will give me the desired result? I don't want to give her a "summer cut." Once I start with the clippers on her back, I'll have to keep going and be stuck with whatever length results ....

Thank you, in advance, for any guidance.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Personally I know of no way to use clippers and keep a long length over 1 1/4 inch.  If there is a way I would love to know.  Scissor cutting is so time consuming and for me very iffy because I can't seem to keep each cut even with the last cut.

[Donna K & Quincy]

This is what Quincy looks like cut with the 40 blade and 1 1/4 in comb attachment in the direction the hair grows. These are the combs I'm using although he has to be brushed out really, really well.

This one is with the 40 blade and a 3/4 in comb attachment after a couple of weeks.

[DonMarie and Picco]

Quincy looks great!  It's about the same length I keep Picco in the winter, except front legs a little shorter. I just bought the pack of combs too (I have an Oster) and experimented. Seems the dogs coats are all different and you need to just adjust combs according to the look you want.

[Don & Gracie]

Hi everyone.

First off, Quincy looks fantastic in both pictures. Congratulations on a lovely job!

Now my story: I called Laube's customer service and told them many people commented that the blades on their combs were too flimsy and broke easily. I asked if they found this to be true and upgraded the combs. The answer I got sounded reasonable to me: dogs have many different coat types, and the blades won't easily go through thick coats. She said if I bought them I could return them if I wasn't happy. So I bought the 3" and the 2" combs.

I put the 3" on the Andis clipper with a 30 blade, just as advised. The comb went on fairly easily and stayed in place with no wobble. And I had difficulty getting it through Gracie's 4" long coat. And then I realized why: although I thought I had combed and brushed her thoroughly and I could feel no mats, I really didn't get all the dead hair out close to the skin; the Laube comb (or any regular comb, for that matter) couldn't pierce through that thicket.

So I carefully line-brushed Gracie and so much hair came out I thought I could make another dog! But now, a fine-tooth regular comb could get through her hair without snagging. And sure enough, the Laube comb worked beautifully. As I originally said, I want a long-haired dog. She's a mini, and with a 4" coat she looked completely overgrown, so I first tried the 3" comb and it took off about 1", but I still thought it was too long so I used the 2" and I was much happier.

The legs were a different matter because of the shape, and I still haven't done the back legs ... I only went in the direction of the hair (downward). For the legs, going up will probably be more effective.