Novice home groomer seeking grooming & safety tips

[Ellen]

Hi all, I need some tips for grooming my doodle!  

Riley absolutely hates going to the groomer; he looks terrified and always positions himself between my legs.  So, I finally decided to try my hand at grooming him at home with an Andis clipper (with 10 blade) to ease his stress.  Riley is an F1 doodle with wooly fur that is wavy when long, but straight when cut short.  The Andis clipper worked great, and Riley was relaxed and fine during the grooming attempt (with the help of plenty of treats), but the end result was pitiful and embarrassing!

I watched several grooming videos on Youtube in advance, but it definitely was more difficult than I thought.

1.  Throughout the process, I was terrified of accidentally nicking Riley's skin.  The metal "teeth" prongs guarding the 10 blade rotors are not that long, so I was really scared that if I trimmed Riley's fur at a wrong angle, the clipper could catch his skin.  I tried to follow the clipper along the body frame, but I was always afraid of nicking Riley's skin.  As such, I didn't evenly clip the fur (which is the next issue).

2.  Because of my fear, I had trouble getting an even cut with the 10 blade, which gave a pretty short cut close to the skin (hence, my fear of nicking my dog - It's a vicious circle!).  Now, Riley has weird track marks and uneven patches of fur.  For instance, there are somewhat "bald" spots on his back (i.e., some spots where it's closely shaven).  No matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't get an even cut.  (FYI:  I clipped from front to back, going with the direction of his fur).  He looks like a polka dot dog!  This is contrary to the youtube videos of people grooming doodles - they seem to run the clipper through quickly along the body and get an even length.  

So, here are my questions:

SAFETY-RELATED QUESTIONS:

1.  What blade(s) do you use to groom your doodle?  I'm contemplating getting a 5FC blade (see pic) or 3FC blade, which have longer "teeth guards" that seem to better protect against nicking the skin.   Do you guys agree that these are safer blades for novice home groomers? (I don't care that I can't get as close a shave as with the 10 blade - My number one priority is safety)

2.  I see that you can purchase combs that attach to the blade.  Do comb attachments further protect against skin nicking?  In the pictures, the comb seem to add more surface area between the skin and blade -- Is that the case? In other words, do comb attachments make it safer to clip dogs?  

3.  What tips do you guys have for avoiding skin nicks?

CONSISTENT GROOMING QUESTIONS:

4.  How in the world do you guys get a consistent, even trim without weird track-marks or bald spots?  Do the comb attachments help?  I think I'm getting the bald spots because I start off at a steeper angle (creating a closely-shaved spot) and then straighten out).

Thanks in advance for your tips!

[Kamela & Beckett]

I groom both my mini schnauzer and our very curly, thick coated doodle. First I will say, it takes some practice. Don't beat yourself up over your first attempt, a learning curve is inevitable. The more you groom him, the more skilled you will become, it just takes practice with the tools. I use plastic combs on my clippers and they do help with keeping distance between the blades and your dog's skin. Mastering the angle and keeping it consistent can be tricky and I think the combs help minimize that. Another option is to scissor cut. In the cooler months, I do that to keep his coat a little longer. It's tedious though and takes a lot of fussing with to get everything approaching even.

The good thing is doodle coats grow quickly. Those bald looking spots will be gone before you know it! Don't feel too bad about it. :)

[Ellen]

Thx for the encouragement! The bald spots don't look as bad the next day, but he's definitely "splotchy"-looking, like waves of uneven fur.  I'm not as embarrassed to walk him around the neighborhood today!

Thanks again for the tips!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Hi Ellen,

Riley is just as cute as can be! I started grooming my dog for the very same reason you are. Now he is 10 and grooming is a joy. He stands like a statue while I clip him. Because we live in a warm climate where the dogs swim a few times a week, I keep their coats short. I use a 4FC. I believe your #10 blade probably came with the clippers. I only use that blade for the belly, sanitary trim and the bottoms of the paws. I scissor cut the legs, face, around the ears and the top of the head.

Many people use the combs. I believe that the best blade to use with combs is a #30. Do not cut the hair without a comb when you have the #30 or you may get razor burn. It's super short.

Safety question: I've never cut my dog with a blade. Try running the clipper with the #10 blade on your skin...like the palm of your hand. It does not hurt at all. 

As far as getting a smooth result, practice helps more than anything. I cannot even tell you how you get beyond that because I have been clipping my dogs for years. Now that I think of it, I used to clip a different dog with straight hair and got those tracks you describe. I think it is because you were using a short blade on a straighter haired dog. The good thing is hair grows. ;o)

Be kind to yourself. No one can do a great job the first time out. 

[Ellen]

Bonnie, thanks for your tips!  The 10 blade was the only blade that came with Andis clipper, so it's all I had to start out with.  I think I will get the 5FC or 4FC blade just to ease my fears (although I will definitely try your suggestion of running the razor against my skin) -- I think my fear of nicking his skin stems from stories I've heard from friends about their dogs bleeding after getting trimmed at Petco.  I've never had that problem with Riley's groomer, but I definitely understand why I used to pay $90 for each summer trim!  I have a newfound respect for groomers. Thanks again for the tips!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I feel your pain.  I have absolutely no skill in the hair cutting department - truly NO skill.  Others who do home grooming say that they get better with practice.  Good luck!

[Ellen]

Thx!  I now understand why I paid so much for his groomer!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

First off, congratulations for even trying to groom your doodle. That's one scary step to make, and it took me months to get the nerve up once I had all the supplies. As for blades, as Kamela stated, 30 blades are best to use with comb attachments. FYI, I NEVER use a blade without a comb attachment... oops, yes I do, but only on the fur between their toes. With their sanitary area I use the shortest blade attachment available. It may not be all that easy to nick the skin with a 10 blade, but you certainly can get razor burn from it, and believe me, that's not something you want to have on a dog's anus (yes, I speak from experience).

As for an even cut, the secret to my success in that area may be 3-fold. 1. I have curly/wooly doodles, and 2. I only clipper cut the doodles after a bath and high-velocity blow out, brushing the hair with a slicker as I go, in the OPPOSITE direction of growth. 3. After every area's pass with the clipper I use a slicker brush to back-brush the hair and make it stand up, and then I clip it again. I continue the process until no more hair is cut by the clipper.

When I first started home grooming (actually, months before I started home grooming) I bought several of those long toothed blades like you describe, but when I actually went to use them, they wouldn't go through my dogs' hair. Its just too thick and dense.  Plus, those blades do get hot after some time of use and can burn your dog if you're not careful. Comb attachments, especially the stainless steel clip on Wahl set, do an excellent job, IMO, and I find I use half a dozen different lengths on each of my doodles. There's no way they will ever burn a dog's skin, because they don't heat up. 

As for the direction you clip in, I always go with the hair growth, with 1 exception, the belly and sanitary area, where I want the cut especially close. Going against the grain will result in a shorter cut, but with really woolly doodles it may not make that much difference, since the hair doesn't lay down.

Hope that helps! Keep it up and someday you'll be so glad you started it in the first place.

Debbie

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

One more thing, I thought I'd share the youtube video I studied before I started grooming.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu9i6FJKE44

[Bonnie and Kona]

Great video.

[Ellen]

Thanks!  This is a great video.  I didn't come across this video when I initially searched youtube for doodle grooming tips.  I'm envious that the groomer is so effortlessly and quickly running the clipper through the fur.  It looks like she's using a comb attachment, which I will definitely get.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Yes, she uses the Wahl set like I mentioned earlier. I like that she describes the color code of each comb she uses on each area of the doodle. I have an Andis clipper, which is so much more quiet than her Wahl clipper (which is the only thing I dislike about the video, listening to that loud, annoying buzz).

[Melissa]

Great video.  Thanks for posting.  Question: do you have t scissor the dogs legs? Or can you use the clippers with a different comb?