Tips on grooming!!

[ashleycat]

I'm thinking of shaving him myself. Tips on clippers to get, stuff to get and stuff. lol..

[lute]

are you going to shave a ausie?

[jenluckenbach]

You can shave any breed you want to shave.


As for clippers, it is a dilemma because the "pet" quality clippers are not really good and the professional quality clippers might be more than you'd like to spend.

How long did you want the hair to be when you were finished?

[lute]

maybe check out petedge.com. i order from them all the time. their stuff is REALLY cheap, but it's great quality stuff. it's for groomers/exibitors, but anyone can order from them. i got my grooming table, brushes, bait, blow dryer, etc from them.

[ashleycat]

are you going to shave a ausie?
Yes, his hind hips and stuff are really thick and when I took him to petsmart they didnt get out all of the mats. I just adopted him 2 weeks ago.

I don't know how short I wanna go. But not TOO short.

[jenluckenbach]

If the dog has mats you have 2 choices. Clip the hair short enough to get between the mat and the skin OR brush the coat out before clipping. The longer blades and clipper attachments do not go through matted hair, only the shorter ones will do that.

[Rio and Me]

obvioulsy its up to you, but i wouldnt shave your dog, you could find a respectable qualified groomer to dematted and brush him properly, then you can brush him regularly to keep him matt free, the chances are if you shave him it will grow back thicker, and not as nice!
Just my opinion
Ky

[ashleycat]

I just went and bought one of those de matting rake thingies. Seemed to help. But it also seemed to have pulled a lot of fur out. But he didn't make a sound or anything. So I don't know if it hurt him. He didn't move. But I think I got somewhere with it. I don't think I'll shave him. He's too cute when he's fluffy.

He's inside all the time, except for when we go walking or potty. So he won't really need a summer cut will he. I mean, I have the air conditioner on. lol

He's soo spoiled.

[Muddy4paws]

The dematters are great tool for pulling out dead hair which is probably what hes done so it wouldnt hurt him, if hes still got matts i would suggest you book him into the groomers, Im not suggesting you arent capable of clipping him but I think something like that especially if the matts are close to the skin should be left up to proffesionals, I know from experience at work that shaving matts out of a matted dog can be quite tricky and most dogs dont like to make it easy by keeping still :p


Anyway let us know how everything goes!

[jenluckenbach]

Don't worry about the amount of hair raked out, that is the WHOLE idea in brushing a dog. Getting as MUCH dead hair out of the coat is exactly what is needed to prevent future mats. Most people are amazed with the amount of hair that gets safely brushed out of their dog when they go for a professional grooming.