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Originally Posted by horsnaround  okay you talked me into them also just placing my order I have just been using a walmart wahls clipper for years I am excited to have a good pair to trim my three with I would like to know more about the blending as my cairns hair is a little different then my yorkies thanks for sharing |
I hope you'll love the clipper (I feel partly responsible for talking you into getting one
)!
For your Cairn Terrier, you can use the same blades you use on your Yorkies, no problem. The proper way of grooming a terrier is using stripping knives or stripping stones, but I don't think it's humane...it's basically pulling the hair off. My instructor @ grooming school never showed us how to do it (but she told us how we can do it), she said it's cruel & many pet owners will not request it anyway.
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Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1 I had no idea what blades to use for what....I was feeling very safe with the #10 blade....yes, it is a very shaved look for all over the body, but I have never cut a dog with them. I got a skip tooth blade, because I somehow envisioned it a nice "layering" blade....but when I saw that blade in person, I could just see me taking off hunks of skin and body parts, so I have never even used it! I may get a #7....maybe it will still give them a smooth, clean cut, and I wont catch them in the clipper.....you say it cuts like a #10 but leaves hair a little longer.....that would work on the body. I use those little Wahl Peanut clippers for sanitary clips and eartips.... Those boys get soooooo nervous when I am down "there" with those large clippers! Thanks for the info on blades!! |
Yes, need to be VERY careful w/the skip tooth blades, it can cause major lacerations. Oh Judy, you seriously make me crack up loll!
The #7FC will be perfect for Texas humid hot summer & will leave a little bit more hair on the body than the #10 to protect it from the sun.
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Originally Posted by dawn27 I've never used the skip tooth blades. I just use the same blade as I use on the back (#5) and when blending in the skirt I just go straight down the side tipping the clippers outward as I get to the edge of the skirt to give it that "fade" look.  My scare factor is when is comes to using them for the legs and the pits. But now that I am getting my own clippers I need to get up the nerve to do it on my own. I normally have my sister do the pits and I do a pretty choppy job on the legs than fix them up with scissors. I know the key is to lay them flat and not tip them forward but it just scares the crap out of me. Im so afraid that I will cut one of them.
Any advise on getting in done and safely would be appreciated !! |
For the legs, have you tried scissoring? I leave the leg hair long but for Princess (since she has thin sparse hair), I scissor it. You just comb out the legs by combing it up (against the grain) or use your fingers, make the hair stand out & scissor straight down whatever is sticking out. That's it. For the hair under (behind) the legs, just lift up their leg & comb the hair down & scissor straight. You can trim the arm pits this way too, when their leg is lifted. I use a curved shear for everything. The professionals use the super sharp expensive straight shears...so scared I'll nick my guys! When I 1st started grooming, I've used my finger as a guide & have cut myself so many x's (I carried a box of bandages in my bag)! Besides, my instructor told us that once the shears get dropped, it's no longer the same, no need to get expensive ones. I use this one, it's sharp (but doesn't nick easily) & easy to handle:
https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemain...c-locale=en_US
Or if you want to use a clipper, you need to use a blade that is longer than the one you used for the body. You use #5FC on their body, use #4FC on the legs (or even the #3 3/4FC, but it's kinda big & clunky...when u c it, u'll know what I mean loll). Just be careful of the little fleshy stopper they have above their paw on the back of their front legs & pay special attention when you're in the flappy areas (like arm pits & hind leg connecting to the side).
For the arm pits, I trim them when they're sleepy & relaxed. I put them on their back & use a mini blunt nosed scissor to trim it. If you want to use clippers, you can use the #10 blade for that, just be very careful & avoid the edge of the flappy area, just run the clipper over the flat area.
Here's a vid that uses a comb as a guide to trim the leg hair @ 6:05: