Help! Clippers, what to buy?
 

Alright, SO... I have been wanting to start grooming Jackson myself, with professional grooming's maybe twice a year. He is scheduled to be groomed tomorrow morning but I'm going to call and cancel.

1 reason - it's $60 (including tip) every time and he's always kept short but just needs a trim on body, face, nails, etc. I love the groomer but I just don't feel it's worth that much money. Second reason - Jackson does NOT like strangers poking, touching him all over so he's not a very good client at the groomers. He allows me to groom him with little to no fight and is very good with me. I just think he'd be more comfortable with me doing it. Third reason -- we're supposed to wake up to a lot of snow tomorrow AM and I just don't wanna be on the road first thing in the snow morning and tomorrow is the only day she's available before Xmas.

Whew! After that LONG paragraph.. I'm going to stop by Walmart later today and invest in some clippers, I think.

I'm debating between these;
Walmart.com: Wahl Pro-Series Pet Clipper Kit: Dogs
Walmart.com: Oster Professional Products: Advanced Clipper Pet Grooming Kit, 1 ct: Dogs

What do you think would be easiest for me to use?

Or, do you think I should just do my usual trimming with scissors around his face, butt, etc and not even mess with clippers? I'm so scared I'm going to mess up.

I could not find the speed on either one of those clippers. Speed for me personally is a must because the fast your clipper goes the nicer the cut and you dont have to go through the same spot twice. I was also looking at something quiet, but no matter what there will always be sound from the motor.
I ended up buying a Andis super two speed and LOVE IT!!!! I have heard good things about Ostar brand as well but not familiar with Whal.
I know this did not help you decide between your two choices but I hope it helped anyways. Once your there look at the speed it makes all teh diff when grooming. :)

good luck

I don't really know, but tell me how it goes since Scruffs breeder is having a baby and she is the best one! She uses these curved scissors to round his face and his paws and around his ears. She uses a small one like the mini Wahl's to shorten the hair around his eye goobers. I think she uses an Oster, but definitely not that one a much more expensive one. I'm not sure though.

I don't think I'd rush out and buy clippers right away if you don't have to. See what people who use clippers opinions are. I know a lot of groomers use Oster. I see the Wahl is cordless. Both have their advantages. If Jackson can get by for now without a body cut, I'd just focus on his face & butt. I know you like to keep his hair fairly short, so you'll probably want to end up with clippers at some point.

Take your time & you shouldn't do real bad. I bet you won't do as bad as some of the so called pros we read about. Do a little at a time, so you can make corrections if things aren't even. Good luck!

They're both good, but I'd go w/the Oster.
Here's a really good home grooming clipper kit: PetEdge: Andis Easy Clip Clipper Kit
It comes w/#4, 7, & 10 blades along w/combs. Right now they have 5% off $100 order :PSA5 ends today (12/18). They do have a minimum order or they charge a fee, not sure how much.

Petedge is the BEST for grooming supplies, that is were i got my clipper and spending a little bit more money is worth it as they will last you a lifetime. :)

Thanks for ALL your tips! You're helping me out a lot. Yeah, his body isn't that long so he could get by with just a face, and sanitary trim for now. I'm weighing my options because I want him to be groomed somewhat for Christmas lol :p

Thanks, these sound really nice!! Maybe I will go through petedge.

I would go with Andis, that is what I use and I love them. I use the 10 blade for sanitary, belly, and tipping the ears. I also have a foot blade to do the pads. You will need the combs for short cuts that are not too short. A good pair a thinning sheers helps with the legs. I use straight shears, but love to have a pairt of curved ones, just haven't bought a pair yet. I always buy my grooming supplies from petedge.com. The minimum is a $50.00 order. Good luck, grooming them yourself is not as hard as you would think, plus the money you save on paying the groomer will pay for a great pair of clippers and other supplies, then the rest is just saved money!!!

Can you recommend a good, fairly inexpensive pair of thinning shears?

Sorry to jump in on your thread, Brit!

No problemo, I'm wondering the same thing!

I'll jump in too.:D This is what I have & like it very much. PetEdge: Master Grooming Tools 5200 Groomer Series Thinning Shears but I don't use it much on Yorkies unless I'm trying to work out mats.
This is the curved shears that I use at home. It's very inexpensive & sharp & gets the job done! PetEdge: Fromm Premier III Series Curved Shears 6 1/2"
This is the blunt nosed shears I have. PetEdge: Top Performance 4" Ball Nose Straight Shears It's great for trimming around the ear tips & the hairs between the nose.

In grooming school, our instructor said it's best to invest in thinning shears & becareful not to drop the shears which will ruin it.

These are all great. I need to get all three. Some of the ones I looked at were $100+. :eek: I'm going to save these to my favorites so I can order them after the holidays. I want to get the thinning shears for mats - fortunately we don't have many but sometime Murphy gets a really bad one that I end up having to cut out. I hate doing that to his beautiful hair. I've been told the thinning shears will really help the way it looks. Thanks Jenny! :)

I did the same thing, lol!

LOL I just favorited the curved shears right before I read that message!! I still have to find a really good clipper set. I have to do some research!

I only use scissors, the shaver scared the crap out of Uni when we shaved off her black puppy hairs. (We used bf's goatee shaver) We had her on her back at one point, and her hind legs were literally shaking/kicking out of fear, but little girl kept with it! It was really funny!

Now that I am growing out her hair, grooming has been the easiest it has EVER been! All I do is trim the tips of the ears, booty trim, nail trim. Brush a few times a day, that's it!

Hey Brit, maybe you should grow out Jackson's hair. heh heh. :rolleyes: