Items Required For Diy Dog Grooming

[moofius]

Hello,

I have researched clippers and blades to DIY grooming my two dogs. They are both English Cocker Spaniels.

I am looking at getting the Andis AGC2 clippers which come with a 10 blade, it looks like I'd want 7 and 5 blades also.

Is there a link anyone can give me as to what other items I would require? Some nail clippers and scissors are a given.

Are comb attachment required? Is that more for styled "breed cuts"?

Thank you for reading. :)

[mackiemad]

I'd check out clipper world for attachments etc. Their thinning and styling scissors are good quality too.

For my schnauzer I used a 10 blade on the body and scissor the furnishings :)

[Dogsfevr]

Depends how you want to groom them .

Blades purely depend on the look you want & the coats of each dog.

Are you planning to clip the top coats or strip them??

Yes you will need Thinners to blend,scissors for feet ,nail clippers a good table or area that is safe & non slip for grooming .

Clippers comes down again to how much you want to spend BUT above all which ones feel comfy in your hands .

[denali]

I have always loved the wahl clippers best :) But i would suggest holding each clipper in your hand before you buy, as some can be really heavy, or just feel 'wrong.'

I have a friend who hates my clippers (wahl), but i am not a fan of hers (andis I think) haha

The comb attachments are to get a longer cut, so if you were looking to leave their skirts but clip them shorter you could do so, but i think you could accomplish the same look with scissors.

A good pair of scissors is necessary. Doesn't have to be a $200 pair or anything, but dog grooming scissors work much better than any others.

Thinning shears/chunkers are also really good if you are planning on leaving skirts as these help blend the lines and thin out the puffy bits of their furnishings.

As to what blade you want it depends on how short you want their coats!

Most cockers i do are done with a 7, but I also do one with a 3 blade and leave his skirt and he looks lovely!

7 is ideal for summer. Maybe you want a 7 or 5 and then a longer blade?

as the 7 and 5 are only a few mm different in length. But this is all up to preference.

This is very good blog: http://petgroomingthegoodthebadthefurry.blogspot.com.au/

Maybe has some useful tips for you! Plus has lots of pictures and is fun to look at :laugh:

Hope this helped just a bit.

ETA: You will get a smoother cut if the dog has been washed and blowdried.

I have an HV drier, but i groom professionally, so you may not need one of them. Heres a link anyway

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Dryers-/146240/i.html?_nkw=dog+dryer&_frs=1

I have a double K brand but have used many other brands.

You may be able to get away with a normal hairdryer on a cool setting :)

Clean coats not only finish nicer, but they keep the blades better for longer!

Edited June 25, 2014 by denali

[Leah82]

I groom my english cocker (pic attached), he's clipped because he's pretty much all undercoat (a result of being clipped as a puppy). Cockers should be hand stripped but it's very time consuming and generally done only by those who show. I'm assuming as you're asking about clippers that yours have been clipped in the past.

I pretty much use a 7 blade all over and sometimes the 10 blade for his face, belly and feet in summer. Make sure you do the insides of the ears as well so they get enough airflow

The lines down his black are because I have a skip tooth 7 blade which is good for thick curly coats, if you want a smoother look get a 7F.

You can see I leave his feathers, these sometimes get clipped off in summer.

I have a couple of comb attachments but haven't managed to get these to stay on :p

Other things that I have:

Nail clippers

Hair scissors for cutting out the odd matt/knot in between grooms and to maintain his ears, feathers and feet

Slicker brush

Comb

I use baby wipes to clean his ears, he's never had a problem with them though otherwise I would invest in some proper ear cleaner

Also if you want to go for the proper cocker look check out some youtube clips :D

Good luck I've been grooming ours for about a year and love being able to experiment with it.

[moofius]

Hello and thanks for the great replies!

I have been looking at these two clippers, been reading review and generally pretty good:

http://clipperworld.com.au/clippers/andis-clippers/andis-agc-2-two-speed-clipper-p34.html

http://clipperworld.com.au/clippers/andis-clippers/andis-agc2-super-2-speed-professional-clipper-p201.html

It looks like it might be worth paying the it extra for the faster ones? Or would the standard ones speeds be just fine?

I was also looking at the 5FC and 7FC blades:

http://clipperworld.com.au/blades/andis-blades/andis-ultraedge-5fc-blade-p277.html

http://clipperworld.com.au/blades/andis-blades/andis-ultraedge-7fc-blade-p275.html

Would I just want some standard scissors about 20cm like these?

http://clipperworld.com.au/scissors/wahl-it-scissors/wahl-italian-series-scissor-8--p130.html

Is it worth getting a comb set too?

http://clipperworld.com.au/attachments-accessories/andis-9-piece-attachment-set-small-combs-p400.html

I don't really want to do anything fancy with the cuts, just a nice short cut. At least for awhile. :)

I already have most of the other things just from when I wash them.. I'll probably try to make do with a standard hair drier for now.

Oh and my cockers are Vada (black girl) 4 years old and T.J (gold boy) almost 3 years old. I take them both to obedience classes weekly as I don't get much time to spend with them one-on-one. They are brother and sister (I guess), same parents but different litters. :)

Edited June 25, 2014 by moofius

[Leah82]

I can't comment too much on the clippers, I have these which work well enough but I haven't had the chance to compare them to any others.

As far as blades go you want a shorter blade for sensitive areas (belly/feet), the longer blades can prod a bit and knowing cockers they can be a bit dramatic from time to time, so definitely get a 10 blade as well to start with.

The scissors look good, I also forgot to mention I have thinning scissors as well which can be good to take some of the bulk out of some areas without loosing overall length (like ears)

I got mine pretty cheap from horseland but they are like these ones http://clipperworld.com.au/scissors/wahl-it-scissors/wahl-italian-series-5-5-single-sided-thinner-p131.html

I wouldn't worry about a comb set to start with, see how you go with the clippers and you can decide later if you want to try them.

[Jed]

Hi moofius, I am giving a link to a website on how to groom your cocker spaniel by Toni Dennis, a well known NSW breeder, exhibitor and groomer. It will help a great deal. Tells you what to buy, and what to do. Good luck

http://tarrendayle.com/CockerGrooming.html