Reddit reviews Pet Magasin Pet Thinning Shears - Professional Thinning Scissors with Toothed Blade

I figured since I've never taken my dog to a groomer I may be able to help with this. I'm not a professional groomer at all and the equipment is expensive but I figured that if it's going to cost me $80+ every time I take her to the groomer then the expensive equipment pays for itself in no time. The thing is, it does take forever and I personally recommend having a second person to help you only because I've never done it alone and can't imagine how long it would take if I did. The other thing too is that it will depend on your pup. Have you spent time getting them used to being handled or learning to basically hold still while you groom them? I knew this would be important for me and my pup was exposed to blow dryers, scissors, and the electric razor regularly from the moment I got her at 8 weeks. I have regularly trimmed her nails since she was a pup too so she is very used to being handled. I also taught her that if I'm working on her fur (when she was a young pup I would use a comb and brush regularly for this) she is to hold still. I didn't give her her first real hair cut until she was 8 months but she was already used to the strange sounds and holding still by that point. Before the 8 month mark I did trim her paws and around her eyes though.

If your pup isn't patient with you, its going to be a challenge and may not be worth it. Mine holds still for everything and it still takes my husband and I about 3 hours to get the job done. That said, here is my process.

The first time we groomed her it was awful and it took us almost 6 hours start to finish. This was because her fur had a lot of mats. If you can't get a regular comb through the fur then you aren't going to get the trimmers through either. So taking them to the groomer first is probably a good idea to stick with because they will handle the mats and such for you that first time. After that, you need to keep up with the grooming regularly (mine is groomed every 6 weeks) in order to make the process easier for yourself because the mats won't come back if the fur is trimmed regularly so it won't be an issue. The other issue we had the first time was that we tried to use these and they really didn't work out. They would snag in her fur, they also seemed to kinda push her fur down and out of the way so that it wouldn't get cut. It was just a huge waste of time trying to use them and now we just use this blade directly and it works perfectly.

So basically this is our process. We use a regular folding table because you do not want to do this on the floor. We did it on the floor the first time and it was awful on our backs so you want to be standing. One of us is always holding her so that she will not fall off of the table and we take turns trimming her fur going along with the grain. Be sure to check the trimmers temperature regularly because they can get hot. When they get hot, set them down and use the down time to trim the paws, face, tail, or ears with scissors or comb out any mats that may be in the way (we no longer have a problem with mats since she is groomed regularly). Once the blade is cool again continue trimming the entire body, taking breaks to cool down as needed and repeat the scissor trim every time the clipper needs to cool. We trim everything with the electric clippers except for around the eyes, ears, snout, tail, paw pads, and around the paws. Those extra areas are scissors only for us but you can do whatever you like. After her entire body is trimmed we switch to the shorter blade and trim her sanitary areas. We like the poo area to be extra short in order to avoid the dingleberries. You can also use the short blade to help with trimming around the paw pads. Finally, after everything is cut she gets a bath and blow dry.

It really is a lot of work but we both think that the 2-3 hours we spend doing it is worth it over the cost of a groomer. But it's definitely not for everyone and I also think it depends on the dog. If the dog won't cooperate it's going to make it that much more time consuming and difficult. Here is a list of all of the grooming tools I use:

• Andis Detachable Blade Clipper - For all of the trimming that doesn't use scissors.
  
• 3 3/4 Blade - For most of the body, switch to the short blade that comes with the clippers for the sanitary regions and around paw pads.
  
• Scissors - I use these for everything that needs to be trimmed with scissors. I like that they have the ball tip making them less pokey.
  
• Thinning Shears - Not required but they do help make her snout and tail less choppy looking after they've been cut with regular scissors.
  
• De-matting Comb - This has been a must for me! It is great at getting out those mats.
  
• Comb - I recommend having a regular comb. If this comb can't get through then your clippers won't either.
  
• Blow Dryer - I don't know if it's absolutely required to blow dry after baths but I do and I recommend getting a powerful one.
  
• Shower Hose - Not required but I use this for her in my shower and it has made bath time much easier.
  
  I think that covers everything, I may be forgetting something but that's all I've got for now. If you do decide to do it just make sure you have a decent time block for it since it may take a while. Good luck!
  
  Also, here are some pictures of my pup right after being groomed with the clipper size I've mentioned above.

We do a most of the grooming for our doodle.

In regards to brushes/combs, you'll need a paddle brush, a metal comb, a de-matting rake, and a slicker brush to take care of most tasks. You won't really need a shedding rake.

If you're interested in cutting your guys hair, I would suggest getting a set of electric clippers and get a larger blade, like a size 4FC to start out. I don't suggest trying to use the plastic guards because their hair gets caught in them a bunch and it's a mess. We use a pair of scissors and a plastic comb to trim up his face, feet, and crotch area. I also suggest a set of thinning shears to even things out after the regular scissors or clippers. Overall, don't be afraid to just go for it. The hair grows back and you can't really screw it up too bad. A few times our guy looked like a junkyard dog after we gave him a trim, but we managed to clean it up after a few tries. The clippers may seem expensive, but a good professional grooming around us is $80, so they've paid for themselves at this point.

Baths are pretty straightforward. If he's not too afraid of a blow dryer, use one to speed up the drying process.