First Time Grooming!

ApolloShadow

Senior Member
Owned by
2 cockers
Don't laugh... or do, I certainly did. Thank goodness Apollo is the world's most docile dog, because he did fabulously no matter what I did.

I wanted to do a full groom but apparently our Wahl human hair clipper didn't do anything for his back. I went over the same part of his back *six* times, and it only thinned the hair, but not noticeably.

So I decided to just go ahead and do his face because it was pretty furry.
haje9use.jpg


Sorry for the not so great quality, I just had time to grab my iPhone before I handed over the bully stick reward. Anyway, his hair was out of control, he had that fan of hair in front of his eyes (Missy never has this problem) and his beard.

I went over his entire face and the sides (lips included), top knot I just thinned down, and I did the side of his neck by his ears.

I didn't do his beard like I was planning because we suddenly had six deer run in front of our house and the other two started going nuts. Apollo got antsy after that so I let him go.

Here's the end result.
qe8uteru.jpg


I missed a part of his eyebrow, which bothers me but is fixable.

The funny part is I got a little over confident and I may have given Apollo a teeny tiny bald spot on the other side. I'll try to get another photo to add to this later of it. He doesn't care, he's just happy he can see properly again. I'm a little embarrassed but I figured for my first time around I can't be too upset.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Paige You did GREAT!!!! When you can, you should invest in a good pair of clippers. Look on eBay.
 
Polly, I figured that out after I realized my dad only ever kept one blade for his Wahl since he just has my mom shave his head. I'm looking up some now, and thanks to the other thread in the grooming section about products I've got it narrowed down. We have a high top table so it works perfectly for grooming them (I usually put them on it to get Apollo's legs brushed anyway)

I was terrified of grooming him at first, but once I got into it I had fun (until I gave him a bald spot)!

I'm sure it'll be different when I do his whole coat, and especially worse when I do Missy because she's so antsy. I give credit for my dad because he helped hold up Apollo's butt with our slip lead. When Apollo realized I was doing his face he decided to sit, but when I wanted to his back he wasn't as willing to stand.


I'm honestly looking forward to getting some better clippers and doing more.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
FANTASTIC job esp considering not using great clippers!

Everyone has an 'oops' once in a while - I remember grabbing what I thought was my 2nd 10 blade to do the other side of a dog's face and I had grabbed a 40 blade instead. Talk about a bald spot ;) Its hair; it will grow back.
 
He looks cute!! I have a couple clippers that I really like. I have a pair of wahl chromados, they are cordless the blade is a 5 in 1 blade goes from a 9 to a 30. I recently bought a pair if geib clippers, they are cordless as well. This one you have to change the blades. These are fairly quiet and pretty smooth. But both of these are not heavy duty. When I first started clipping my dogs I had some oster A5, those had a cord , were noisy and got really warm . Clippers have come a long way since then. Good luck with your new clippers and grooming. I love to groom my dogs. I still make a few mistakes after all these years. Every time you clip you get better and better.
 
You did so well! I always do face first, because it really makes the biggest difference.
 
No laughing here , you did good. I am scared to death to do it. Nicked Chase once and had to go to the vet. The neck is the biggest scare to me.
 
I think you did a wonderful job Paige :) Having good clippers and blades will make all the difference in the world,you want believe how much easier it is to trim with one stroke. I am like Deborah and do the head and neck first before clippers get warm,then feet...after that,the rest is easy...and like everyone said,it gets easier each time. After years of clipping I still make mistakes but it grows back really fast.

Last year I got a pair of Andis 5 speed and "Love" them,had always used Osters...the Andis cut so smooth and fast,I really like the slow speeds for the face area...they do get warm but I have several blades I just switch out as I go.
 
Back
Top