Shopping for grooming shears today

manuel

manuel

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I'm shopping online and reordered #7, #7F and #10 blades for my Oster. I need a new pair of shears too because they're getting dull. The ones I'm using are from Sally Beauty. I think they're Edge Ahead. I've had them for maybe 10 years and happy with them. Amazon is suggesting some really cheap/questionable shears.:unsure: PetEdge has some nice looking shears called Geib but they look so different and 8-10" long. I'd rather stick with something I'm familiar with so I'll check out my local Sally's today. What shears are you using at home?
 
What a coincidence! My sister, Patti, has been after me to get all of my tools sharpened. She insisted that buying good scissors was an investment. I will ask her the brand name today. This is something she would remember but I would not. There is a man who lives a short distance from me that will sharpen the blades on the clippers as well as the thinning shears and the scissors. His wife is a hair stylist and his sister is a dog groomer so I figure that is a good recommendation. My sister had her favorite hair cutting scissors sharpened by him and loved the result. In buying scissors, she insists that how they fit your hand is terribly important and stresses the importance of quality. I just know that scissors are for cutting dog hair...lol.
 
You are going to laugh at me, but, I use Friskairs from walmart. When they dull, I just spend another $8.00 and get more. I like the way they fit in my hand. Robin has given me expensive shears, I just sent them back to her. The same thing with thinners, I like the ones you can buy in the womans isle with the cheap barretts. I have purchased more expensive ones and sent them back.

I still use osters although as I've aged, they have gotten heavier in my hand. But I don't do both boys the same day anymore. I do get my clipper blades sharpened a couple times, then, I replace them.
 
Mel Blacke said:
How often do you bath Hoshi, Manuel?
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Not often as I should. My goal is once a month especially during flea season but he gets one about every 2 months. Gabby's hair wasn't as long or as thick and needed less washing. Hoshi has problematic lip folds (that get smelly) so I try to do his face more often. Having them sharpened doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Polly, I like fiskars too but they're much harder to open and close.
 
Joewell is the brand of the scissors and the thinning shears are Olivia brand. I don't bathe Fiona but every 6 weeks if that. I know her breeder bathes her dogs every couple of weeks. I have read that frequent baths might dry out the coat (but I have no idea if that is necessarily true).
 
Mel Blacke said:
Joewell is the brand of the scissors and the thinning shears are Olivia brand. I don't bathe Fiona but every 6 weeks if that. I know her breeder bathes her dogs every couple of weeks. I have read that frequent baths might dry out the coat (but I have no idea if that is necessarily true).
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I googled Joewell and they look very nice. I managed to find Hoshi's shears. I'm pretty sure they are exactly the same (minus the the removable finger rests). These are great for cleaning up Hoshi's paws.


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Mine might be scissors for human hair. My sister did most of the grooming, at first, so she picked out the scissors. She probably stuck with brands she was knew. Those look like very nice scissors, Manuel.
 
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Polly, so I can only sharpen the clipper blades a couple of times or so? I was going to ask about that. I never even knw that they could be sharpened at all. Since reaching full maturity, it seems Fi's coat has gotten heavier with each passing month. To maintain the coats "feathery" appearance, I am going to have to thin her legs quite a bit I think. Especially for the summer months. Do you guys use a Mars Coat King on your dogs at all?
 
I have an Oster version I haven't used in years because he gets shaved down. I think it helped his appearance some. His breeder Gina said he really didn't need it back then. His coat is a bit coarser now.
 
Mel I think you can sharpen them many times, as long as the cut well when you get them back. It's really worth it. I have to send my blades away, I also send my clippers for "tune ups" sometimes when everything seems a little loose, or if I drop a pair lol.. I have 4 Oster clippers. I used to have many more dogs, at one time I had 6! But, now that I'm older, I will stick with these two.. unless... lol.

I have the oster thinner and a mars coat king. I don't use them that much either since I shave backs and skirts.
 
I don’t cut my own dogs so I don’t have shears but I do have some Ginger shears I use to trim. They mainly make sewing scissors but I found some hair shears years ago. I have them sharpened periodically.

Manuel, Ki has lip folds too. By washing them out daily with a wash cloth I’ve managed to keep them nice and fresh.
 
I don't wash daily but I try to wipe and dry his face every time he drinks water. Trimming his face really does make a difference. Hoshi has those overhanging upper lips that trap hair underneath.
 
Fiona has overhanging muzzle flews too: I have heard that this is prime area for yeast to grow. Fi has small folds on her jaw which I work to keep shaved clean. One side happens to have a splash of white on it and it has a distinctly pinkish cast to it.....do you think it is yeast maybe? I have considered putting a dilute vinegar solution on it to see if it makes it go away. When I brush her teeth, I could just swap the area down with it.
 
I don't think so. I've never heard of this but see it mentioned on google. Dr. Becker says it's the result of a natural waste product in dog's tears, saliva, and urine. She has a list of suggestions on her page. I used to use natural tears on Hoshi's eye's to keep the crusting in check. It worked and it also kept the tears stains to a minimum. I think using the vinegar solution around Fiona's mouth might help.

Dr. Becker's page: Tear Staining: What Is It and What Causes It?
 
Thank you for the link, Manuel. So at least Fi's stains are probably not a yeast infection....from the color. Not a big deal, thank goodness. I might try the listerine dilute solution just to see if the stains respond to it. Vinegar, as I understand it, will disrupt the yeast so it probably wouldn't work on this at all. Polly, I am so impressed that you had 6 dogs that had to be groomed.
 
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Mel, I was much younger then, and, I did them all in one day! I will say that on warmer days, I would only dry the older ones. I have always groomed before the baths, I still do that, I know it dulls the blades but, I prefer doing it that way. I gave both boys baths yesterday and dried both! I was tired.

Now that my Pogo is getting on in years, I am letting his back grow out, I cut down his legs to really short (for me) Just so it's easier on him, I still shave Pye's back, he has a very thick, fast growing coat, I can never get his back past the fuzzy stage before I chop it all off.

All gone now except Pogo, he was a very young boy there. The picture with the red coats there are 7, one was my bestie's cocker, he stayed with us when they went on vacation.
 

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Polly said:
I have always groomed before the baths, I still do that, I know it dulls the blades
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I do it too especially in winter so Hoshi dries quicker. Sometimes I think causes problems though. I think static in his dry fur makes uneven cuts.
 
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