Grooming your pet dog at home is not only cost-effective but also ensures that your dog feels more comfortable during the grooming process. Most pet owners are wary of grooming their dogs as they aren’t sure how to use dog clippers. Fortunately, it is a skill that can be mastered with a little bit of practice. Grooming your pet regularly helps remove the excess hair, leaving behind only good fur. Read on to get started.
Understand your Dog’s Coat First
Before attempting the cut, it is a good idea to talk to a professional. This can help take you through the process. It also gives you an idea about the best way to clip based on the breed your dog belongs to. The length of the hair differs in specific parts of your dog’s body. You need to be very careful while clipping in order to avoid getting too close to the skin.
Get the Right Tools
The next step to grooming your dog is ensuring that you get your hands on the right tools for the job. This includes a clipper, slicker brush, and a comb. Some additional tools that may come in handy are nail clippers, hair clippers, and clipper blades. According to experts, most dogs get shocked or distressed by loud noises of the clippers. So it is a good idea to get clippers that make the least noise which helps your dog feel comfortable.
Slow Down
Another important tip to remember while grooming your dog is to make sure that you do not press the clippers too fast as it might cause distress leading to pain and plenty of squirming. Squirmy pets can make the whole process a lot more difficult as well as time-consuming.
Avoid Pulling Hair
You need to make sure that the grooming dog clippers are sharp at all times to be able to slice through the hair without tugging or causing discomfort to your furry friend. A sharp clipper also makes it easier to reach areas like around the ears and the head without too much trouble.
Stay Organized
Professional groomers go about the grooming process in an organized manner so as not to miss out on any part of the dog’s layer. You can adopt the same process and start cutting from the neck towards the back leg and then move in the opposite direction. Remember to hold on to your dog to avoid any sudden movement during the grooming session.
Choose the Right Direction
To get a natural-looking layer of fur, you need to cut the fur in the right direction. Dog hair grows in different directions on different parts of its body. You need to first identify the direction and then proceed to cut the hair in the same direction to create a smooth and even cut.
Choosing the Right Blade
Just like hair trimmers for human beings that come with different blade sizes, clippers for dogs also come with different blade sizes. While long-haired dogs might need a combination blades to get through the grooming sessions, a single blade will do the trick for a shorter haired dog. These blades work for different coats and also create different impacts.
Keep the Final Look in Mind
Although you can get creative while giving your pet dog a much-needed hair cut, you need to keep the final look in mind. This will help prevent damaging your clippers or making your pet look like it had a dog fight!
The Process
Before you start clipping your dog’s hair, make sure that you spray some clipper coolant or lube. The next step involves identifying the part you plan to start on and hold onto your dog gently. When you feel the blades heating up, you need to switch them out for cooler ones. Experts advise placing the hot blades on baking sheets to cool them down faster. A grooming session takes anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your dog and your hair clipping skills. It is a good idea to start grooming sessions as early as possible to get your four-pawed friend used to the process. This will make them better behaved during the grooming sessions resulting in less distress and fewer errors.
Once you start clipping your dog’s hair regularly, you will be able to get a better understanding of the coat layers, where it has to be reduced, and which clippers work best. After all, practice makes perfect. So get those clippers and start clipping away!