Welcome Show Dog Store! (2024)

FAQs

How to prevent dog hair splinters? ›

The best way to avoid hair splinters is to be mindful of the hair you're handling. Use a grooming tool like a brush or comb to handle the hair and a dustpan brush for clearing your table. Additionally, wearing gloves while grooming your clients' dogs can protect your hands from splinters.

Higher numbers give shorter cuts, with a #10 blade leaving about 1/6” of length. #10 blades are ideal for very short summer haircuts and for clipping inside the ears, around the backside and under the hind legs of any breed.

“A5 clippers are what most professionals use, and if you're going to be clipping a lot of different dogs, then this is the one you should purchase,” Dr.

Badly knotted / Matted coat > #10 > 1.5mm to 1.8mm* Smooth coat / short body > #7 > 3mm to 4mm* Curly coat body > #3, #4 or #5 > Choose preferred length: 6mm to 19mm* Medium to long coat body > #3 or #4 > 8mm to 19mm*

If the hair splinter protrudes from the skin's surface, use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to firmly grasp the end of the splinter and gently pull it out in the direction of hair growth.

F or FC stand for the same thing: fine cut or finish cut. One brand might call their blade an F and another might say FC but they are referring to the same thing. The teeth on an FC blade are all the same length, so result in a smoother finish than the same blade in skip tooth (ST).

A #4 blade is generally the blade with the longest cut without using a guard or comb, leaving 3/8” of hair behind when cutting against the grain of the fur. This blade is great for all-over body work on some smaller terriers as well as Lhasa Apsos and Shih-Tzus.

Blade Length Quick Cheat Sheet

The lower the number the shorter the cut. Blade length explained in Groomer terms: #40 – Skin bald.

Whichever salon you walk into, they will have different rules about whether to wash first or clip first and the answer is there is no right answer! There is pros and cons to both, and in our salon, we go on a dog-by-dog basis on whether to clip first or wash first.

Do you cut a dog's hair wet or dry? ›

Also, let your dog fully dry or blow dry his hair before you cut it. Like human hair, dog hair shrinks up when it dries. If you cut your pup's hair while it's wet, you could end up cutting his hair too short, which could leave him exposed to the cold or the sun (or he could end up with an uneven haircut).

Oster A6 Slim Heavy Duty Animal Clipper

This clipper is lightweight, durable and runs at 4000 strokes per minute with three different speed settings. It comes with a wide variety of accessories and is designed specifically for thick-coated dogs, making it a good choice if you have a big dog.

Wet shaving is a term that dog groomers use when they shave down a matted dog they have bathed before shaving. This method gives you the option to leave the hair a little longer while saving your tools from heavy wear and tear.

I can tell you that 7FC cuts 1/8" long. 3FC = 1/2", 5FC = 1/4", 7FC = 1/8", 10FC = 1/16". The higher the #FC, the shorter the cut.

Because these mats are in sensitive areas, most groomers will take electric dog hair clippers with a very safe blade and do what we call a “spot shave” on the affected areas.

Walking barefoot, or even with socks, around an area with human or animal hair on the ground can lead to a hair splinter of the sole. The condition is probably not uncommon. Patients sometimes believe that the hair is growing out of the skin.

Bathing your pet with moisturizing shampoo (one approved for use on pets) and increasing the moisture in the air can help remedy the problem.

Baseboards: One of my favorite tricks for keeping pet hair off of baseboards is to first vacuum them. Next, take a dryer sheet and rub it along the baseboards. The dryer sheet will create a barrier between the baseboard and the pet hair.