Most of the dog owners prefer to cut their dog’s hair at a professional grooming center. It is because the job requires some experience especially if your dog has continuously growing hair. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do your dog’s grooming at home like an expert does. By following certain steps and owning a good dog hair trimmer, you can also cut your dog’s hair in the comfort of your home without spending a fortune.
How to prepare your dog for a haircut
Before you do your dog’s first haircut, ensure that you take care of your dog properly and plan the steps beforehand. You need to bath your dog and brush the hair to remove tangles if any. Removing tangles will help you to clip your dog’s coat evenly. Also, make sure that you dry your dog’s fur before the haircut. Now you have got everything ready, and you have your dog hair trimmer and your dog in front of you. When you are starting out, it is better if there is someone to hold your dog. Professionals will use an elevated table and an apparatus to hold the dog in place. You need not have to purchase professional properties, but you can use a big table and probably a non-slip mat on the table.
Selecting the right tool
It is important to choose a suitable dog hair trimmer to have better results. As there are many trimmers in the market, you might end up buying a wrong one for your pet. Not all hair clippers are for all breeds. The foremost thing to consider while buying a dog clipper is to check the thickness of your dog’s coat. The blades and attachment comb also should match with your dog’s fur type to have an even haircut. You also need to make sure that the clipper you choose is a quite one and which doesn’t get heated up easily.
Using dog hair trimmer
After you bath your dog and have removed any mat, you can go straight away to clipping. Make sure that your dog is settled down and hold clippers on to his/her body in such a way that your pet is comfortable. Place the flat side of dog hair trimmer close to your dog’s body and run it smoothly. It is important to hold the clippers in a comfortable position in your hand; otherwise, it can irritate your pet and cause you inconvenience. If you are cutting dog’s hair for the first time, you need to find out how to use the clippers properly. You can start clipping from the area which has already been clipped and where there is a little hair growth. By clipping in that area first, you will get an idea to what extent you have to trim and how to move the clippers with ease. If your pet has constant growing fur, it is ideal to clip every 6 to 8 weeks.
If you own a nervous dog, you can get him some treats and get him familiarized with the noise of the clippers. You can keep the clipping session short and give a lot of attention for your dog during the session.
Tricks and tips to make your dog’s grooming easy
Brush your dog first
Bathing and brushing your dog before clipping hair will help in getting rid of tangles and mats which can make grooming difficult and painful. Once you brush your dog, you should give your dog a good shower. In warm weather, giving your dog an outdoor bath is the best way.
Keep it quiet
Normally, loud noises can make your dog afraid or distress them. So you need to keep this in mind when buying a dog clipper. You have to choose a dog hair trimmer which doesn’t produce much noise so that you can keep your dog calm while grooming.
Go slow and in the right direction
While you are grooming your dog at home, you need to make sure that you do it quite well by doing slow and gentle strokes with your dog hair trimmer. If you do it fast, it will leave lines behind, or it can even harm your pet. Clipping in the direction of hair growth will give you a natural looking even coat. You must avoid clipping in the direction opposite to the natural hair growth as it can give harsh lines on your dog’s body.
Don’t pull hair
You know how painful it feels when your hair is being pulled so is your pet feels. To avoid this, you need to keep the dog hair trimmer blades sharp.
Have an idea about the final look
For getting better results, you must have a foresighted idea about your dog’s hair cutting. Definitely, you can be creative with your pet’s look, but it is always good to know how your breed should look like after the session.
Give special attention to small areas
While clipping hair from small areas like ears, you need to give special attention so as not to hurt your dog. You can use thinning shears to cut the outer part of the ear and can leave out the inner part unless your dog has an extremely thick fur. Use straight shears to clip out excess hair from your pet’s paw pads.
Don’t trim too much of hair
Your dog has a long and thick coat for a reason. It is supposed to protect your pet from heat, and it works as a shield of protection from the sun. So make sure that you don’t cut too much of hair, there should always be at least 1 inch of hair left untrimmed.
Care and aftercare once the hair trimming is done
Generally, dog’s doesn’t like getting groomed, so your pet would show uneasiness after the grooming session. It is imperative to make your dog calm. You can give them a treat or take them for a walk after the session. You also make sure to brush your dog’s hair to remove any excess hair. After trimming hair, you can also clean inner ears using mineral oil and a little water to remove excess dirt.
You need to keep the dog hair trimmer clean so as to run it smoothly. It is worth in investing in a good clipper spray so that you can keep the clipper blades clean and lubricated. You can also use coolant spray when the clipper blades get too hot. It is important to keep the blades sharp so as to improve the quality of clipping. You can professionally sharpen them once in a while. After using your trimmer, brush them to remove any excess hair and apply any oil or spray.
Conclusion
Before you start doing your dog’ first haircut, it is recommended to talk with a professional groomer, or you can even watch them doing it once. Owning a professional dog hair trimmer is the first step you have to take. Most of the groomers will be happy to assist you in this. Like you, your dog can also have a bad hair day. So if you make any mistake initially, that is just okay as your pet’s hair will grow out soon. Make sure that you use the clippers on your dog’s body safely.
Another good suggestion is to give the dog a good long walk so they don’t have a lot of pent up energy while you’re grooming them. Last thing you need is a dog wiggling around because of it being excited or wanting to run. Walking before and after also gives them a chance to empty their bowels and bladder. First time grooming can be scary and they might make a mess just as a reaction. They still might go all over the table so don’t get upset. Just be prepared just in case. Another thing to note… make sure your dog is used to being touched, poked, and manipulated all over. This way you’re less likely to get a nip because you’re touching their tail or underbelly… or even toes. They appear to have a section on sedating your dog for grooming. It would be easier if your dog is used to being touched first. Even before their first grooming session touch their toes. Including the webbing and the nails. Just a light pinch on the nail. Touch their bellies and tug lightly on their ears and tail. Then give them a treat for behaving. They will get used to the sensation associating the feeling of being touched with getting a reward. Same with clippers, shears, and electric shavers. Introduce the items to the dog and rewarding them for not being scared. Turn them on and hold near the animal without using it so they get used to the noise. Reward them. Do this for short periods of time and drag it out slowly until they are okay with the noise and being touched for perhaps an hour. If they get used to all this well before their first grooming they wont be as stressed out. I should also mention touching their face and pulling on their lips to expose their teeth. That way you can clean teeth with a dog tooth brush, clean their ears, clip nails, and all of this will also get them ready for a vet check too! Vets will mess with their eye lids, pull back lips to check teeth, and look inside their ears. Your Vet and your hired groomer will love you and your dog for this!
Another good suggestion is to give the dog a good long walk so they don’t have a lot of pent up energy while you’re grooming them. Last thing you need is a dog wiggling around because of it being excited or wanting to run. Walking before and after also gives them a chance to empty their bowels and bladder. First time grooming can be scary and they might make a mess just as a reaction. They still might go all over the table so don’t get upset. Just be prepared just in case. Another thing to note… make sure your dog is used to being touched, poked, and manipulated all over. This way you’re less likely to get a nip because you’re touching their tail or underbelly… or even toes. They appear to have a section on sedating your dog for grooming. It would be easier if your dog is used to being touched first. Even before their first grooming session touch their toes. Including the webbing and the nails. Just a light pinch on the nail. Touch their bellies and tug lightly on their ears and tail. Then give them a treat for behaving. They will get used to the sensation associating the feeling of being touched with getting a reward. Same with clippers, shears, and electric shavers. Introduce the items to the dog and rewarding them for not being scared. Turn them on and hold near the animal without using it so they get used to the noise. Reward them. Do this for short periods of time and drag it out slowly until they are okay with the noise and being touched for perhaps an hour. If they get used to all this well before their first grooming they wont be as stressed out. I should also mention touching their face and pulling on their lips to expose their teeth. That way you can clean teeth with a dog tooth brush, clean their ears, clip nails, and all of this will also get them ready for a vet check too! Vets will mess with their eye lids, pull back lips to check teeth, and look inside their ears. Your Vet and your hired groomer will love you and your dog for this!
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