Clipping a labradoodle

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MagicMelon

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I asked on here some time ago about what clipper to buy to do my labradoodle, I got the snap on blade Wahl and the blade recommended - however it doesn't even remotely go through her type of coat. I gave up straight away and since then we've just taken her to the groomers to get done, however after a pretty awful last trim (I could definately have done better myself!) I want to sell my Wahl (untouched bar trying once!) and get something that WILL go through her coat. Her coat is like wool, when brushed she looks like a sheep! Looking at it, its a cross between fluff and wire. She gets matted easily so despite brushing her every night (with the brushes recommended on poodle forums), spraying her with coat shine and washing her monthly (with conditioner) it would be far easier to keep her trimmed and she also does agility so can get quite hot being so fluffy! I just need a clipper than is pretty heavy duty and will do an ok all over trim. Advice greatly received!
 
For my standard poodles I've been through so many clippers...whal,arco, and now we have aesculaps( the rolls Royce of clippers).Your dog will hopefully be with you for more than a decade and the aesculaps will cruise through a thick coat and last the course.
 
Bosworth said:
I have the Andis clippers fot my bedlington and they cope no problem at all
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can you show me link it?
 
I have a Poodle and I have Oster clippers and do the dog's body with Oster no. 4F blade which leaves the coat 3/8ths inch long. At this time of year I clip at least every 5/6 weeks.
I just wonder if you are clipping often enough? The longer the coat, the harder to clip and make sure you are stretching the loose skin out to give a smooth skin surface. Dogs have a much looser skin than horses and the clippers can't work on a "ridge and farrow" surface, skin must be stretched taut with the fingers.
The backside may need clipping or scissoring more often to prevent faeces getting caught up in the hair there.
 
We use oster trimmers fo our dogs, including a fleece coat "labradoodle".

Best brush is a Chris Christensen 16mm T-brush, it is our go to brush for everything coated including large double coated dogs and even the ponies.
 
MagicMelon said:
I asked on here some time ago about what clipper to buy to do my labradoodle, I got the snap on blade Wahl and the blade recommended - however it doesn't even remotely go through her type of coat. I gave up straight away and since then we've just taken her to the groomers to get done, however after a pretty awful last trim (I could definately have done better myself!) I want to sell my Wahl (untouched bar trying once!) and get something that WILL go through her coat. Her coat is like wool, when brushed she looks like a sheep! Looking at it, its a cross between fluff and wire. She gets matted easily so despite brushing her every night (with the brushes recommended on poodle forums), spraying her with coat shine and washing her monthly (with conditioner) it would be far easier to keep her trimmed and she also does agility so can get quite hot being so fluffy! I just need a clipper than is pretty heavy duty and will do an ok all over trim. Advice greatly received!
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The reason it's not going through is that you've not prepared the coat sufficiently. All the scissoring and clipping skill in the world won't mean a thing, nor the best equipment out there - none of it matters one iota if you can't prepare the coat. I can promise you that!

I do LOTS of doodles, poodles, cross breeds with wool, fleece and combination coats. It's not just that you need to brush every night, but you need to comb too - it must be absolutely tug free, the coat squeaky clean, and absolutely dry in order to get a half decent job on that type of coat.

Now the fact that you've had your groomer do it and it came out rubbish tells me a few things. One - the dog could well be playing up and for safety reasons the groomer gave up. Two - the coat was maybe in worse condition than you thought, and for the sake of AWA the groomer gave up. Three, the groomer could have just been a complete cowboy and didn't know they could do better with better preparation. Four - a combination of all of the above.

Preparation is always the key to a good trim. I can't emphasize that enough.
 
Bellasophia said:
For my standard poodles I've been through so many clippers...whal,arco, and now we have aesculaps( the rolls Royce of clippers).Your dog will hopefully be with you for more than a decade and the aesculaps will cruise through a thick coat and last the course.
Click to expand...

Arcos aren't clippers for body work, they are just for trimming FFT - and again I wouldn't do anything without a clean prepared coat. I've been using Arcos for 13 years, absolutely LOVE them for the job they are intended, small detail work.

I personally use Laube for my commercial work - been using the same sets for years and years. In fact one set is still going strong for 13 years. The only down side is that they do run hot because the motor is so fast, but again, on a well prepared coat they are like lightening.

I rarely if ever clip a dirty coat - sometimes I do if it's a dog that's gone a year without clipping and it's matted and huge - instead of washing and drying all that matted fur I'll shave it off and then wash, dry and re-clip.
 
Greybird said:
I have a Poodle and I have Oster clippers and do the dog's body with Oster no. 4F blade which leaves the coat 3/8ths inch long. At this time of year I clip at least every 5/6 weeks.
I just wonder if you are clipping often enough? The longer the coat, the harder to clip and make sure you are stretching the loose skin out to give a smooth skin surface. Dogs have a much looser skin than horses and the clippers can't work on a "ridge and farrow" surface, skin must be stretched taut with the fingers.
The backside may need clipping or scissoring more often to prevent faeces getting caught up in the hair there.
Click to expand...

I agree with most of this - yes it's not like clipping a horse. And frequency too - some coats do need more attention than others. I have two poodles. One I can get away with months between grooms (last trim he had there was 14 weeks of growth on him). My bitch gets done weekly - once left her for five weeks for a competition and nearly cried.

But at risk of sounding like a broken record, it's all in the preparation. Without it the groom is crap.

I used to pay a rather high hourly rate to GOOD bather brushers in my salon (I don't employ anyone now). Without a good prep person, everthign turns out rubbish. I do it all myself now and know that there are no short cuts.

Perhaps what the OP needs isn't a new set of clippers, but a good bathing procedure and a good blaster / dryer combination and a table. :D
 
PucciNPoni said:
Arcos aren't clippers for body work, they are just for trimming FFT - and again I wouldn't do anything without a clean prepared coat. I've been using Arcos for 13 years, absolutely LOVE them for the job they are intended, small detail work.

I personally use Laube for my commercial work - been using the same sets for years and years. In fact one set is still going strong for 13 years. The only down side is that they do run hot because the motor is so fast, but again, on a well prepared coat they are like lightening.

I rarely if ever clip a dirty coat - sometimes I do if it's a dog that's gone a year without clipping and it's matted and huge - instead of washing and drying all that matted fur I'll shave it off and then wash, dry and re-clip.
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We are on the same page...I wasn't referring to the arco moser cordless,but th arco pros that I tried and also didn't recommend...I recommend th aesculaps,if you read my post.
I also wash and clip every week...but that's OTT for many posters...
Maybe they can scissor off the coat then clip...
 
Bellasophia said:
We are on the same page...I wasn't referring to the arco moser cordless,but th arco pros that I tried and also didn't recommend...I recommend th aesculaps,if you read my post.
I also wash and clip every week...but that's OTT for many posters...
Maybe they can scissor off the coat then clip...
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hahaha, try three times a week :p Coat change hell!


Ah, I'm not familiar with the Arco pros.

Have you, out of interest tried the Bravura? I've moved on from the Arco now - same blade and same idea but just a tad faster and can be recharged on a cord so you don't have a battery to change. Very similar to the Arco but only better.

I won a set of Asculaps at a grooming comp - but gave them to be raffled for a charity auction. I didn't want to have to buy a whole new blade set to use them, as I've been using the A5 type snap ons and have far too much invested in those to change over. But have heard they're fab.
 
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