Suggestions for dog trimmers

Laafet

Laafet

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adventuresinblackandwhite.co.uk
I have finally decided to bite the bullet and buy some clippers for my poor scruffy dog. I was told he is a miniature poodle at the rescue centre but I was a bit suspicious, loved him anyway so had him. My more knowledgeable doggy friends all have come to conclusion that there is definate Bedlington Terrier in there as well as Poodle, so you can imagine. My lovely groomer friend has got cancer so it is not going to be fair to expect her to carry on doing him while she is on chemo and no one else round here will take him because he is a 'scissor dog', basically they can't be bothered to do his coat properly. I have been managing it with scissors myself but he does sometimes look like Stig of the Dump or foot seat. So as I clip horses I thought I'd give it a go, I have also watched what groomer did closely. So, which ones, I don't have a lot of money to spare and have seen the Wahl ones on Amazon. So any thoughts?
 
I have a poodle and do a home clip.

I use andis clippers!!! I have mains wired as the rechargeable battery clippers lose power and need recharging whilst clipping.

Depending on what trims you do, you may need 2 or 3 blades. I have very short for face & bottom & 1/2 inch for his body an then a blade to trim paws.

Obviously the blades are used for a poodle trim, , not sure what type of trim you do.

Most importantly remember if you cut to short it will grow back!!!!!!
 
I would go with soemthing like Moser Switchblades - they're good for a hobby groomer (not quite up to the job of a professional, but they do the same job for low volume grooming). If you were wanting to do a bedlington or poodle type trim, you would need a few different blades, and yes, some scissors. You could forgoe the scissors if you wanted to go over with comb attachments to leave the extra length. I would get stainless steel combs as they stay on better, are a bit more forgiving than plastic, and actually are cheaper than plastic.

For the body work, if you wanted to keep it shorter, I'd go with a 5F
Feet, face, tail -- for a hobbyist you could go with a 10 or 15 (a pro or show groomer would go much shorter, like a 40 - but if you're not careful, you could end up with clipper rash and an itchy face on a dog that's not used to it)
Legs, a comb attachment over 30 blade

Before you start clipping and trimming, start with a good bath and blow dry - try to straighten the coat as much as you can and get all the knots out. You will otherwise leave holes in the coat where the comb attachments snag.

Doing the head and finish trimming really needs to be done by scissor.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. What I tend to do at the moment is cut as much off and brush it out so I don't get patches (sometimes the poor bugger has the odd bald spot :( ) on the body, smart up the legs so they are not to long and cut the feet out really short so I can check for thorns/grass seeds. I leave a lot on the top of his head and trim the ears and around his eyes and muzzle. It's sort of a puppy type cut. Can't wait to get hold of some clippers as currently with scissors it takes two nights of slowly brushing and cutting then a week before he looks like he has not been attacked with a hedge cutter!
 
Ready for photo overload, he is difficult to photo as he is sort of black/blue/grey! When I've had him clipped he is more grey, but then as it gets long it goes back to black.

In the snow, so he shows up!

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What I sometimes do to his legs but he is not so keen on the look.

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A head shot on the ferry to Orkney
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Running on the beach in Scotland last year
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He's a funny little thing but a total joy, he came to me quite traumatised but is very good now.
 
It's difficult to see the Bedlington when he's so hairy, but the poodle people round here say his head's totally wrong for a miniature amongst other things! Not that it matters to me cos I love him the way he is!
 
I don't see Bedlington either. Just a pet poodle.
All poodles should, ideally, be the same and just differ in size but not all conform to the standard.
 
I think perhaps because the head shape isn't classical poodle and the fact that there's no top knot to help define the shape of the face it does appear more terrier like. However, Bedlingtons for example, have very little *stop* and your dog does have as stop, just not as deep as a poodles. Further things which would say "Bedlington" to me would be a roach back, more of a slab sided shape (which the first I see he hasn't got, the second is harder to see from the photos, so may or may not be present). The foot on a bedlington would be more hare shaped. True, the tail set is low, as it would be on a beddie.

There might be soemthing else in the mix other than poodle, and it MIGHT in fact be bedlington. However, a dog presented to me for grooming I always go with the character of the conformation before deciding how to trim (and obviously a chat with the clients to see what they want). Now, having said that, I know many a good groomer who put their purbred show poodles in to bedlington trim (or bichon or airedale, kerry blue, etc) just to show off their skills. There's nothing wrong with getting creative.

If you are wanting advice on how to carry out a safe and tidy trim - there are plenty of groomers on here that can help you with that. If you are wanting advice on how to enhance the look, we can do that too. But only you can decide which direction you want to take the trim. :D

My own poodle has been in lamb trim, kerry blue (well, started - but got tired waiting for the fall to grow), and is now in a full footed mustached german trim. Poodle trimming can be fun, so enjoy whatever you do :)
 
As bedlington person I would almost guarantee that there is no bedlington in your dog, the eyes are set incorrectly, the shape of the head is not correct nor is the body for a bedlington and the coat is not a bedlingtons coat. A bedlington gets paler as the coat grows, so it will not stay black, it will grey out to pale. So it would be a pale grey by 9 months old. Also a bedlington coat goes to ringlets as it gets longer, not curls. I can see poodle and as PP says I would personally trim like a poodle. There may be something else in it but I cannot see any bedlington at all.
 
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