Clippers for a matted dog

[Davesdog]

Hello,

I need some advice on clippers please.

We have a 2 year old Shitzu Poodle, who can get quite badly matted.

This weekend I received an Andis AGC2 brushless clipper.

I bought this after watching countless reviews on YouTube.

However, the ease in which I’d seen other dog owners glide under their dogs fur in the videos didn’t match my experience, and the clippers were getting stuck just as easily as the cheap nasty £25 eBay tool.

I phoned Amazon and they replaced it for a new model in a different colour.

Today we received it, and we experienced the same problem.

It’s not cutting with ease, and getting stuck on fur that isn’t even matted!

We’re using it with the size 10 blade that comes included.

Can anyone please tell me if this is user error, or if this tool isn’t up to the job?

If so, which clipper will glide through fur like butter?

Thanks
Dave

 

[RGC]

This suggestion is by no means from an expert but, it may be an idea to have a quick word with a professional dog groomer to put you on the right track. As I’ve said, I’m no authority on the matter - we’ve only ever had whippets. Hope you’re successful.

 

[JudyN]

This doesn't answer your question, but I found that a Furminator was brilliant for gently removing undercoat and even mats from my semi-longhaired cat who hated being groomed. It meant there was a lot less coat to mat, which made life easier. Of course, I can't guarantee that the results will be the same on a shih-poo.

 

[RGC]

This doesn't answer your question, but I found that a Furminator was brilliant for gently removing undercoat and even mats from my semi-longhaired cat who hated being groomed. It meant there was a lot less coat to mat, which made life easier. Of course, I can't guarantee that the results will be the same on a shih-poo.

This is the one, JudyN.

 

[Davesdog]

Thank you for the suggestions so far.
Maybe I was being foolish, but I imagined being able to cut my dogs fur as simply as the lady in this video, but it just didn’t happen.

Our dog isn’t nearly as badly matted as this, but our clippers get stuck in fur upon impact.

 

[Suejay]

Hi. We have a Shitzhu/Bichon who can tend to matting in her harness area. I brush her daily to try to keep it down. I also invested in clippers and try to tidy her up every 5 weeks or so. I find I need to bath, dry and brush her first and even then I still need to do short passes with the clippers. I also need to regularly take the comb off and defuzz the cutting area as this fuzz sometimes causes the clippers to get stuck . I take it very slowly and often do it over a couple of days. I find the bath makes her coat easier. She's not dirty but her coat starts to feel chalky/dusty if you know what I mean. Sorry if you do all this already. Just my experience with my Shitzhu cross. I also have cheap ish clippers which I decided to try to see how we got on. Best of luck. Also, any grooming tips appreciated

 

[Davesdog]

Hi. We have a Shitzhu/Bichon who can tend to matting in her harness area. I brush her daily to try to keep it down. I also invested in clippers and try to tidy her up every 5 weeks or so. I find I need to bath, dry and brush her first and even then I still need to do short passes with the clippers. I also need to regularly take the comb off and defuzz the cutting area as this fuzz sometimes causes the clippers to get stuck . I take it very slowly and often do it over a couple of days. I find the bath makes her coat easier. She's not dirty but her coat starts to feel chalky/dusty if you know what I mean. Sorry if you do all this already. Just my experience with my Shitzhu cross. I also have cheap ish clippers which I decided to try to see how we got on. Best of luck. Also, any grooming tips appreciated

Hi Suejay,
Thanks for your reply and sharing your experience.
We can also get by in the way you described, but I was hoping I'd be able to get though the matting in one pass or one session, like in the video I posted above.
We bought cheap clippers at first, and then a pair that were supposed to be decent, and I was expecting a better experience with them.
I'm still not sure if there's a skill to removing fur so fast like in the video I posted, or if the clippers I received are dull or faulty.

 

[Hemlock]

Professional groomers deal with very matted coats at times, and have the skills to do that. I strongly recommend you book a session with one to learn the techniques, or even go on a course yourself. Like any other skill, it has to be taught, learned and then practised.

 

[excuseme]

I find that brushing, unless you have a naturally short coated dog does very little.
A regular comb is far better and reaches down to the skin which helps to de tangle the coat and helps the clippers a lot.
Different grades of clipper blades can help too, some are for shorter softer coats and others are for a coarser coat, or a matted coat. Have a word with a professional groomer who may help with what grade blade may suit your dogs coat best.

 

[Davesdog]

Thanks for all the replies.
After trying different methods, someone we met recommended using a nr 4 skip tooth blade, which worked perfectly.
Problem solved.
Thanks
Dave