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Andis AG2 Shaver

2K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  Rose n Poos 
#1 ·
I've got an Andis AG2 shaver that I've groomed my two spoo's with, over the past 5 years. My wife and I aren't fan's of the "poodle look" haircut so I use a 17mm guard on their entire body, except I use a 10mm on their face.

Is the #10 blade the best possible blade for how I'm cutting them? I've wondered if a more course blade would work better?
 
#3 ·
welcome to poodle forum! Please consider going to the member introductions thread and telling us about yourself and your poodles. Maybe sharing a pic? :)

You have 2 blade options to use under guard combs.
A 10 blade works well for your needs. The 10 blade will leave the hair just slightly longer than what the length of the guard comb is. Since you like a longer cut anyway, that tiny extra bit of length won’t make a difference.
Your other option to use under a guard is a 30 blade. This will give the corresponding length of whatever guard you put on and may give you a slightly smoother finish. If you use this blade length without a guard you’re at risk of irritating and causing razor burn since it is a shorter blade. Usually a 30 blade is what is used when shaving faces and feet to get the “poodle look” on dogs that are used to a close shave.
I’d recommend just sticking to the 10 blades and having multiples of them. Since a 10 blade is what you should use to trim the sanitary areas with, and you can swap out to a cool one before they heat up to much.
 
#4 ·
@Rose n Poos

Pictures of our spoo's now as well as pictures of what we'd like to achieve certainly make sense, I'll get on that this evening.

Since I'm new here I suppose I could introduce myself a little better! My names Michael and got my first spoo puppy named Zoey 5 years ago and then subsequently we got another puppy named Honey 1 year ago.

I initially was in the market for a golden doodle since I had to give one up in a divorce and missed him badly. 5 years ago I found a spoo that was cheaper than what I could find the doodles for. Since I didn't have much money at the time I decided to go with the standard. Wow! I love the spoo's sooo much! To me they seem like better dogs than the doodles, especially in the "looks" department.

I lived with a roomate that had a royal spoo that had what she called a "lamb cut" and this is what I've attempted to emulate ever since I've been cutting my little girls.

I've never watched a video how to cut spoo's nor have I read anything on how to do it. I've simply learned little by little over the past 5 years. I did purchase a professional grooming table, the neck and haunch holder as well as the Andis shears. I've learned that it works best to let the shears cut their way through the hair as opposed to forcing it through - this was probably the most important thing to learn.

I don't have any pictures of the dogs after a haurcut, they seem to have lomg hair in all the pictures that I can find in my phone, but I'll share some anyway.

Thanks for your help, it's great that I found a spoo forum!!

Michael
 
#5 ·
Many of us here will agree that you made the right choice getting a spoo instead of a doodle, for many reasons!
Id like to add that I recommend the wahl stainless steel guard combs if you don’t already have them. They work much better and produce a smoother result than plastic guard combs.
Also, the clipper will go through the hair the best when after being brushed then combed, bath, blow dried (on cool), and then brushed and combed again. Clipping dirty hair dulls the blade more quickly and is harder to clip.
A grooming book that is highly recommended by others (and myself) here is Poodle Clipping and Grooming: The International Reference by Shirlee Kalstone. Look around and you’ll be able to find a used copy for a good price. Everything you’d need to know is in that book, and it has specific instructions about breed specific clips like the lamb clip. that along with watching YouTube videos on poodle grooming will help you a lot!

Also, if the money allows, you should get a high velocity dryer and a pair of curved shears to achieve the best grooming results possible.
The shelandy dryer on amazon is highly rated, as are the hashimoto curved shears. Both are reasonably priced.
 
#6 · (Edited)
We're happy to have you and your girls here, looking forward to the pics!

Porkchop has some good info for you. If you're interested in looking at videos, there's a lot to choose from, including members posting tips and videos in the grooming forum, but I have a couple of specific names to suggest out on YouTube: Sue Zecco and Diane Betelak. I find it easier to get a feel for techniques and info from just a few sources at first then branch out as I get a feel for things.

Just to start things off, I started doing my own grooming last year and I'm not past the novice category yet, but here's what my mini boys look like after my usual trim. Lamb cut or kennel cut is a non-fancy groom, and I think it shows off a poodle beautifully. Porkchops Lacey Rose is a little doll baby and is too cute for words in her cut, which is a bit different. You can see her in their 52 week thread. Porkchop does the grooming beautifully!

For comparison, I use a Wahl 5 in 1 clipper with the Wahl steel guard combs for the body and legs - 1/4" comb for the body, 3/8" for the legs with the blade setting usually at 30, and the 10-15 blade setting with no combs for face and sani. The Angry Birds look on Remo wasn't deliberate but it makes me smile :).

466604
 
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#7 ·
Thank you both so much for your time and thoughts @Porkchop @Rose n Poos !

I looked into the Wahl metal guards that were suggested and I'm curious - are the Oster metal guards as good as the Wahl's?

The Shelandy canon looks awesome, I can use that while cleaning my car, that will be purchased.

Hashimoto curved scissors - those look handy, I'll be buying some of those!

Here is a picture of Zoey that I took about 15 min ago, she was cut two weeks ago.
 

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#8 ·
I like Zoey’s look! I can’t personally speak to the quality of the oster stainless guards since I’ve never used them. Maybe someone else can chime in. I’d think they’d be better than plastic ones no matter what.
I see that they have lengths up to 2.” The only problem I can see is that they don’t have a 1/8” or 1/4” guard. Maybe you won’t need them. If you find you need them you can always buy them separately.
Glad that we could help!
 
#9 ·
You'll want to make sure they will fit whatever clipper you have or choose. They're probably interchangeable brand to brand but there may be other differences, such as combs for detachable single blade clippers vs the 5 in 1's. The Oster, Andis, and Wahl clippers are all well regarded. I'd expect that OEM accessories would also be.
Zoey looks very sweet and very sporty :).
I've found that of my Wahl set, I use the shorter 4 almost exclusively. If you want to keep a slightly longer furred face, I think you'll want those lengths that Porkchop mentioned.
 
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