The shears are a bit trickier to give suggestions on for a couple of reasons, price and ease of handling. A very fine pair of shears can be as much or more than the Bravura. Since you can't get several different pairs in your hand to feel which ones fit you best, I'll suggest not going for the top level but for a pair that won't break the bank.
Blade length is another consideration, right hand vs left hand, these options which you just can't test right now makes choosing some less expensive shears to get you thru, and leave the lifetime shears for later, a better choice.
I'll have to admit to heresy here myself. I bought an inexpensive set on Amazon several years ago (currently unavailable) and they're still working for me. I plan to go big eventually but these are still sharp and easy for me to maneuver.
In another recent thread, Hashimoto brand curved shears were suggested by another member:
and while searching for those on Amazon I saw these which might feel safer since they have the rounded tips
Amazon.com : LILYS PET 7" Right-Handed Pet Round-Tip Grooming Stainless Steel Safety Grooming for Dogs and Cats (Curved Scissor) : Pet Supplies
www.amazon.com
For the bath, how big is your mini? Where do you plan to bathe him? I'd suggest a tearless shampoo, usually puppy formulas are tearless. A few I looked up for another member are:
Best Tearless: Burt's Bees Tearless Puppy Shampoo with Buttermilk for Dogs
Best Hypoallergenic: TropiClean Hypo-Allergenic Gentle Coconut Puppy & Kitten Shampoo
PET HEAD Puppy Fun!! Tearless Shampoo
Be sure that he's completely combed thru, with no mats before you bathe him. Any mats will tighten and be harder to release or need to be clipped out if you don't get them before.
Whichever shampoo you choose, you can dilute it a lot. You'll find that getting a poodle coat thoroughly soaked isn't easy
. A handheld sprayer with the spray head held just on the fur, working the fur back and forth, is how I do it. You'll want warm, not hot water. I wet and shampoo the neck, body and legs first, leaving the head dry til the last.
When it's time to wet the head, cotton balls halved or quartered, or some folks have tried those squishy ear plugs, into the ears. They're not likely to stay in but try anyhow
. I turn the water volume down and hold the ear leather over the opening and wet down the ear hair, pointing the spray downward, then do the same on the other side. For the top, I'm now holding both ear leathers over the openings with one hand and tip the head up so the spray points downward again, wetting the center. Another member just put their fingers in the ears which I'm going to try next time. At this point, the water is off and on, still low volume while you sort of work the water down to the skin with your hands. To get the front of the topknot and muzzle try tipping his head down now. What you're trying to do is keep the water flowing down. I drip a bit of shampoo on each ear and lather up then a bit down the center of the head, tipped back, and lather up working it thru to the front and then a few drops in my hand to work the muzzle.
I rinse the head first, sort of reversing the order. There will be shaking and water flying
. After you rinse, rinse again and keep rinsing til you don't feel any shampoo in his fur.
When you towel dry, it's more of a patting action rather than rubbing. No point in tangling the fur since you've now got him all combed out.
When using the dryer, same principal of pointing the air flow down or up rather than at the skin, using the comb to smooth and keep detangled while drying. If I'm blowing down the back from the neck, I'm combing up from the tail. The ears get blown and combed downward.
This seems like a lot of detail, I know, and it isn't necessarily how you'll end up doing things, but it's a guide. You can split the clipping and trimming up by doing the face and sanitary after the bath and then do body and legs the next day, and finish with the top the next day. Have lots of very special treats in small bits handy for all this!
You've got this!
