Thank you very much!Unless you've shaved a face before you don't need to be using anything other than a 10 blade maybe a #15. Save the 30's and 40's for when you know what you're doing. I saw a lovely little poodle today who's mother had butchered with a 40 blade at the advice from somebody on a FORUM! She figured that because she's groomed her shihtzu mix she could probably handle the blade and clippers well enough to use to 40 blade when it was suggested. I was sooo angry I could hardly speak, ended up sending her to the vet. You can do some serious damage with any blade but a 10 is a good learning blade.
If you have shaved faces before then great, use a 10 or shorter. One of my girls cannot tolerate a 40 on the face, horrid clipper burn every time so I do a #15. On my darker girl Saleen I've been using a #30 with little trouble. I've read that a lot of lighter colored dogs can't take some of the shorter blades so I guess Jazz is normal. I do usually do them every week though. It seems that with the shorter blades the longer you wait between clipping the higher the risk of irritation, just a personal observation.
Thank you ... I have YET to do my first trial run at it. :scared: Novice, newbie here. I'm sure it will take a couple years before I am ok at it.I use a 30 on the feet and a 15 on the face.
A 30 can be used on the face, too, but you need to be proficient with the blade and the dog needs to get their skin "toughened up" if you will to that close a shave. For me (competent home groomer, dog with black face / head), the 15 is plenty close enough for the face.
--Q
Quite true. I generally recommend people use the highest number their dog's face can tolerate. If it's a dog who hasn't been shaved before, use a #10. Then gradually bump it up until you're using a #30 or #40. Black dogs tend to take high numbers easier/faster than white dogs. But the high numbers are the safest blades out there, by far, as long as the dog's skin has had time to adjust to it.I never will understand why people are afraid of the higher numbers. It is the lower numbers that have the teeth further apart and are more likely to catch the skin. As long as you make sure a 30-40 stays cool, glide over the skin with a swift, smooth movement ( no pressing down, no going over and over the same spot), it is the safest thing that you can use on your poodle.