# Human vs. Dog Clippers?



## FrostQ

What's the difference between human clippers and dog's? I can get a human clipper with multiple length blade guard for ~25 bucks but dog clippers are almost 100 bucks. Will human hair clippers work for dogs as well?


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## GottaLuvMutts

A good friend of mine used to share his clippers with the dog! 
They'll work, but you might not like the results.


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## FrostQ

what's the difference with dog clippers? why wouldn't I like the results?


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## kenRC51

To me clippers are clippers. The reason why the dog clippers cost more is because most of them are the higher end clippers. For dog you need a higher end clipper because they have a stronger motor to run through their fur without pulling on the fur. For human, you dont need a higher end clipper (althought it would be nice) because our hair are not as thick as dog fur so we don't need a stronger motor.

Hope this helps.


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## Kyllobernese

I think you will find on most dogs the human clippers will not go through the hair at all and if they do, they pull too much on the hair so the dog really will not like it.


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## Shell

Offhand thought-- maybe check out horse supply stores for horse clippers? I've never clipped a dog, but I've used horse clippers a lot and they always looked just like a sturdier version of human ones. Horse grooming stuff tends to be cheaper compared to dog stuff.


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## poodleholic

FrostQ said:


> What's the difference between human clippers and dog's? I can get a human clipper with multiple length blade guard for ~25 bucks but dog clippers are almost 100 bucks. Will human hair clippers work for dogs as well?


As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Human hair is not anything like the coats of dogs, so be prepared for problems, should you buy that clipper. $100 is a very inexpensive investment, and will pay for itself over and over.


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## Purplex15

> Offhand thought-- maybe check out horse supply stores for horse clippers? I've never clipped a dog, but I've used horse clippers a lot and they always looked just like a sturdier version of human ones. Horse grooming stuff tends to be cheaper compared to dog stuff.


horse clippers tend have a strong motor in order to clip an entire horse, and are also usually very loud. i am not a fan, and most dogs do not need the motor strength, and do not tolerate the noise.


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## FrostQ

ok point taken...thanks guys/gals

I went to Petsmart and local pet supply stores and now I'm confused at the many different models and brands I can get...the price ranges from 50-200...so which one do you recommend?


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## Love's_Sophie

A cheaper clipper will get the job done okay, but the difference will be in how well the cut looks and how long the clipper holds up.

Many cheaper 'home grooming' clipper sets have an adjustable blade, and different length 'comb attachments', that will help you determine a coat length. However, you will need to make sure there is absolutely no matts in the dog's coat, or those combs come right off. The lengths of the blade attachment will vary, and I think the longest 'clip' you can get off those is usually a #7 length...which may be too short for your dog. Often the home grooming kits blade is not removeable. 

I, even before I started grooming dogs, preferred a clipper that I could swap out blades on easily, so determining length was a peice of cake, and I didn't have to worry about making sure the blade was tightened properly, etc. 

I am an avid Andis clipper fan...I have 6 of them I rotate while I groom, each one has a certain blade on it, so I don't have to constantly swap blades out; saves on the wear and tear of the blade drive. I use Super Two Speed models, and also have a cordless that I use for faces, and feet.


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## Marsh Muppet

The dog clippers work wonderfully on my hair.


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## Angel's_mom

I tried to use our clippers (a $50 Wahl set) on the dog and it just wasn't working so I took her to the groomer. I was a bit overwhelmed at the idea of doing her feet, and around her face, anyway. Now that she is groomed, I think I could possibly keep up with it myself though, as long as it doesn't get long and matted like it was when she came to us. 

I trimmed around her eyes with hubby's beard trimmer the other day. Shhhh.... don't tell him.  Why is it that the hair on top of her nose, in front of her eyes seems to grow faster than all the rest? I just had her groomed 6 wks ago.


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## traceymc

Marsh Muppet said:


> The dog clippers work wonderfully on my hair.


LOL

I use my hubby's clippers on Tyson, does the job ok but I'm saving for some Osters.

PAH have some Wahl clippers for £35, they are clearly not going to be much better than the ones I'm using now.


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## Ben M.

The skill required to use clippers and the time in labor using them is far more costly than the high-end clippers themselves. Think about what a cut costs at the groomer's and how much a good clipper costs. If you're willing to develop the skill and do the work, you'll save/earn enough to pay for the best in two clips.

The mainstays are the Oster A5 (equivalent to Classic 76 in the human product line) and the Andis. You can get one speed or two speed, but the key thing is that these clippers are built with reliable parts and materials, they run cool, they have a wide selection of blades and attachements available, they're not going to be discontinued in your lifetime, and they've been trusted for at least 25 years or more and they have powerful universal motors -- as opposed to the magnetic drives in the cheapest trimmers and the dc motors in the battery operated clippers.

I have a Classic 76. This is the same as the A5 that's marketed for animals. The blades are interchangeable except the labeling scheme is screwy. Human blades are all finishing blades and numbered like 0, 1, 1 1/2, 3, 4 etc. Whereas animal blades with digital only labels like 3, 4 etc. are skip-tooth blades and the blades labeled 3F, 4F etc. are "finishing" blades, equivalent to human 3, 4 blades. The design of the blades is otherwise identical, but some of the blade treatments and coatings vary. There's cryogenic hardened blades for longevity, Ag ion (Silver ion) treated blades for anti-septic properties, and there's "Elite" blades that have both cryogenic treatment, Ag ion coating and titanium plating for lubricity (cooler running).

I have some of each and I like the Elite blade for the dog because the clippers tend to run for a long time on him. For my family it doesn't make much difference because haircuts are over faster.

You can get an A5 or Classic 76 with a couple blades for $120-150 price range. Plastic attachment combs will extend the range of use on blades for some purposes but in other cases you'll need various blades.

I don't have experience with Andis but I believe their high end models enjoy the same market position as Oster's. I don't know of anything else that has the same level of respect with groomers and barbers anywhere. I'm sure some people doing lower volume work are doing it with the cordless models because batteries have come a long way and a Li ion unit would probably do fine but for a comparable cordless unit you're going to have to pay quite a bit more than corded units.

The A5 is a good unit for horses but anyone doing high volume work on large animals is going to use a bigger unit like sheap shears. They're faster but they don't do good work on dogs.


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## ElectricButterBuns

NO! It seems like a deal to get the human ones, but don't buy them unless you intend to use them on yourself in the future. Even the 'almost 100' dollar clippers may be useless depending on what type of dog you have and the coat. If you go to a place like PetsMart a decent pair of clippers will run you almost 200. Otherwise you're wasting your money.

It all grows out the same you just notice it more over the eyes because it is where you're looking the most. Plus it can be bothersome and stinky depending on the dog and it's tearing.


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## JiveDadson

I tried using my beard clipper. Nothing doing.

I bought a fifty-something dollar Andis clipper. It works fine for my beasts, but it remains to be seen how long it will hold up. I would advise against a battery operated clipper. The one I got has an electro-magnet motor and runs off of house current. It's pretty strong. A permanent magnet motor probably won't cut it, so to speak.


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## Love's_Sophie

Dog clippers (good ones anyway), have a higher running speed to them (some have 2 speeds), which helps the blades clip the thicker finer hair of the dog. You might get through a dog's coat with a human clipper, but you could potentially wreck his coat, as the blades may just kind of 'crunch' through the hair, rather than cut it cleanly, like the faster stronger pet clipper will. If you spend the money on a decent clipper, it should outlast your dog...I have clippers from over 10 years ago, and they are still used daily (I groom dogs and cats)...so they have definitely 'earned' their asking price!!!! 

As far as checking out horse clippers, unless you have a large breed dog I highly discourage this, as they are really bulky, and there is no way you will reach all the areas, and definitely no way you will get into small spaces, like armpits, and groin areas, without possibly cutting the dog's skin. You also will not be able to change blades on these livestock clippers easily. Yes, they are powerful, but that's overkill for a dog!



JiveDadson said:


> I tried using my beard clipper. Nothing doing.
> 
> I bought a fifty-something dollar Andis clipper. It works fine for my beasts, but it remains to be seen how long it will hold up. I would advise against a battery operated clipper. The one I got has an electro-magnet motor and runs off of house current. It's pretty strong. A permanent magnet motor probably won't cut it, so to speak.



Ummm...most of Andis' clippers have the permanent rotar...I have all Andis clippers and they have stood up to everything! I have two speeds (of various versions), as well as a cordless...They have all 'paid for themselves'.

All of my corded clippers were around the 120-130 range new, and my cordless with extra battery, and corded adaptor costed me around 280 new. ALL are over two years old...with my oldest one being around 10-11 (still usable)...


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## lester

According my experience, the Dog Clippers can do Human clippers things , but human clippers cant do dog clippers things.


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## Sydneyrocky

I only use A N D I A brand clippers, they have many blades for all types of hair and cuts, coats. You can see them on line.


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## Sydneyrocky

Sorry hit wrong letter, it'd is A N D I S.


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## LeoRose

lester said:


> According my experience, the Dog Clippers can do Human clippers things , but human clippers cant do dog clippers things.


An Oster A5 clipper is an Oster A5 clipper, whether it's sold through a beauty/barber supply company or a pet supply company. There are certainly different grades/qualities of clippers, and you can't expect an inexpensive, light duty home use clipper (sold as either human or dog) to stand up to heavy duty daily use like an expensive, professional grade clipper (sold as either human or dog) can. 

Oster, Andis, and Wahl all make clippers ranging from light duty home use for under $50 to professional use clippers costing over $200.


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## MatthewK

FrostQ said:


> What's the difference between human clippers and dog's? I can get a human clipper with multiple length blade guard for ~25 bucks but dog clippers are almost 100 bucks. Will human hair clippers work for dogs as well?


I use this clipper for my golden retreiver. Its only 20 bucks.


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## dalans

My experience was quite different than most people that go with premium heavy duty clippers. 

I have tried a few different techniques with our standard 70 lb bernedoodle. I really think that your needs will vary quite a lot depending on the type of coat your dog has. Our dog has a very thick coat of fine soft fur. I used to use scissors for her, but now I have converted to clippers for most of the job, and just use scissors for her face, and a little bit of cleanup. 

My experience has been that an inexpensive set of human clippers (here: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004OL3QES/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) 

does a great job. 

I use a snap-on plastic comb (5/8 inch). Most people will say that this clipper is too lightweight and that a plastic comb will not do a good job - it will fall off, or it will get caught, the clippers will bog down or overheat, etc. This has not been my experience. I found it works fine. As long as the fur is fairly clean and *very* well-brushed, it works great. I keep on top of it by grooming her every 2 or 3 weeks rather than waiting for it to be a big job. She lies on her side and I do one side, and then then I roll her over and do the other side. 

As a matter of fact, I borrowed a pretty expensive set of clippers this past weekend to compare. It was much heavier and more powerful than mine, and had less vibration. I did not like how heavy it was, but the low vibration was a nice thing I guess. It had a #4 blade on it - so it should have been pretty similar. Thing is, a blade is fairly fine, whereas a snap-on comb is widespread. Long story short is that I could not use that expensive set - it was terrible - it was like trying to run through her coat with a very fine toothed comb, whereas a snap-on comb on my clippers was more like running a wide-toothed brush through her fur - it glides through. I just run it through a few times - against the grain - and it provides a pretty even and nice cut. 

Maybe using the heavy clippers with a snap-on comb would be a little faster, but I am not going to bother. 

Again, I think it really depends on the type of coat you are dealing with.


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## Betatrix

As a dog groomer myself and i've been asked this question so many times. every dog has different type of fur. It depends on a breed. Some of them must be trimmed only with scissors while others can be clipped. Human clippers have weaker motor and blade is half as sharp as one for pets. U can use human clipper for doing sanitary grooming. Only to remove fur from paws, near eyes and so on... No human clipper will survive after trimming third of Cocker spaniels fur 

This post might be very interesting for those who want to know how exactly human and dog clippers differ.


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