# Clippers won't cut through dogs fur



## Maxkranx (May 13, 2020)

Hi everyone, 
I'm New here, so just a quick intro; I have 5 BC's, age range from 13 yes to 8 yrs old, we used to live on a farm, moved to a town at the coast here in South Africa about 3 1/2 years ago. 
My oldest girl has an extremely thick, sort of wooly coat, so I normally just shave her since getting a brush through her coat is near impossible. I bought an Oster A5 double speed clipper with a no 3 blade because I don't always, especially like now with winter approaching, want to shave her to her skin. But that blade just doesn't seem to want to go through her fur. I also have a no 10 blade that I got by default, that blade goes through just fine. The no 3 is not dull, it's practically brand new as I only cut Xena and not the other dogs. 
Is the no 3 the wrong blade for my girl, what would be a better blade? Anything else I can try to get the "longer" blade to do the job? 
Pic attached of dog in question.


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

Clipper blades aren't really meant to go through mats and knots. Sounds like the #10 blade is short enough to go under them, which is why it's working better. Without brushing out your dog's fur first, I don't know that any long blade is going to be able to get through a coat like you describe. Clippers generally work best on brushed out, washed hair or fur, regardless of the species they're used on.


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## Maxkranx (May 13, 2020)

@DaySleepers, oh! OK I see what you're saying. I can try to brush her out, she's pretty clean at the moment. I don't know if I'll succeed, but I can try, see how far I can get and then give the longer blade another go. Thank you.


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## prairiefire (Jun 24, 2016)

My #3 won't go through impacted or matted coats. If she's matted you will need to use a #10 (the blade most clippers come with). If she's really matted it's not worth the torture (to the dog) to brush/comb it out. Shave it off and start again with proper coat maintenance. The dog should also be bathed before clipping. Dirt in the coat will dull the blades fast and cause them to heat up which risks clipper burn.


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