# Cutting & Thinning Shears - Can I use those for humans



## abcd1234 (Aug 8, 2017)

Hello everyone, 
I have an English Cocker Spaniel and they need serious grooming.
He is still a pup so his hair does not grow that fast but I need to start preparing for the moment when he is going to need grooming.

Are the human shears the same with those for dogs?
He will need regular scissors and thinning shears.

The one the breeder recommended are $130 each.
Some human shears on Amazon are $30 each

Does anyone do grooming at home ? Does anyone grooms the ECS at home?
Thank you


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Dogs have a lot more hair and it comes in a lot of different textures. Suspect a good dog shears are far better than a $30 pair of human ones. I have a decent pair of thinning shears used to shorten tail feathers mostly, Gator brand. I bought them using Amazon rewards so they cost $50 or so. I use a cheap pair of scissors formerly used on human hair to clean up dog feet. They do not work as well on dog hair as they did on human hair but won't slice like a razor if dog wiggles so I'm good with that. These are cheap ones, maybe $10 new so not as nice as the ones you are considering. 

I groom at home and first dog that needed a lot of work was a medium sized spaniel mix. I didn't need to do any body or neck work other than thin out undercoat because I wasn't grooming to any breed standard but that plus keeping feet, ears, tail and other feathering tidy were fairly major tasks that took an hour twice a month. Used a Mars Coat King or metal flea comb to thin undercoat, the thinning shears to trim feathers, cheap scissors to keep feet tidy and the thinning shears on the ears. A slanted stripper, my fingers and stone were used to pull out fluff. Really scary doing the ears and I eventually went to the cheap scissors as I sliced him a couple times when he wiggled. I trimmed close to the leather so you probably won't have the same fear I had.

Start pretend trimming now. Use anything that looks like scissors and pretend to hold him so he learns to stay still and you learn how to hold him and the implement in use.


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## abcd1234 (Aug 8, 2017)

Thank you.
How do you thin the undercoat? 

Today I cut the hair between his paws. I used regular scissors for people. He has big paws so it was not difficult. And he stayed . I also trimmed a little the hair at the end of his ears. Again he seems to be OK with it. I'm not saying because he is my dog, but he really has such an easy nature. Never gets upset, he is not nervous, he stays in his crate when puts there, without whining or crying...The only times he whines is when he needs to go potty. Anyway, I am amazed by him. Very friendly...I don't want to jinks it, as I have been having him for 2 weeks only and he is still under vaccination ( a huge stress for me) but I could not have asked for a better dog. Even if I were to design him.. Anyway..not the topic of this thread. Sorry.  

At this age (12 weeks ) he does not have much hair and most of it is extremely thin. 
What trimmer / clipper would you recommend? 
Thanks again


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I was scarred by the appearance of clipped dogs and refuse to use clippers. Nowadays groomers are much better and dogs don't look like shaved sheep but back then? Shudder. The sheared sheep appearance is when clipping is done without getting fluffy undercoat out.

I pull out the excess undercoat by combing with a metal flea comb, the Mars Coat King and plucking the stuff that sticks out. You know it needs to be done if fluff is extending beyond the shiny outer coat or your house has been invaded by dust puppies. Ginger hadn't shed undercoat in the 4 years she's been with us and all of a sudden the brush was full of her fluff so I combed her out with the flea comb and in a couple weeks the shed was over. That dog is ridiculously wonderful. Practically speaks English, loves everybody, a blast to train and her undercoat is even cooperative!

Dogs vary in sensitivity to various types of handling whether they've been raised well or not. Seems to me you have a wonderful pup that was well raised. Good breeders do lots of handling and training before puppies go home. My Bucky came as a biting 2 year old covered with mats. Not a good previous residence. He probably has more sensitive skin, is definitely super reactive and needs help allowing things like this which he did not get there. I probably would have had issues with him if he had been my first dog but I've got this now.


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