# First time grooming! And a question...



## jdleggans (Jan 26, 2008)

So, I finally did it. I bought a pair of clippers and cut my Shih Tzu's hair for the first time. I had planned on taking her to the groomer, then found out how expensive it is, and decided I would just learn to do it myself at home. Needless to say... I now know why going to the groomers is so expensive! It took me about two hours start to finish. She didn't mind the clippers, she just thought they were a new (expensive!) toy and tried to play the entire time. Also, being a puppy she can only sit still for about 30 seconds, which definitely didn't help either. 

Anyway, I guess my question is this: Is there anything I can do next time to make this process easier? I tried giving treats, and that just made her more excited. I was thinking more along the lines of... is there anything I could give her (Benedryl, or some other puppy drug) to calm her down a bit while I'm clipping her? I want to make it clear I would NEVER do anything to jeopardize her health, which is why I am asking here first before trying anything. I just wondered if any of you had successfully used anything in the past. Or, if there is no safe drug, is there some other method I could possibly try?

I'm attaching "before" and "after" pictures just for fun... I'm pretty proud of my work, especially since its my first real DIY haircut!


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

You did a great job! Sometimes when I have a foster or one of mine gets antsy I smear a spoonful of peanut butter on the counter where they can lick it as I work. Or you can smuch a fingerful of peanut butter int he roof of their mouth. 'Keeps them busy for a while anyway. I also have high value treats at the end of the grooming session, treats that are only given out after grooming.


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## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

i think she looks pretty good! that's how i got into grooming. i was a poor college student and i couldn't afford to take buddy to a grooomer, so i got crappy $20 clippers from walmart and had at it. he looked pretty bad the first couple times. lol.

was this her very first haircut all together, or just by you? 

i second trying the peanut butter. but the only other advice i have is that she's still young. and shhe knows you're mom, and mom probably spoils her (and there's nothing wrong with that!) just make sure when it comes time for grooming, she knows it has to be done.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Wow, you did a better job than the professional groomer I take Snoopy to. Are you up for hire?  I like what you did with the tail, for some reason the groomer has never touched Snoopy's tail. It has never been trimmed down his whole life. It looked super weird when they shaved him down but left his tail,


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## jdleggans (Jan 26, 2008)

Thanks guys! 

I actually did give her peanut butter, haha. I smeared it all over her face (she was getting a bath later anyway!) to keep her busy for a few minutes. It didn't last very long though!

*dane:* It was her first real haircut by anyone. Before this I had only ever trimmed the hair out of her eyes and from around her bum with scissors, this was her first time with the clippers.

*Durbkat:* If you lived near me, perhaps we could work something out, haha.  I actually didn't do anything with her tail. She is only 6 months old, so the hair on her tail hasn't had time to grow real long yet! I haven't decided yet if I'll try to clip it when she's older... I might play that one by ear.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Thats weird because by 6 months Snoopy had a full fluffy tail.


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## jdleggans (Jan 26, 2008)

Haha, well he was lucky... When I got Chloe she just had a little rat tail!


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## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

something else to think about is you will get a much smoother cut if you bathe her first. i use to bathe buddy after thinking that's how it was done so i could get all the shavings off of him, but he turns out a lot better with a bath first. also, if you give a bath first, you're not damaging your clippers by cutting dirty hair.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

My teacher's shih tzu, the one who dog sits Snoopy, her shih tzu has short hair on her tail as well but has long hair on her body. Snoopy had some hair on his tail at 9 weeks even,


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## jdleggans (Jan 26, 2008)

*dane:* I never thought of that! Thanks for the tip, I will make sure and bathe her first next time. I was thinking the same thing - I figured she would have clippings all over her, so I would bathe her after the haircut. I also couldn't rationalize washing all that hair when I was just going to cut it off anyway!  If you bathe first, is it ok to use the clippers on damp hair? Or does the hair need to be completely dry before clipping?


*Durbkat:* That is how Chloe was when I got her as well. She was almost three months old, and had longer hair all over her body except her little tail! It was kind of pathetic, I'm glad it's filled in a bit! haha

P.S. Baby Snoopy was such a cutie! And he has grown into such a handsome dog!


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

Good job on her...now you need a decent pair of shears, so you can round her paws, and trim her head better. I would probably leave her tail long, just trim it so it looks like a nicer more even 'flag tail'.

As far as bathing first...it varies for me; I PREFER to work with clean hair, but if the dog is real matted, it just has to come off before the bath. However, if your dog doesn't get matted before you groom her, she should be able to have her bath first hand; It is best to go over the dog twice, with your clippers anyway... even after she's been bathed. 

Clip, refluff the coat with your slicker, and go back over to get the remaining 'straggling hairs' which there will be more than you would think, even if it looks smooth.


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## Haidden (Apr 2, 2007)

Few of my shihtzu


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## k9's (Apr 16, 2008)

your dog looks lovely you should be proud of it


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## jdleggans (Jan 26, 2008)

Thank you K9s!


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

You did a great job! 

Bathing and drying first will help a lot when clipping and scissoring. For finishing the rounded head, I use a thinning shears. I brush the hair forward and trim, then use the thinning shears on the ends. 

I groom my Standard Poodles with no problem, but when I got the little Shih Tzu, man oh man! LOL No muzzle to hold onto and use to move his head around like the Poodles! And those short stubby legs! He's wiggly, too, unlike the Poodles (who often just lay there and snooze while I do privates, belly, and feet). I gave up trying to bevel the Tzu's feet with scissors, so just brushed the hair, then held it down with one hand, and used the clipper to bevel!


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## jdleggans (Jan 26, 2008)

poodleholic said:


> You did a great job!
> 
> Bathing and drying first will help a lot when clipping and scissoring. For finishing the rounded head, I use a thinning shears. I brush the hair forward and trim, then use the thinning shears on the ends.
> 
> I groom my Standard Poodles with no problem, but when I got the little Shih Tzu, man oh man! LOL No muzzle to hold onto and use to move his head around like the Poodles! And those short stubby legs! He's wiggly, too, unlike the Poodles (who often just lay there and snooze while I do privates, belly, and feet). I gave up trying to bevel the Tzu's feet with scissors, so just brushed the hair, then held it down with one hand, and used the clipper to bevel!


Thank you! 

I will definitely bathe her and dry her before the next haircut. I don't have thinning shears, but I did finally end up using scissors to trim her face and finishing her head. It was much easier than trying to hold her still to use the clippers!

LOL, I'm glad I am not the only person with a wiggly Shih Tzu!  Its funny you say that about your Shih Tzu's feet, thats what I did too! After a good bit of wrestling her, I finally ended up just holding her leg down and clipping around the bottom of her foot. It worked and I'm happy with the result, so why not? haha


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## lvkseeter (Aug 4, 2009)

Good Job. I am ordering (as I speak) my first pair of clippers (Andis Ultra Edge 2 speed). What blade did you use on the body and did you use a comb attachment? Hope my adopted "Missy" comes out looking as good!


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## comix (May 27, 2009)

use the clippers more often, perhaps every other day.

you dont have to take any hair off - simply get the dog used to the process of being clipped.

attach the longest comb onto the clipper and just run it along the body until the dog becomes used to the vibrations. Hold the paws and run the clippers along the paw pads as well.


Make sure to stroke and reward.

Eventually the dog will learn to sit still and be very relaxed while grooming. 

(Sometimes the dog can become too relaxed. Mine either goes to sleep or rolls over onto the back while i am in the middle of grooming, since i dont use any restraints. Eventually I had to do face work while cradling the dog in my arms)


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

You did great for your first time! 
As far as making it easier on you (and her) work on teaching her what behavior is acceptable for grooming and what is not. Put her up on a table, washer, dryer, etc. so that she differentiates between play time on the floor, and business time for grooming. Work with her daily on teaching her to stand, teaching her to not pull away from you when you pick up a leg, (simply by holding the leg until she relaxes and stops pulling, then release) and holding still while you hold her chin hair to steady her face. Puppies first reaction is to pull away, but if you hold firm with your elbow resting on the table, they learn very fast they are pulling themselves, and will relax. Get some grooming shears (fiskar types aren't very safe to use on pets) and just keep practicing. I strongly recommend NO drugs of any type..even benadryl. They teach your pup nothing and I am not for drugging up a puppy. Its going to be better in the long run to teach her correct behavior, and tire her out beforehand with a good long play.


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

yeah, puppies are always wiggley at first. I also second what graco said about putting the dog on a table of some sort. People try and do it on the couch or in their laps, and it is just too confusing for a dog, who thinks that is play/love time. Also, stay as calm as possible. If you get annoyed, the dog gets worse. Or even more frequently with owners, they start to feel bad because their puppy is fighting so much, they must just hate it. Kind of be indifferent when grooming a dog that isnt paying attention, or trying to fight you. Be very nice and praise a lot when they do something right, but if they arent behaving, I have found that the best thing to do is to kind of ignore it. 

Also, since puppies are soo easily tired, I would suggest a good walk, or some sort of activity your dog enjoys that will get him tired. Tired dogs are way less easier to work with. I Tell owners to do this when they have kind of uncontrollable dogs (not really bad, just wild), and it really makes a difference.

I only recommend drugging dogs that are really really bad for grooming, like will die of a heart attack before getting a hair cut. I know you only asked about benedryll, but it probably wont do anything. I have known dogs that were drugged with ace before grooming, and they still had the energy to fight the groomer. but I wouldnt recommend it for a puppy who is still learning the process. At this point, you really cant groom too much. even if you do it everyday.


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## lillie20 (Oct 17, 2008)

I am also going to try to groom my dog myself. Last time at groomer, horrible experience, infection, etc. I do brush frequently, to keep coat from matting. Althou, poodle hair, do you think I can keep trimmed just with sissors. And what are shearing sissors? I do plan to buy a pair of clippers and set on longer comb setting. Wish me luck.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

lillie20 said:


> I am also going to try to groom my dog myself. Last time at groomer, horrible experience, infection, etc. I do brush frequently, to keep coat from matting. Althou, poodle hair, do you think I can keep trimmed just with sissors. And what are shearing sissors? I do plan to buy a pair of clippers and set on longer comb setting. Wish me luck.


Thats too bad that you had a bad experience at the groomers. Groomers are not all one and the same, and there are good ones out there, but owners need to do their homework and find them. 

Shears are scissors made for cutting hair. You do not want to use Fiskar type/fabric scissors. If you are going to give it a go at home, get the right equipment in order to do the job safely and as well as possible.


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## lillie20 (Oct 17, 2008)

I would rather leave grooming to the professionals, but a 4 hour grooming trip cost me and my dog 3 trips to the vet, and months of infected sores healing. I have asked groomers "can you cut this type of dog". Everyone is so sure they can do it, makes me wonder who to trust again. Do you feel it is better to bathe, dry then cut? I find getting hair wet, just leaves it more matted.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

lillie20 said:


> I would rather leave grooming to the professionals, but a 4 hour grooming trip cost me and my dog 3 trips to the vet, and months of infected sores healing. I have asked groomers "can you cut this type of dog". Everyone is so sure they can do it, makes me wonder who to trust again. Do you feel it is better to bathe, dry then cut? I find getting hair wet, just leaves it more matted.


There are MANY more questions to ask a groomer before assuming they can do the job. There is no liscencing for groomers in the US. Anyone with a pair of shears and a clipper can hang up a sign and call themselves a groomer. There is no regulation, no nothing. So you MUST do some homework before using their services. None of the main questions should have anything to do with what type of dog you have. That is irrelevant at first. How long have you been grooming? Where did you learn to groom? Do you attend continuing education seminars/trade shows? How often? Where is the certificate/proof of that? Do you have photos of your work? Do you sanitize your blades and shears? Is the place clean? Is it chaotic? Referrals? Etc. and so on. 

Anyway, I recommend washing and drying before clipping. Clipping a dirty dog will dull blades very fast. You will get a more even, nicer finish if you wash first also. Ideally, your dog is not matted when you are to groom her. The plan would be to groom her regularly, so she isn't matted. Then you don't have to worry about trying to wash and rinse thru the matted hair, or rebath after clipping the matts off. I also recommend blow drying her after the bath, before clipping. This will fluff the coat, straighten the coat, and make clipping much easier and faster.


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## tunisianswife (Aug 11, 2009)

wow, you did an awesome job! 

*I've also enjoyed everyone's pics of their adorable tzus.

I have both lhasa and shih tzu and every 6-8 weeks at the tune of $86 was a bit much. after 5 years of this, I decided last Jan to get a clipper set and go at it. It is not show quality for sure, but it is better than scruffy looking, uncomfortable in the heat, matts in the tail dogs.

I too found that if I bathe first then clip, it is soooo much easier. the clippers run through much easier. I think it has something to do with the oil in my one dog's coat. it somehow clogs up the clippers and I can't get it to cut and cut evenly.

I know all about the 'is it worth it' because it is an all afternoon ordeal with both dogs from bathing to finish. but then I think about what I've just saved my pocketbook and yes, it is.

thanks all for the tips about the peanut butter! they are very protective of their private parts. that is always a challenge. lol


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## bjh (Aug 12, 2009)

The no. 10 blade cuts very close the no. 7 is a little longer then the no.5 then no.4 thats the ones I use most in my shop. I like the ulta edge better than the ceramic blades. You can buy them at most farm stores.


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