# Shears and Trimming



## Kimm (Mar 13, 2018)

If I were to keep Maisy in a long puppy cut (3-4 inches), what kinds of shears would I need? 

I'd like to get some straight, curved, and thinning shears, but there are so many different kinds. Pet ones, human ones, various lengths, a zillion different brands, stainless, titanium, and anywhere from 16 to 57-tooth thinning shears. My head is spinning, lol. 

What specifics should I be looking for? 

Also, does anyone know of some videos or tutorials that might help me learn how? I'm a total newbie since I've only had shorthaired dogs before. I've been searching Google and YouTube and have watched a bunch, but not really anything that shows me how to do a long puppy cut with shears. They all seem to be short cuts with clippers.


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

I'm a groomer so I can help some. You only want to use shears specifically for dogs. Even Havanese coats have thicker shafts than most humans. I use Kenchii 5-Star swivel thumb 8" for about 85% of my grooms. 8" is long enough to make a decent straight line but not unwieldy. The swivel thumb is amazing for keeping you hand and wrist in the proper alignment. Hair scissoring isn't the same as paper cutting. It's not about force but precision. You don't need curves or thinners, at least not until you're proficient with the straights and want to fine tune your groom. 
The #1 tool you need though is proper bathing & brushing equipment. To keep your pups hair 2 to 3 inches long is going to mean that you need to brush her daily And when you do bathe her you need to blow dry her hair, but human hair dryers use heat and dogs are especially sensitive to heat so you need to get a dryer that is designed to work without heat but can get your dogs hair shafts straight and fully dry. Many people here recommend Chris Christiansen's cool pup&#8230; I have a small high velocity dryer that is not as intense as the ones at the salon but does the job. Brush wise I recommend a pin brush (without tips; they catch the hair tip and damage it which just causes mats later) and a soft slicker (I love my Chris Christensen) to pull mats apart- do not use it to brush your entire dog as it can also cause damage to the shafts- a nice midsize greyhound comb is also a must. 
I also recommend Chris Christensen's Ice on Ice and Coat Dressing to help condition your pup's coat (no I don't get paid by him he just makes the best stuff)
Have a table you work on 
Train your dog to the sight, feel and sound of the shears before cutting. In the salon we show a pup the (closed) shears & cautiously let them sniff, not lick. Then we pull away and scissor so they hear them. Then we close them & run/rub them around their body & face. And then pull away and air scissor. Do this process until she kinda ignores it. Then hopefully she'll let you trim her. 
Not sure if there are any specific scissoring videos to a Havanese. But Youtube has many demos from groomers.

Sorry if this was too much. I also apologize if your pup is a boy & I referred to him as a she the whole time 

Feel free to ask more. And there is a ton of experience here specific to Havanese from others on the forum who have been grooming their own longer than I've been grooming professionally. And no I don't get to use Chris in my salon  just for my pups at home


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

Jonathan David does long coat scissor cuts but he mostly uses this scissor over comb technique similar to people hair cutting. Possibly the best example and technique to use for such a long length but not so easy to master. Check for Jay Scruggs videos. You can also buy videos that go over specific breeds and techniques if you can’t find enough on YouTube. 
If you want find a nearby certified master groomer (it will be in their advertising- it’s not easy to get) and see if you can take a tutorial with them or have them even show you on your own dog (not free but probably the best if you can find one willing to show you)




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## Kimm (Mar 13, 2018)

Wow, thank you so much for all of this info! It's still kind of overwhelming, but this help a LOT. I have the pin brush and comb but need to get the slicker. I've been looking at a small triangular one for working on mats (because I saw it in a video of someone grooming a Shih tzu). 

Now to go shopping and watch some videos!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

katscleancutdogs said:


> Jonathan David does long coat scissor cuts but he mostly uses this scissor over comb technique similar to people hair cutting. Possibly the best example and technique to use for such a long length but not so easy to master. Check for Jay Scruggs videos. You can also buy videos that go over specific breeds and techniques if you can't find enough on YouTube.
> If you want find a nearby certified master groomer (it will be in their advertising- it's not easy to get) and see if you can take a tutorial with them or have them even show you on your own dog (not free but probably the best if you can find one willing to show you)
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I cut human hair a million years ago and I second that scissor over comb is a good place to start because there are so many videos and tutorials on that technique that many people are familiar with it. It is harder to master and I probably haven't mastered it but it helped me a lot that I knew how to do it.

I will say that I spent SO much time working on grooming when our dog was a tiny puppy and had to re-evaluate some of my expectations. There were times it looked butchered to me, and probably to the forum, but the average person wouldn't have noticed. It's hard to learn how to groom on a wiggly puppy who's also learning how to be groomed, and I was already pretty proficient with scissors. One of the advantages a professional groomer has in addition to all of the training is many dogs to work on in a day, which dramatically increases speed and proficiency.

Clippering it off is easier, but to anyone with a goal of grooming themselves with scissors, I think it's worth continuing professional grooming appointments for a while. Even if the appointments are stretched far apart, it gives a good base to follow while learning, so it becomes more of an investment. It helped me to focus on just one concept at a time, which helped our puppy tolerate it - like this week work on shaping the legs. I could step away and come back to what I had worked on with fresh eyes. There is no way I would have been able to groom completely with scissors in one session while I was learning. Now that he's a year old I could probably break it into two sessions, but for me to do a good job it takes longer, and it still takes me 20 minutes just to comb him well. I didn't really feel like I was making progress for a long time, so don't get discouraged.

I also decided to still budget for a full groom during busy times of the year. Right now our puppy is a mess because he was cut down when he started blowing coat and was matting like crazy. I have an appointment the first of November to get everything cleaned up, and if he's still blowing a lot of coat I'll schedule another to get through the holidays. Then in the new year I'll have a clean base and I can get back on my own schedule.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

I do Perry's grooming myself, but he goes to a professional twice a year when we're in the US (June /December) - I do it the rest of the time. I completely agree that it helps even things out when you're not so good at it yourself .

I do use clippers (scissors take me too long) for most of him and then scissoring the details but I keep him in a short puppy cut (with long tail and the ears not too short).


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## Kimm (Mar 13, 2018)

Well, I decided to try the groomer. I'm a little nervous, but from talking to them, I really don't think they'll do any of the dreaded things we worry about. They asked all the right questions before I even started telling them how I wanted it. They have a good reputation, and a lot of people recommended them to me. 

If I'm happy with it, I'm going to put her on the weekly maintenance plan for $10/week. This includes, bath, blow dry, combing, nails, foot pads, ear cleaning, and any trimming touch ups that need to be done on face, ears, feet, and sanitary areas. Then anytime I want her to have a full haircut, it's $30. Sounds really reasonable to me, and worth it since I have a lot of pain in my joints all the time (it's miserable just giving her a bath). 

I asked for a puppy face with bangs trimmed (because Maisy hates when I put it in a ponytail) but not trimmed under the eyes, and about 3 inches length on her body. So, we shall see how she turns out today...

I could just kick myself because I forgot to take a "before" picture! :doh:


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Kimm said:


> If I'm happy with it, I'm going to put her on the weekly maintenance plan for $10/week. This includes, bath, blow dry, combing, nails, foot pads, ear cleaning, and any trimming touch ups that need to be done on face, ears, feet, and sanitary areas. Then anytime I want her to have a full haircut, it's $30. Sounds really reasonable to me, and worth it since I have a lot of pain in my joints all the time (it's miserable just giving her a bath).


I would do it in a heartbeat! I cannot believe those rates. Just for a nail trim it's $15 for me, a "mini" groom (bath, nails, teeth, and trimming pads only) is $30, and then they charge additionally if it takes a long time to comb out so I would still have to make sure he's combed well or just opt for a full groom. And they're always booked out on those.

I'm okay with the full price of a full groom every so often, but I do really wish there was an economical way to take him in for a "touch up" occasionally when I'm having a busy week. Right now he suddenly won't let me comb the left side of his face. I keep looking for a mat and I can't find one (or any kind of sore), but I think there's one there and it's going to get even worse if I can't figure out where it is! I'd love someone more experienced to be able to step in when these things come up. Or have someone just comb him out when I know I'm going to be gone two days in a row - it's a 15 minute task but if I skip two days it means it will take me an hour to comb him out afterwards. An a la carte groomer! I imagine it would be really hard for a groomer to make time for that kind of thing in the schedule, though.


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## Kimm (Mar 13, 2018)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I would do it in a heartbeat! I cannot believe those rates. Just for a nail trim it's $15 for me, a "mini" groom (bath, nails, teeth, and trimming pads only) is $30, and then they charge additionally if it takes a long time to comb out so I would still have to make sure he's combed well or just opt for a full groom. And they're always booked out on those.


I feel you! Wish everyone had access to such economical grooming. Hope you can figure out if there's something bothering his face. Have you checked inside his mouth?

The groomer did a great job, and I'm really happy with them so far! It's not exactly like I wanted it, but it still looks good, just not 100% to my taste. Next week, I'll bring an example picture (I forgot today) to show them and see if they can get it closer to how I envisioned it. Also, I think I'll ask if they'll use my shampoo and conditioner because it leaves her much softer and smells better. Hopefully they won't mind. I'll take a picture of Maisy's new do tomorrow in the daylight and post it.

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