New owener/groomer needs advice.

[Classified00]

Howdy,

I have a long haired Chihuahua and a recently aquired wire hair Terrier mix puppy (9 mos). My Chihuahua definately needs a trim on his underside and feet. The rest of his hair is long but neat. The Terrier is fine for now but I've already had to trim his facial hair with scissors so he could see clearly. I'm sure he'll need more work soon.

So here's my situation, I bought an Oster A5 and I already had the plastic blade guides (which I no longer use when clipping my own hair). The A5 came with a #10 blade which is 1/16.

* Should I shave my Chihuahua all over or just do his underside, back end and feet?
- If i do him all over, what length guard (or what metal blade should I buy)?
- Should I use the #10 alone for under/back/feet?

* Same question for when it comes time for the terrior.

Thanks in advance!
Any additional advice would be appreciated!

[porchpotty]

It would be best to ask the groomer about that.

[ackerleynelson]

It seems that you are going to do this first time and hence you must ask a groomer before attempting a trim yourself, as a vet or groomer can show you how to groom well.

[frostfell]

chi's, even LH, dont get shaved, or at least they shouldnt. you can have a groomer show you how to tidy the feet and furnishings and do a sanitary shave, but you shouldnt be doing anything else. the terrier, if you want him done in a breed clip, you need to have a groomer show you. pony up the money to have them done professionally, and watch the process (without letting the dogs see you) and then ask the groomer to show you exactly what tools they used and write them all down. most dog haircuts use at least a couple different blade lengths, some of which you may not have

[Red Chrome]

Frost, not many groomers willing to do that anymore, at least in this area. I know I wouldn't be.

Maybe you can watch some YouTube videos to help?

[JacksonsMom]

Definitely don't shave the LH chi!

It will not make shedding any less, if anything, it'll make it worse. And it'll most likely grow back funny.

We started getting our long haired Dachshund mix shaved, and now we HAVE to every 8-10 weeks, or he looks ridiculously frizzy and puffy. Shaving ruined his hair and now we have to do it all the time for him to look decent.

[Laurelin]

Don't shave the LH chi. Take thinning shears/shears to his feet and you can do a sanitary trim if you want.

There are usually some good articles out there, particularly by show people on breed-specific grooming.

[ackerleynelson]

Laurelin is right that a number of articles will really help you out and you can learn a lot from these articles.