The best professional stylists are those who have developed a confident degree of dexterity with the clippers. Moreover, good scissor work is rarely found on a badly clipped dog.
The two just do not go together!
For maximum freedom of movement and improved efficiency, hold the clipper like a large pencil, between the thumb and fingers. “Palming” the clipper makes for clumsy, awkward clipper handling and puts the pet at risk for cuts and nicks. Concentrate on positioning yourself so that the clipper is pulled toward you and held comfortably like a pencil. There are rare times when holding the clippers in your palm will improve dexterity, but this applies to very few moves.
To create the least amount of stress on your fingers and wrist, grasp the clipper at the “balance point” so the weight is equally distributed between each end. Hold the clipper in the correct position, then rotate it between your thumb and fingers. This positioning keeps your wrist firm but flexible, yet allows for almost unlimited wrist movement. This hold offers access to the most difficult corners of the pet with minimum effort. Concentrate on minimizing your wrist action.
Allow the weight of the clippers to do the work. Your hand and wrist are simply its guide. As you move from the top of the pet to make downward strokes, simulate the same amount of pressure that gravity provided on the top.
Your hand and wrist will act as a shock absorber during clipping, leveling out the bumps and dents in order to obtain a satin-smooth finish.
No matter what blade you use, it is important to maintain a consistent degree of “tip” to the blade, also known as “keeping the blade up on its cutting edge.” Imagine a pencil being held right under the blade as you guide it over the body. The closer the pencil is to the teeth, the higher the tip angle; the farther back you keep the imaginary pencil, the lesser the degree of tip. Generally speaking, the closer the blade cuts, the higher you need to tip the blade for it to be effective.
Every top quality stylist knows the importance of a clean pet. It is impossible to obtain a satin-smooth finish on a pet that has a dirty or filmy coat. On most pets, two baths with the correct shampoo is normally considered adequate to produce a squeaky clean coat. Rinsing the pet thoroughly is critical to avoid shampoo residue that looks oily on a dry coat and produces a film you can feel on your hands.
“Setting the coat up” is important to produce the finest clipper work.
This is achieved in a three steps:
#1. THE DRYING PROCESS
The goal is to dry the coat so there is absolutely no curl or wave left in it. The natural coat of the pet – whether curly, wavy or straight – will determine which drying process will achieve the desired result. Correct use of a high velocity dryer can effectively produce a straight coat. Heat will “set” the coat straight. In some cases, the heat of the high velocity dryer, without the condensing cone, held against the skin in the final stages of drying will produce the desired effect. With very curly coats, hand stretch drying or hand fluff drying the coat using a stand type or hand held dryer is necessary.
Curly coats need to be as straight as possible in order to achieve a smooth, high quality finish. With a higher level of heat from the drying source, it is important to keep the air moving within a small section, while brushing in very rapid, light strokes, up to one to four strokes per second, just where the air is blowing. This will straighten the coat, just as a curling iron would curl a strand of human hair.
#2. BACK BRUSHING
Back brushing is done with a slicker brush while brushing the coat against the grain. The pressure on the brush should be very light. The entire pad of the brush should make contact with the skin and coat. Keep the pressure light on the brush so the skin is not scraped, causing a potential “brush burn.” Back brush the entire coat once and make a clipper pass over the pet using effective techniques.
When the bulk of the coat is gone, repeat the process a second time to get a smoother finish. On the third back brush pass, look only for high spots or uneven areas. Minimize the number of passes with the clipper; otherwise the set up coat will be crushed.
#3. BODY ROLL
On drop-coated breeds, when a medium to long guard comb is used to clip the pet, a “body roll” is normally more effective than back brushing. The body roll simulates the natural shake of a dog, setting up the coat in its most natural position. Ideally, the pet will shake when it is placed on the table. Take advantage of this and make the first full pass with the clipper. If the pet does not shake when it is first set on the table, sometimes simply blowing lightly in its ear will encourage a natural shake. A body roll can be mimicked by standing behind the dog and grasping a small amount of coat, low on either side of the rib cage. Tug one side and then the other, making the skin and coat rock back and forth as it would in a natural shake. Most pets do not find this move uncomfortable as long as it is done quickly and gently. On the third pass, use thinning shears to smooth out any uneven areas.
Clipper work is not complete until no more coat is being clipped off and the coat is properly set up. If the clipper has been used effectively, there should be a minimum of thinning shear work remaining to make the pet appear smooth and polished. Areas that may need a bit more detail are around the outside edges of the feet, the ears, around the tail, under the front legs and the face.
The finished pet should have a nice, clean outline when viewed from all angles at a slight distance. Upon closer inspection, the coat should be of a consistent length without any clipper marks. If these steps are followed and the coat is properly set up, the stylist will produce a high quality haircut.
In a professional grooming salon, I think my favorite tool is a humble towel. I just never have enough.
