Problems with pulling hair when grooming my Shih Tzu ?

Question

I have a 3 year old Shih Tzu that has thick, soft hair. I like to keep him cut short in the summer to keep him cooler, since I live in the heat and humidity of the south. I've used a 4F, which still isn't short enough for the summers, so moved to a 7F (which I like the length).... but the 7F is giving me problems. When using the 7F, hair seems to get "stuck" between the blades and it just pulls on his hair, instead of cutting it. Needless to say, my doggie doesn't like it too much. I don't think its the clippers, as I can use a 10 and it works just fine (but way too short)! I know its not the sharpness of the blade, as it will cut my finger if I run my finger over it. I also took the blade to a professional groomer and they tried them out on their german shepherd's chin/throat and they worked fine.... I've tried cleaning the clippers (which I've only used 4-5 times, so still new) and oiling the blades, all to no avail... Any ideas? Is there any reason that the blades just don't "match" the dog's hair-type? Or anything else I can check on the clippers/blades?

Answer 1

I would recommend that you post this question to another forum where professional pet groomers go called The Groomers Lounge.  I have gone on that forum and have gotten answers on how to groom several of my dogs.  See source list below.

Also, I would recommend that you make contact with your local AKC Shih Tzu representative.  See source list below.  Most of the club members groom their dogs themselves because nobody can do it better than they can.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Some dogs have a coat with a texture that makes it difficult to get through a dog's hair, although in those cases the clippers usually just don't cut very well rather than pulling at the hair.  Keep in mind that an F blade is a finishing blade.  You might try switching to a 7 skip tooth blade for the majority of the shaving and then go over it at the end with the 7F.  If you are using clippers with multiple speeds, you could try using a higher speed.  Also try brushing your dog out prior to clipping.  Even if your dog's hair is not matted, it may just need to be brushed out so that the clippers can go through it, particularly if it is thick.    

Answer 3

That's really unusual.  I've never heard of this problem.  There's only a few things I can think of that you haven't tried.  

1) Is your dog matted at all?  If you can't run a fine toothed comb through his hair easily, you'll have trouble with your 7.  The 10 would still cut normally since it gets under mats.

2) Have you had the blade sharpened?  I know it seems sharp, but it needs to sharper to cut a Shih Tzu's fine hair than a GSD's course fur.

3) If the neither of these is the problem, you might try an 81/2 blade.  The difference in length will be minimal, but the nature of the blade is different so it may work for your dog.

Answer 4

I would have to ask you not to use a skip blade as another poster suggest to start off, these blades are rather dangerous and with the short length you are likely to cut the dog, especially if you are having a "pulling" problem already.

It really sounds like your blade is dull. A professional groomer (since you said that you took the blade to one and it worked there) is more knowledgable on how to make a blade go through a coat well. If the hair is matted when you try to shave your dog, the 7f should still be fine to use. There is a reason that new groomers at almost any grooming salon are not even allowed to use skip tooth blades, I know that I wold not let anyone in mine unless I knew for a fact that  they were well experienced. If you HAVE to go shorter, I would take your dog to a groomer or vet to be groomed because of the risk of nicking or clipper burning the pet.

You also may want to check the speed of the clippers that you bought. The lower quality clippers that you buy in stores a lot of the time have a very slow speed compared to professional clippers. If the speed is slow, it will not move the blades fast enough to go through the hair if the blade is even somewhat dull.

While you are clipping, be sure to brush the blade to be sure that there is no dirt or anything else in between the metal pieces, this tends to push the blades apart, causing "chewing" or "pulling" of the hair rather than a clean cut.