# Basic Grooming Tools



## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

I don't have any links, different country and all that but these are some things to get:

*Slicker brush* - soft variety, If you can't run it down your arm without it hurting it is probably too firm. I always image what it must feel like on T's skin and if I don't like it I don't buy it.

*Pin brush* - if your going to have any length at all in his coat these are great

*Greyhound comb* - I have a few combs with different widths and handles so not true greyhound combs but I like a handle 

*Cordless clippers* for doing f,f & t - I love the Moser Arco's I bought, light weight, quiet and don't heat up real quick

*Force dryer* - I have the Double K Challengair which I like, has plenty of power but isn't a stand dryer. There is a thread going on at the moemnt about dryers

*Nail clippers* or Dremel type thingy - I do T's nails every time we have a major groom eg. once a week, I only take a little just so he gets use to it and I keep them under control

*Ear cleaner* - T has already had an ear infection so I clean and pluck his ears every week too

*Eye wash* - I am hopeless at keeping the shampoo out of his eyes so I rinse them with this eye solution, realistically distilled water would probably do the same thing and I'll probably refill the bottle with that once this stuff runs out

*Lots of different types of shampoos*, coat conditioners, coat refurbishers, - your not a true poodle person unless you have at least 15 half used bottles from 10 different companies sitting around :rofl:. No seriously choose a brand you like and see how you go. I know a lot of people recommend Aloveen, I personally haven't got to trying that yet, I'm waiting on a heap of Plush Puppy stuff I ordered a few days ago.

Anyway there is probably more but some one else will fill in the gaps. Some of this you can probably wait and see if you need eg. eye and ear wash

Something I forgot - some *soothing cream/spray *for following clipping. I use a human after sun burn spray for babies. I always spray on T's clipped bits once we've finished as a precaution to clipper rash. Again probably not required always it's just a routine I have got into to prevent any problems before they happen.


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## SECRETO (Aug 20, 2008)

Ear powder and ear solution. However, on the ear solution, I do not put it down the ears and massage. The direction's say to, but to me thats just putting more moisture down a healthy ear. I advice just putting some on a piece of guaze and clean the ear as far as you can get. 

I always pluck the hair out with my finger's after placing the ear powder in. You'll love ear powder! Then when I have finished the plucking and cleaning I finish by putting a little more ear powder in to help keep it dry. 

Also, if you notice a odor from the ears, usually its a good sign that they need a good cleaning. After you clean them and remove all that smelly hair the odor is gone. Thats my experience with my Poodles and my Bichon I grew up with.


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

A good rule for ears is don't put anything down there you can't get back out. Sooo I squirt cleaner on a cotton ball and clean with that rather than put it down in the ears too. 

It's probably a GREAT idea to go ahead and get a tearless shampoo. Actualy you can use tearless baby shampoo according to my vet. I'm a little anal though and only use shampoo's desinged for dogs. A lot of puppy shampoo's are tearless if it helps any in finding one. 

Other than that I can't think of anything else that hasn't been mentioned already.


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## IPP (Nov 29, 2008)

*Pin brushes...which type works for which type of coat?*

Which type of pin brush would you groomers recommend? I have heard to use and to NOT USE the type with the balls on the tips. Anyone want to go into detail about what they use and why?

I have been looking at pin brushes at pet edge and was wondering which one would be good for a longer coat? I have just been using an old hair brush of mine that is basically a pin brush by conair.

Here is the page I have been looking at with slicker and pin brushes on it...from Pet Edge's web-site.

http://www.petedge.com/catalog/sear...=AllSearch&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=0&Nty=1


Look pet edge has a "grooming show poodle video" on sale now!

http://www.petedge.com/Grooming-Sho...tegoryId=197&categoryId=239&subCategoryId=474

This one is cheaper!
http://www.petedge.com/Grooming-Mul...tegoryId=197&categoryId=239&subCategoryId=474


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

My pin brush does not have the balls on the tips and the new one I just ordered from Plush Puppy doesn't either. It seems to work alright but now I am worried I should have bought with the balls LOL!

Just had a look at a few grooming websites eg. Plush Puppy, Chris Christensen and none of their brushes have the balls so I reckon they know and it's no balls is better, but would be interested to hear what others think too.


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## cupcake91 (Dec 16, 2008)

I use Chris Christensen brush and shampoo and buttercomb too 
wahl switchblade clipper and wahl arco se clipper for face and feet
EZ-shampoo Crystal white and Ultra rich leave in cont.
les pooches brush 
i know that high price but only use my dogs 

i forget i have chris christensen shears and long scissors

lol i know i love chris christensen..


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## IPP (Nov 29, 2008)

Well I am looking for a pin brush I can use on poodles with long hair, shorter hair and then the afghan hound. 

On one web-site I read to NOT USE the ones with balls because if its just a small mat then you are likely to break the hair when you don't really need to. I guess that afghans (especially females dropping coat) then to have weak hair so best to preserve all you can, otherwise you end up with a thin looking coat. 

Considering all the patches of short coat that Sophie has where I had to shave the matting out, I want to keep as much hair as I can on her until the whole coat looks more filled out.

I was thinking I need one without balls, but I thought that maybe someone might have a good reason why to use them. The one I use has them, but I do pull out alot of hairs...I was just under the assumption that they were simply dead hairs that needed to go anyway...its hard to really pull to much out on a poodle. 

I never brush a coat if it has tons of mats and I know its going to hurt very badly...I end up having to shave at least some of the rescues we take in, so that is no big deal. I just don't want to make things worse!


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## tannerokeefe (Dec 14, 2008)

*List of Everyone Favorite Shampoos!!!!*

Could everyone list their favorite shampoos.......here are a few that I have heard mentioned:

Plush Puppy
Chris Christensen


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

Major excitement my Plush Puppy stuff should turn up today so will let you know what I think once I get to use them. 

I have been using Groomers Edge which I like but it is diluted quite heavily, good value but hard to get the solution to stay on the hair as it is so runny it just seems to slide off without penetrating before you get a chance to work it in. I have been halving the dilution and I like it a lot better although obviously not as cost effective anymore.

Plush Puppy is also fairly heavily diluted but doesn't seem so much so will see how it goes.

On another forum I am on they love Aloveen - apparently it smells wonderful and is quite gentle but I have yet to try it so can't recommend.


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## 125 (Jul 24, 2008)

*Shampoo suggestion for puppy*

sorry, meant to start a new thread


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## tannerokeefe (Dec 14, 2008)

Blue Fox said:


> Major excitement my Plush Puppy stuff should turn up today so will let you know what I think once I get to use them.
> 
> I have been using Groomers Edge which I like but it is diluted quite heavily, good value but hard to get the solution to stay on the hair as it is so runny it just seems to slide off without penetrating before you get a chance to work it in. I have been halving the dilution and I like it a lot better although obviously not as cost effective anymore.
> 
> ...



so you are cheating on us, what other forum are you on??


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

It's an Australian based one for purebred dogs, not specifically poodles - Dogs Online

http://www.dogzonline.com.au/

I don't go there that often to post but do browse a bit. 

I really like www.groomers.net, it seems more American based but has heaps of very knowledgable professional groomers who are very friendly and helpful.


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## jspero (Apr 4, 2009)

*Clippers? Scissors? What's best? What kind?*

I am a poodle owner who wants to do the grooming herself. What is the main tool for cutting Noki's hair? I assume it is an electric clipper. Am I correct? Or is it done with comb and scissors? What is the best choice in a reasonably priced but effective clipper?


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

yup, it's a clipper, as far as reasonably price I can't give you any guidence there. It is WAY better to pay a little bit more in the short term and not have to replace them every year than to buy the cheap-o's at walmart.
If you have a petsmart near you, go to the grooming section of the store. They sell clippers off all kinds. Usually they have the cheapies out of the shelf and in a locked case they have the good stuff. I think there are some clippers in the case that are under 100 dollars and are good. You want one of those. Oster, andis and wahl all make good products, but again you get what you pay for. You don't want to invest in the cheapest ones those companines make. 

Also on another note, check to see what kind of blade the clippers come with. You want one with detachable blades that just snap on and off, not the kind the have to unscrew to get off. You can purchase blades for these clippers in various lengths. The screw on kind, you get one length - to the skin - and thats about it. Avoid, for safety reasons, the type that have adjustable blades. The kind with a little lever on the side. Those are notorious for asjusting throughout the groom and giving you a really bad finish PLUS being dangerous. You could cut your dog with a blade like that pretty easily.


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## Blue Fox (Oct 22, 2008)

I have the Wahl KM's single speed which I really like. I am currently looking at a really good cordless perhaps the Andis or the Laube, something I can do a full body clip with. BUT they are sooooo expensive, even I can't justify buying them :smile: when my old faithfuls will do the job.

I love the little Moser Arco's I bought for f,f & t but they don't have the power to do a body clip.


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

Blue Fox said:


> *Lots of different types of shampoos*, coat conditioners, coat refurbishers, - your not a true poodle person unless you have at least 15 half used bottles from 10 different companies sitting around :rofl:. No seriously choose a brand you like and see how you go. I know a lot of people recommend Aloveen, I personally haven't got to trying that yet, I'm waiting on a heap of Plush Puppy stuff I ordered a few days ago.



LOL! I think the poodle is definately the breed for me. I have a cabinet full of half used products for my own hair and probably just as many for my Maltese.


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

cupcake91 said:


> I use Chris Christensen brush and shampoo and buttercomb too
> wahl switchblade clipper and wahl arco se clipper for face and feet
> EZ-shampoo Crystal white and Ultra rich leave in cont.
> les pooches brush
> ...


_I was looking at the Chris Christensen's products. Do you feel that these are better than others offered? I have a blue male that I would like to try in the puppy class. Would those products be just as good on him as they are on the whites? I appreciate any help you can give me. :smile:_


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

I personaly can't speak to how well the C.C. products perform on white dog VS any other color. But I can say that all of the products in their line that I have tried do what they say they do. I accidently kind of dyed one of my dog's undercaot pink with the red on red (which they no longer make) oops LoL. I especialy like the thicker N Thicker stuff for adding volume. Nice  

Other lines you might look into are Plush Puppy and Isle of Dog. I reccently discovered Isle of Dog and am immpressed so far. I've been using it on Jazz for about a 6 weeks now.


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_Thank you WonderPup. That is very helpful information._


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