Wet Shaving vs Dry Clipping

I don't do very much wet shaving.

I am not really crazy about it.

I have always thought that I save more coat on a dog by bathing and drying it first.

Sometimes I get a dog that is so overgrown and matted that I decide to do a wet shave.

I had one in like that last week.

This guy came in last week.

It is the second time that I have groomed him.

I knew that I had groomed him before, and I remembered that he had been matted the first time that I groomed him also.

I clipped him after the bath the first time that I clipped him.

This time I decided to Wet Shave him.

 I put him in the tub and got him good a soapy.

Then I placed him on my drying table to clip.

I used my corded clippers plugged into a GFCI outlet.

As with any matted dog, I start out with the longest blade that I think will safely go through the coat, and work my way down till I get the right blade. 

I started out getting a 3 3/4  blade through most of the body, but had to go to a #5F blade down the legs, around the neck, chest and face.

After clipping most of the coat off, I put the dog back in tub to rinse off the shampoo and bathe him again with a Medicated shampoo.

He had a couple of places that were a little red and sore under the mats.

 I also left hair on his feet, tail, ears, and head to see if I could save anything after it was blown dry and HVed away from the skin.

I finished him up with the #4F blade.

Most of his face had to be clipped off with the #4F blade also.

I was able to use a 5/8HT blade on his ears.

I had to scissor a little more then half the hair off of the tail and de-mat the rest.

I can't stand the look of a shaved rats tail.  :)

I have a video on YouTube of me Wet Shaving this dog if you are interested in watching it.

Now, when this dog came in the first time for a grooming, he was longer and matted even worse than this time.

This was the same dog as above 5 months ago.

He was definitely in worse shape back in April.

 Every bit of him was one big mat.

I thought about wet shaving him back in April also, but I was curious to see how far I could get the mat away from his skin.

I did not wet shave the dog that time.

I bathed him just like you see him now.

I HV dried him straight from the tub, blowing the mats as far from the skin as I could. 

 I only concentrated on drying the coat between the skin and mat.

I did not completely dry the mats.

I dried them only enough to loosen them.

I was able to get a 5/8HT blade through the coat, legs and all.

So, which way of clipping did I like better?

Most definitely, clipping the mat after the bath.

Yep, that is what I said.

I think that it leaves a much nicer finish.

Even if I had clipped him with a #4F instead of a 5/8HT blade, he still would have looked nicer than the Wet Shave finish.

 

 I average about one to two wet shaves a year.

I don't think it will ever be more than that.

I personally prefer clipping mats off after the bath.

I truly feel that I can save more coat that way.

I hear you.

Stop yelling at your computer.

Yes, the owner does not deserve to have any of the dogs coat saved.

Well, I don't groom for the owner.

I groom for the dog, and I did not expect this new customer to wait 5 months before she brought the dog in again.

Even though a dog may come in very matted, I still want the dog to look good and cute when it goes home.

I don't like to send dogs home looking like skinned rats.

If a dog keeps coming in matted, and I can not get the owner on a regular grooming schedule, I am not going to kill myself trying to save some coat, but at the same time, I will not skin the dog if I can help it.

This dogs owner booked an appointment for 8 weeks.

I told her that she should keep the appointment even if the dog does not grow out much in 8 weeks, and she thinks that he does not need it.

I told the owner that she should bring him in anyway, even if it is only for a bath and trim.

We will see.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF