clipping my sheep dog

Hello out there,

I'm looking for the right clippers. Any suggestions?

Please give more information... There's a lot of sheep dogs out there...

Lene i think they mean a OES

a few threads down titled dog clippers, I asked the very same thing for my OES x

I have a beautiful, white, Old English sheep dog mixed with who knows what...the undercoat reminds me of a Chow. Her hair is soft, really long, and REALLY thick. She is a lot of upkeep, but a beautiful ball of cotton and so sweet. I prefer her hair long, but in the spring she has to have a haircut....Her coat is too difficult to keep unmatted in the spring. In the past I've tried Oster clippers which were not very effective. For years I've given her a haircut with a pair of scissors. I'm thinking again about getting clippers, but wonder what I should look for. My vet has made the remark there isn't a clipper made that will clip her! It would be so much easier on my hands to be able to use clippers. I've even wondered if horse clippers might be the answer verses dog clippers.

hi the type of clipper you would need would cost about £200 - £250 pounds plus the suitable blades at about £25 each. A large outlay for one dog.

Thank you for your advise on clippers.

Andis Clippers would be fine, (just over £100), BUT the osters, although old fashioned, should have cut through the coat. What was the problem? Did it just look a mess? Reason I'm asking is, if it has a thick undercoat a bit like a chow, it is harder than it looks to get an even finish. Even if you just used the wrong blade/comb attachment, it could make a huge difference, and that's without knowing how to use the eqipement properly, and having a properly prepped coat (which again makes a HUGE difference). If you want to do it yourself, how about doing a one day pet owners course with a trainer? That way you will know exactly what equipement to use

Yes, she has an incredibly thick undercoat, reminds me of a chow. Her top coat grows VERY LONG, very fast. She is as soft as cotton, not coarse, and her hair is basically straight, but she poofs out like a cotton ball from that thick undercoat. Even to brush her hair, I have to part her hair in layers due to the thickness of her undercoat. Her top coat is easy to brush.

No, she wasn't a mess. I actually do keep this dog looking like a princess. And yes, I know the prep before bathing or grooming; brush her out before a bath, and clip a clean, groomed, dog and oil the blade often. Even getting her wet to bath her is difficult due to her thick undercoat hair. I use a shampoo called Best of Breed that has mositurizers in it that is a very good product for her hair.

I used a comb with the Oster clippers I had, but don't recall what size. Her hair would get stuck in the comb. From my comparisons of clippers I thought the Andis would be the best also. I love her hair long, but in the spring she has to have a hair cut. It mats terribly in the spring. It's easier on her and me just to cut her beautiful hair. (I use a pair of scissors which is terrible on my hand.) By the fall her hair will be long again. Her hair grows really fast.

Thank you for your advise and suggestions. I genuinely appreciate them. By trainer I assume you mean groomer? I have experienced "fainting groomers" over the telephone when I've tried to get someone to clip her. Actually it was rather funny. All they had to do was say no! LOL But I do understand their point of view. They could clip 3 dogs in the amount of time it would take to do my hairy, good girl.

Again, thank you for your response.

OK, one of the problems you had were the plastic comb attachments were too flimsey for the hair. If you get yourself a pair of Andis AGC 2 speed, a good #30 blade (geib are a good make) and a set of wahl stainless steel comb attachments to put over, they will go through the coat no problem. All of these are not expensive to buy over in US. Make sure that you have really blasted all that dead undercoat out with a good blaster, and that the coat is dry. If it feels dry, then dry it some more. With these coats, even if the coat is even very slightly damp or has even slight packing of dead coat (and I don't mean mats, I just mean dead coat), the clippers will really get bogged down, drag and not cut the coat properly. I hope this helps.