Dog grooming can take a huge part of a dog breeder and owner’s time. When showing and breeding dogs, you want your dogs to look great without having to pocket out all your savings at the groomer. So let’s do it ourselves because grooming your dog is simple, and far from being rocket science. It does take time but it is a perfect opportunity to bond with your favorite dog.
First and foremost, let’s state one thing: dog grooming is not just about a shiny coat. You must trim the hair the right way, thin your dog’s hair out if need be, and brush your dog like a professional would: gently, firmly and efficiently. The goal is not to remove as much hair as possible while grooming, the goal is to make your dog look better, healthier, and sexier.
When planning to groom your dog yourself at home, dedicated equipment becomes essential, and the cornerstone of your dog grooming kit will be the dog grooming scissors. From premium grooming scissors such as the Kenchii grooming shears all the way down to everyday affordable thinners.
We are going to go through the different types of professional dog grooming scissors and blades, so you can trim and cut your dog’s hair like a pro. This means a safe and accurate cut, with the bonus of paying a lot less than at the groomer’s salon!
About Dog Grooming Scissors
Grooming scissors must be ergonomic for you to hold them in various positions for sometimes very long minutes, they must be sharp enough to cut without defects, and obviously, they have to be designed with safety first as dogs can move by surprise.
Stainless steel remains the most durable and most affordable material for scissors and clippers’ blades. There are fancy new materials and alloys but stainless steel has been around forever and is on top of the cutting edge game, still.
Some people do want to have a finger rest on their scissors but in the end, if you are not using your scissors hours every day, you may not really need it.
Lastly, if you have different dogs and want to groom them all, make sure each pair of scissors is adapted to their coat. Some have a rough coarse coat and require sharper scissors, other breeds have thin and a lot of volume in their hair which asks for tinning rather than cutting.
We always recommend a visit with the groomer where you can ask loads of questions, study their movements and technique, et try to then copy it at home.
Ball-Tip and Rounded Scissors
Ideal for nervous dogs, they are to go-to choice for beginners. You will find them in every dog groomer’s kit because rounded scissors can perform a wide variety of grooming tasks.
Because of their rounded tip, these scissors are mostly used for injury-sensitive areas where a fatal injury could result from the scissors slipping. They do well for the eyes, ears, genitals, and also used to trim excess hair around the claws and paws.
Ball-tip grooming scissors are a variation of the usual round-tip scissors where the tip has a more pronounced ball-shape. They are not better, you should just see if you like these more or not.
Buying Recommendation: because rounded scissors are common, you won’t need to splurge the cash to get yourself a perfectly fine pair. The TINY TRIM ball-tipped scissors we recommend are definitely the best value for money you can get.
Thinning Shears
Many dogs have thick and dense hair, and most of the time a cut is not required, you instead need to thin out the coat. They are basically used to reduce the volume rather than the length, hairdressers use them a lot too.
Instead of two blades moving together, you have only one regular blade and a side with notched guides that allow only a limited amount of hair to be cut. They’re great for blending and removing a bulk amount of hair.
Unlike regular scissors, you probably should invest some more money in these as there is more in the fabrication process than two blades moving together. The construction process takes a bit more time and requires more precision, so you want to invest in a top-quality pair of thinning scissors or otherwise, you will tear your dog’s hair instead of thinning it out.
Buying Recommendation: the Master Grooming Tools 5200 Series are very well-made thinning shears and are definitely worth the investment. They will last you for years and many professional groomers use thus brand in their salon.
Electric Dog Clippers and Blades
To carry on the bulk trimming of the dog’s coat or for general purpose grooming tasks, pet grooming clippers are amazing tools. Many groomers are now using them every day and then finish off the details with scissors, just like regular hairdressers do.
The prices for good to great dog grooming clippers range from $30/£20 to $100/£70. These are a must-have for owners and breeders who will groom many dogs regularly, otherwise, if you are on a budget you won’t really need those. Start out with the scissors and if you feel like you spend a lot of time bulk trimming, then get yourself a great electric clipper for dogs.
Blades for dog clippers come in so many different variations and styles that we had to write a full article on them. Basically, you should focus on the metal coating as well as the tooth-skip and fine-tooth styles. It all depends on the kind of grooming you are performing: dog shows, bulk trims, sensitive areas?
Buying Recommendation: Wahl is the brand that is producing great value electric dog grooming equipment, and the Wahl Bravura Professional is a good product out there. It is not extortionately expensive, it is powerful and pretty quiet compared to many other products. You can also see our review of the best professional dog clippers or our selection of low-vibration dog clippers.
Fancy Recommendation: if your budget allows you a much bigger spend, you can buy our favorite clippers, the Andis Super AGR+ Cordless Clippers.
The tools don’t make the craftsman and the brush don’t make the artist, yet, you must have great tools in order to achieve great results. You can improve your technique over time but bad tools won’t improve themselves, you need the right dog grooming scissors from day one.
8 comments on “Buying Guide: Dog Grooming Scissors, Thinning Shears & Clippers”
Finally something about grooming shears… +1 great article
give Karmin a try.
Great products
Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent Article! Thank you so much for sharing this
Nice article.
I’m very clear after reading this article.
Why are stopper and finger rest used? It’s for everyday use. I wanted to be clear.
Thanks.
Very useful article for grooming beginners!
I want to one of these grooming scissor for my new pet. I am very excited to grooming her. Thank you for sharing useful tips.
This was so helpful! Thank you so much for talking about how important it is to use the proper tools when grooming! This makes all the difference!