What Grooming Tools Would I Need To Groom My New 13 Week Old Bichon Frise?
February 28th, 2010 by Your-Virtual-Groomer
I very much want to groom my dog myself. I’m trying to obtain as much info. as I can without taking a dog grooming class. I need to know what tools I will need to start with and then can add to them as his coat changes as he gets older. I like the Teddy Cut the best.
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Tags:Bichon,Frise,Groom,grooming,Need,Tools,Week,What,Would
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You want a pin brush, a slicker brush, and a Greyhound comb (it’s a brand, and you want this – trust me.) a pair of nail clippers or a nail grainder and some antibiotic ear powder to pluck out the excess hair in your dog’s ears. A good shampoo – BioGroom is nice and not too expensive – and I like to spray my dogs with Show Sheen after a bath (outside, the stuff is wicked slippery!) and a good grooming table with a noose to hold your pup.
You’ll want a GOOD clipper – Oster A-5, Laube, Wahl – something with interchangeable snap-on blades and a good pair of scissors. Dubl Duck makes a fine shear for not too much money. It’s ok for beginners.http://groomblog.blogspot.com/ is an excellent place to get good descriptions of Bichon grooming. It is not easy, though – go to AKC dog shows, seriously, to learn how to groom. It’s tricky to hold scissors properly and keep control of your hands and hold a squirmy puppy, trust me.
I’d take the class, myself, or spend time at a grooming parlor as a bather to learn to groom. You picked a very hard breed to groom – that head in itself is a nightmare to get right – and it’s best to have someone show you at least the basics. A class is way cheaper than a life’s worth of grooms and cheaper still than having the dog stitched up because he zigged when you zagged with the scissors. I’ve seen that many times, and the owners always feel awful.
WHY on earth don’t you groom it PROPERLY???
According to the BREED STANDARD???
Why did you get bichon if you’re just going to butcher it any old which-a-way?
Amateurs need to start w/ a steel COMB….so they get all way to skin,instead of just skimming over all the mats.
Where’s your grooming table? Arm & noose? Blow dryer? Nail wackers?Two or three scissors? Clippers? Blades?
Where’s the $300-400+++ investment?
I like the short cut for a Bichon the best. The Show Dog cut is hard to maintain and I don’t see the need if your dog is not in a show. Make it easy on you and your dog.
This sounds like it should be pretty easy. I’m really good at fluffing Bichons. All you need is a slicker brush (this helps to get the little tangles out. Acts the same as what our hair brushes do but it’s made for dogs) and a metal comb. And I just did a quick search to find what the comb is called and came up with ‘Ancol Metal Comb’ so you can see what it looks like. Now at our groomers we have a fluffer. It’s a blow dryer that’s attached to a stand so you don’t have to hold this. This is very convenient because with a Bichon you have to leave them a little wet when you start to fluff them because their hair is so curly (this is what my boss says and it seems to be true. If you dry them completely and don’t brush while doing it their hair drys a little curly even with strong blowdryers and then when you brush them they still don’t straighten out as well). I say yours will be easier because you want the body area real short. So you just have to worry about the tail and head. Less work. And So when I fluff one (get hair completely dry and straight as possible) I point the stream of hair at a damp spot and take the slicker brush and brush the hair in short quick strokes the same direction the air is blowing the hair. That way you are drying the hair and at the same time brushing. Makes it really straight. And once you’ve managed to brush all the curls out that way I take the comb and comb it all out. This is the fun part because their hair is straight. I just comb all the hair straight outward from their body and they get so fluffy.
I don’t cut any hair. I’m just a bather/fluffer for dogs and cats. So I don’t know how to cut their hair.
Another tip is to start at their butt and work toward their head. I always do the head last. It seems easier that way.