It worked!!!

[luvxl k 9]

We always have major problems with Apache's coat. I always say all I have to do is look at him and he mats up. Plus he has so darn much of it, a good three or four inches all over! Last week I went by a farm of alpaca's we have a couple of miles down the road and saw that they'd been sheared! And what was left looked exactly what Apache's coat looks like under all that other fur. Now I've tried elec. horse shears and dog shears and they do nothing except maybe pull a few hairs. I bought a pair of electric sheep shears and tried it on his chest a little bit just to see if they would work. It was like putting a knife through butter!!! I couldn't really hold Apache and shear at the same time so today Allen helped me, we got his belly and chest done that both mat up and get so stinky all the time. His chest is about an inch- inch and a half long and his belly down to a little more than a half inch. He must feel a lot better too because I got a bunch of kisses afterwards and since I was now able to get my fingernails on his chest, he almost passed up a cookie he was so entralled with the scritches. :lol: :icon_bb: Plan on doing his hiney later, but he was so good today, we stopped while it was still a good experience for him.

 

[KodysGrandma]

Wow- are sheep shears expensive and where did you find them? Maybe that's what I need for Thunder, he can be so pissy about grooming.

 

[ardeagold]

Jacques and I were just talking about them today...and saying I need some for Molly. Clippers will not go through her hair, no matter what. Addie has a lot of hair, but clippers do work on her.

Gotta check those out.

 

[luvxl k 9]

These are the ones I got. You can get them a lot cheaper if you want to use a non-USA vendor. I like to us US whenever possible but also didn't want to wait for the additional shipping time. I'm not known for my patience.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CBI-ELECTRIC-SHEEP-GOATS-WOOL-SHEARING-CLIPPER-SHEARS-/120723857640?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c1bb3e0e8#ht_5429wt_1131


Oh by the way FYI they are very noisy but I think any clippers this size are.

 

[NessaM]

Those things will cut like crazy - just be careful because it's possible to cut the skin too - at least - the sheep shears we use on the sheep don't have a guard...

 

[luvxl k 9]

yeah that's why I wanted Allen to help to make sure he stayed still. I didn't want to go all the way down to the skin like they do on sheep anyway. Closest I got was a little over a half inch away from him and left it even longer on his chest.

 

[Windancer]

can you buy a guard for them ?

 

[NessaM]

all I know is, the ones we use look like Edward Scissorhands on steroids, and those long blades whip back and forth in truly terrifying fashion - the one time I tried to shear my guys myself I totally chickened out after being so scared to get close to the skin for fear of accidently cutting off a LEG that I gave my sheep a Kid 'n' Play flattop.

 

[TerriW]

How long did it take to do Apache? I have the same problem with Ben: mats and stinky fur at times because he likes to swim in our river.

 

[luvxl k 9]

Depends on how good they are about holding still. Apache is really good, especially with Allen holding him while I'm trimming. We just laid him over on his side to do his belly and half his chest, then gave him a cookie before rolling him over to do the other side. All total probably around 10-15 minutes. I need to brush out what's left, especially on his belly and then I'll take picture.

 

[TerriW]

Oh my - that is wonderful! I too try to work through the mats with clippers that just can't handle it. Thank you for this tip!

 

[luvxl k 9]

can you buy a guard for them ?

I looked around for one on the internet but never found anything. A 1-2 inch guard would be wonderful!!! Anybody know of one?

 

[luvxl k 9]

Yaaaaa, I just got half of his belly brushed out, no pulling and no more mats. Of course Apache is my one who doesn't particularly like being brushed out as Leonard can attest to, so he decided he had to go outside and hide for a while. I'll get him done when he comes back in though. Then I'll take some pics.

 

[mulenag]

all I know is, the ones we use look like Edward Scissorhands on steroids, and those long blades whip back and forth in truly terrifying fashion -

Yup! Totally know what you are talking about! I would have never considered using a sheep shears on a dog just 'cuz of how badly they can knick up sheep! We usually take our sheep to be done with a larger herd and I have seen some pretty nasty gouges from those shears!

Glad you found something to work for you Karen.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Of course Apache is my one who doesn't particularly like being brushed out as Leonard can attest to, so he decided he had to go outside and hide for a while. I'll get him done when he comes back in though.

If he comes back in. Yep, Karen tells the truth! I think the only time I saw Velcro dog stay away from her was when you had a brush in hand.

Gosh, I won't recognize Apache either by site or aroma. Hope you leave those eye lashes alone.

Hehe, I do think those people with the alpacas need to work on those Great Pyrenees guard dogs too. Those pups sure look like they are LONG over due for a grooming.

 

[luvxl k 9]

Yep, IF is right, still waiting for him to come back in and out of the rain!!

But like I said before, unlike sheep that you take down to their skin, you don't get anywhere close enough to their skin to nick them. The closest I got was about 3/4 of an inch on his belly, but it sure made it a lot easier to brush it out and I wouldn't go near Apache with them if he was a wiggle worm like Cole!! He's still got at least a couple of inches length on his chest.

 

[ardeagold]

I always cut with scissors first, comb out, then "try" the clippers, which as I said don't work on Molly no matter what. So I cut, comb, cut more. I do the same with Addie Mae. Last time I did it, I got blisters from the cutting.

 

[Pipelineozzy]

I have the Sunbeam Oster Large animal clippers, and that's what I used on Oz this spring. WAY faster than my dog clippers, and does not get stopped up in the coat. I don't know if a guard would be any help on them, as the teeth on the guard snag into the coat and stop you...so would be more of a pain than anything. When I DID use the small animal clippers..I used all three of them because they heat up (and none of them are cheap clippers..Oster A5 and Andis..) but those yak coats are just a pain.