thoughts on clipping before or after bath

[kybert]

my teacher has told us to always clip before a bath and to do a finish clip again after the bath, unless the dog is unbelievably dirty. i have read that many people dont do this due to time wastage and equipment getting dirty, so they clip after the bath. makes sense, i sure wouldnt want foreign bits of material ruining blades, considering blade and sharpening prices in australia arent cheap. whats the best way?

[mijothewonderdog]

I used to preclip and down I always bathe then clip. It does cut down on time and wear on equipment.

[Helly]

IMO it's almost always better to bathe first, then clip.

Why do your work twice? Why put extra wear and tear on your equipment and your body?

Clipping clean hair is so much easier and faster. That's easier on your equipment and body, too.

[Chicken]

I couldn't imagine trashing the equipment like that if it weren't necessary.

As it is, I have certain blades I've designated the "shave down blades" for clipping matted/dirty dogs that must be clipped before the bath. Equipment is expensive enough without adding to it's abuse, IMO.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

A lot of the arguments I hear for Pre-clipping are basically to save time on BATHING/DRYING.

I really don't think it makes that huge of a difference to be honest.

The other day I had a Chow/Golden mix with a mostly grumbly chow personality. He has bitten the end of someone's finger off. He's a pretty good boy with me, but he HATES the dryer. So I tried to run my #7F blade through his coat but it wouldn't go all the way through because it was chunky and dirty...so I just took the top coat off (since I was already at it). I still had to bath/dry the 1/2 of the coat that was left, it was mostly just a waste of time, and he survived the drying. I still had to go back and clip over the entire dog---it was just a pain, lol.

Anyway, I reallllly like clipping clean hair, the blades go through the hair much quicker, and much easier and why do the work twice?

Also, to save on speed if you're a slowpoke like me, I bathe a dog, sometimes I'll blow off the excess water with the high velocity dryer, wrap it in towels, place it on a towel or two in its kennel and then go to the next dog, returning to the one sitting in towels after that first one. I cannot believe how fast I can dry shelties and (UGH COCKERS!), it's amazing the time I save this way without losing the quality I want. I don't like kennel drying, not even for face and feet----especially for face and feet! Those two areas really need to be fluffy and have the hair all separated and clean, much better with hand drying.

Tammy in Utah

[Dawn125]

The only dogs I clip before a bath are big hairy ones that are getting stripped. For example, very large and very fluffy german shephard that the owner brings in 3-4 times a year for a #7 strip (including tail). Her coat is pretty clean and comes off easily so it is worth the savings in bathing and drying time to clip her first. Now with spring comming I will start seeing lots of big hairy aussies and some of those will get stripped before the bath or maybe during. Pretty much depends on what length I am trying to leave on the dog. Other than that they all get clipped after.

[twodogs]

I was taught the same thing in school but now I bathe first clip later. If the dog isn't really dirty, and it's got a thick coat like a Cocker, I'll clip it down before the bath to cut down on drying time.

[Scoop]

I would say 99% of the time I bathe first.

Scoop

[lvdobes]

The lady I learned from always pre-clipped. Her thought was why wash hair you don't have too. Personally I've gotten to where its something that takes takes forever to dry, like a Cocker, that's going to be shaved anyway then I pre-clip. Otherwise I wait until after the bath. I just don't see doing the same thing to a dog twice.


Lisa

[rapuzzled]

I do half and half. For the regulars (in every two months or less) they go straight to the tub. Everyone else gets preclipped. Generally I go by the rule that if it going to take off more than two inches I preclip.

[nuk]

i hate to pre clip. but, on some dogs it's a judgement call. standard poodle in the mobile who likes to bite the dryer and gets a #10 and 1 comb lamb cut? pre clip. his schnauzer brother the angel? no way.

i never pre-clip a dirty dog, and it hurts me to see someone else do it. i can just imagine my riding instuctor yelling at me for destroying my equipment. haven't seen the lady in almost 10 yrs and she still strikes fear into my heart over clipping a dirty animal!

i like to get them as clean and straight and fluffy as i can before i clip, i don't even brush pre bath anymore. straight to the tub!

[PoodlePal]

I don't pre-clip before a bath. I find that to be a waste of time. Having said that, if the dog is severely matted, I will take a skip tooth blade to get most of the mats out before the bath.

[milhasavilla]

I get so many once a year dogs and severely matted ones. Sooooo, yes I do some preclipping on these. I hate to clip dirty dogs, but I also hate to try to give a dog a decent bath when it's a solid mat. I don't preclip to perfection on such a dog, but I do enough that I can get to the skin and really clean it good. I also do quite a few wet shaves, but don't like to do it all the time just becuase it kills my back to do it in the tub. So I really don't have a cut and dry method - it depends so much on the dog. Hope you find what works for you, you might find that doing a little of everything works for you too.

[KarlaSnyder]

I don't pre-clip much at all anymore. Saves about 15min per pet on my small dogs. If it's matted to the hide, then I will do a quick shave off. I don't use a bathing system, so I worry about not being able to rinse out all the shampoo,

Another thought, since you're still in school, by having the students pre-clip, you're getting more 'hands on' clipper time, which is to your advantage IMO.

[Ruggins]

Preclip or not

Probably 75% to 85% of the time I get them bathed first, I have noticed on these springers & cockers getting the #10 field cut, even with a really good bath they still have a cruddy strip down the center of their back and on their hips. My bather is really obsessive and uses good technique, but it still happens often. I have been trying to precut these for her so they will get really clean. I really prefer cutting a clean dog, but if we have 5 big hairys in a day, my bather will get really behind blowing them all out, so I tend to preclip more then.