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frustrated
Ok I just did a shave down on a husky and omg I was very unhappy how she came out. They wanted it the same length as where they started to cut her hair on her neck. So I started with a 3 then a 4 then a 5 and still had a tough time budging so I then went to a 7 which was just as bad as a 5. The poor thing just look like ****. I have never had shaved down a husky. The blades just had such a hard time going through so she had rake lines all over her and on top of that the owner didn't want her bathed. We used a furminator thinking maybe all the undercoat needed to be loosened. We tried every tool. Has anybody ever had this problem? What did you do?
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You cannot hope for any better results if you aren't able to wash and HV that dog. In fact, I would refuse to do the work without the bathing/drying process. You probably ruined a good blade or two going through such a thick, dirty coat. After bathing and drying thoroughly, I would have used a 5 in reverse. -
I didn't think the Husky is gonna look good without the bath before I even finish reading your post. Your blade probably will need sharpen after you did that dog. They have lots undercoat, it takes a long time to shave. I used to have a husky comes in every couple months at my old job and they wanted a shave down with 5. Even with bath and everything he never comes out right with 5.Comment
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Ya dogs with undercoats are really tough. They shouldnt really be shaved down nor do they have to be. But if someone wants their husky shaved you get paid so I dont complain but I always shave with a #10. Its the only lowest blade that works and cuts smoothly and with out a problem. Plus they have thick hair so a 10 blade wont go as short on undercoat dogs as it would on a bichon or something like that. Hope it helps
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Rebekah,
her not allowing you to bathe the dog is probably a large part of the problem. My rule is no bath, no groom.Comment
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First of all: Charge $30 extra if they don't allow you to bathe first. This will pay for a new blade when yours gets ruined from the dirty coat. When I tell clients that it is still full price plus a $30 dirty dog fee, they immediately change thier mind.
Also, spray the coat down with a silicone based product (fluff out, quicker slicker, etc) and slicker the hell out of it.Comment
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The first problem is not bathing her. There's no way a blade will go through a dirty husky coat evenly. The 2nd problem is that its a husky. lol They just aren't designed to be shaved and come out looking horrible. Today I did a husky with my bravura using the #9 setting. It came out somewhat smooth except it was difficult to blend the head, tail, and legs.Comment
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I always bathe and HV undercoated dogs before a shavedown. If there is a reason to not bathe, you could always blow out with the HV, makes a mess but gets alot of the undercoat and dirt out before you try to shave and ruin your blades.
Never groom without a bath included, charge the same with or without the bath, most owners cave to this.Comment
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We shaved down a big lab/chow mix today that was so think, even a 10 would hardly budge through that coat.
The owner wanted an inch left, but I told him I doubted we would be able to leave any thing. He was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO thick!
We started with a 7 and it was a JOKE! Those poor blades! Had just been sharpened too. There was no used to continue punishing the blades OR the dog and we started with the 10 (had to use a 15 in some places). It took us 1 hour just to get him shaved down to a point where we could bath him. He had seven dust matted into the coat down at the skin and it had obviously been there for quite some time because it was caked and brown (but still smelled like seven). He was also infested with ticks, which we didn't even try to remove for fear he would develope an infection of some kind.
Any way, he looked pitifull, but I'm sure he was much more comfortable.Comment
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