Illustrating basic grooming tools for Bouviers. Most of these also apply to any long haired dog, and many apply to short haired dogs.
Grooming Tools illustrated
by Pam Green, © 2020
These are the tools , some in several versions, that would be needed to groom a Bouvier, whether for show or for practical pet or working dog grooming.
I see that I have left out the "hair puller" (hemostat) that might be needed to pull excess hair out of the inside of the ear. I've also left out a set of clippers and blades. It's worth while investing in a good pair of clippers and several blades, then becoming comfortable with doing your own clipping. Your first attempt may come out a bit raggedy , but you will soon learn to do it better. The price of a good clipper with a #10 blade will be about equal to 2 or 3 professional clip down jobs. It will be less than the cost of having your vet dig a foxtail out of your dog's foot, something that could have been prevented if you keep the feet shaved (between toes on top and between pads on bottom) with a #10 blade (or carefully with scissors).
- combs : #1 is an alternate long and short toothed comb. #2 is an alternate long and short toothed rake. Some people prefer a comb and others prefer a rake. Thick handles are better if you have any arthritis in your hands. #3 is a flea comb = very fine teeth, can comb out fleas (dip them into soapy water to kill them). The flea comb can also comb out some fine undercoat hair.
- slicker brush : #4. this brush has a lot of very fine wires. Used to comb through the outer coat and undercoat, removing loose hair.
- scissors : #5 is thinning shears, with one blade having teeth, used to de-bulk areas of coat. I use it to debulk the face hair. #6 is a special scissor , "Scardy CutTM" that has attachable blade guards, to enable you to cut at a pre-determined length or longer. I am not illustrating ordinary scissors because everyone knows what they are.
- nail clippers : #7 are a heavy duty scissor type nail cutter. I prefer this type to the guillotine type. But even better, not illustrated, is the sanding drum, such as a "Dremel Moto-Tool" with coarse sanding drum. Sanding is more comfortable for the dog and doesn't risk cutting into the "quick" of the nail.
- stripping blade : # 8 is a fine toothed stripping blade, used to remove undercoat and thus make the over-all effect of a harsher coat. You don't need this for practical pet or working dog grooming. It's for show grooming.
- dematting tools : # 9, 10, and 11 are tools for breaking up mats and combing mats out. # 10 has curved blades , sharp on inside edge, with little side "wings". This used to be sold under the name "MatBreakerTM", but I haven't seen that in stores in a while. There are some very similar tools. # 9 has curved blades with blunt tips. I prefer that to # 11 with straight blades, as the curved tips are less likely to injure the dog.
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