8 Best Dog Grooming Clippers in 2017

Grooming is an essential part of daily life. You don’t really want to face the world looking your worst. The same is true with our pet dogs. However, more than for aesthetic purposes, priming our pooches can bring a host of other benefits, too, including healthier skin and coat and the prevention of certain kinds of canine conditions such as infections, inflammation, and skin irritation. It is thus, important to regularly groom your pooch. Selecting the best dog clippers may not be that difficult for some, but can be especially challenging for those who are new in the world of pet grooming. Not to worry, though, as we have dedicated our resources to coming up with the 8 best dog grooming clippers for you.

Things to Look for When Buying the Right Grooming Clippers for Your Pooch

Grooming our pets is one of the most essential aspects of pet ownership. We don’t want our pooches to develop mats which can significantly trap heat underneath, leading to skin irritation, inflammation, and even infection. You can always choose to have your pooch professionally groomed in your local pet salon, but it’s just not practical especially if you have several mutts at home and all of them happen to be long-haired. Getting your own grooming kit, especially canine clippers, should thus, be more economical while also allowing you to develop the necessary skills to better care for your pooch.

However, choosing the right trimmers for your mutt can be quite challenging especially for absolute newbies to the world of pet ownership. As such, we have prepared a list of the things that you have to look for when buying the right grooming clippers for your dog.

• Noise levels 

One of the critically important features of dog trimmers that you have to pay attention to is its noise levels. Technically, any gadget or tool that is used on our pets should be ultra-quiet or embedded with some form of noise cancelling or dampening technology.

Loud noises, including vibrations, can make certain pooches anxious, nervous, or even frightened. This is more of an issue among pets that have never been trained to maintain their composure even when placed in a noisy environment. Unfortunately, even with training, the ears of canines are especially sensitive.

How well do pooches hear? Human beings are able to hear sounds in the range of 20 to 20,000 Hertz. On the other hand, your Fido is actually fully capable of hearing from a low 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz. In simple words, the hearing ability of your pooch is 7 times greater in acuity than what your ears can achieve. Another reason why mutts have very acute sense of hearing is their auditory muscles. Whereas humans only have 3 muscles that move the different structures of the ear, dogs have 18. Their ear anatomy is also very different than ours, further amplifying the sound. As such our beloved mutts often have difficulty in environments that produce unusually loud noises. The noise may be acceptable to you, but never for your pooch.

Because of this, an ultra-quiet canine shears is important to make your pooch comfortable during the grooming process. If not, you’ll be managing a highly anxious pet afterwards which can also make it especially averse or avoidant of the grooming activity.

• Operating temperature 

Another important consideration when choosing a dog shaver is the operating temperatures of the gadget or how hot it can get after some time. Imagine a hot object touching your skin and you can easily get burned. Even if the object is not too hot, there will always be some degree of injury at the tissue level leading to irritation and even inflammation. Once the skin is irritated, your mutt has the tendency to scratch this, breaking the integrity of the skin, and potentially introducing harmful microorganisms inside. The end result is an infection.

As such, it is important to choose dog shears that will never heat up. As much as possible avoid getting those that have fans and air vents as these often spell trouble. It is perfectly alright if these fans don’t break down eventually or the air vents don’t get clogged or both. If this happens, then you end up with a really hot canine clipper.

• Speed 

The speed of the cutting mechanism of the gadget is also a very important feature to look for. This is often related to how fast you can accomplish the task which can be particularly helpful if you’re looking to trim several dogs in a day. Most trimming gadgets for pooches come with variable speed settings allowing you optimum versatility as you can easily change the speed of the cutting mechanism depending on the type of hair that your mutt has or even the degree of thickness and /or coarseness of the coat. However, for absolute beginners, it is a lot better to start with a single speed device until such time that you’ve gained confidence to work with different speed settings.

• Maintenance requirements 

Strands of hair and other trimmings can accumulate in the trimmer. This means you have to remove these to ensure the device’s optimum operating performance. Otherwise, the shears will simply not be able to perform its intended function in an efficient manner, leading to stress in your pooch.

Opening shavers to maintain its operating performance can be quite tedious, messy, and oftentimes frustrating. There is also a chance that you might not be able to reassemble the different parts in their correct position, leading to sub-par performance. As such, you should choose a gadget that doesn’t require oiling or greasing or even disassembly of the device. A really maintenance-free set of hound clippers don’t require cleaning, greasing, or even oiling. You need to set your eyes on these products.

• Ergonomic design 

If you have a thick-coated or even long-haired mutt, it usually takes time to properly groom it. Or, if you have several mutts at home that you are planning to groom in one sitting, your hands will ache and form blisters for holding the device for an extended period of time. It is for this reason that you will have to check the overall design of the product you’re considering on buying. Try to hold the device in your hand and feel whether it is comfortable or not. The gadget should follow the natural shape created by holding it. There should be no unnecessary pressure points anywhere along the surface of your hand that is in contact with the shears.

• Quality of blades 

Have you ever tried trimming your hair with dull shears or perhaps shaved your beard using dull, rusted razors? It’s quite painful, right? The risk of cuts and nicks is increased exponentially with each episode of dulling blades. The same is true with canine shears. A dull blade can cut and injure your mutt, exposing it to inflammation and infection that may prove costly to treat. It is for this reason that you need a device that’s embedded with chemical and rust resistant properties. Not only are you ensuring the safety of your pet, you are also prolonging the life of your gadget.

Equally important are detachable blades. If you can easily replace the blades without necessarily having to go through a very tedious process of disassembly, replacement, and reassembly, then that device would be a great choice. This is especially helpful if you have several breeds of pooches that require different types of blades and attachments.

• Wireless or corded 

One of the most interesting features that most newbie dog groomers look for in the best dog clippers is cordless or wireless capabilities. These provide you with versatility in working with pooches wherever you feel like it. These are devices that provide convenience and ease of operation. These can easily work on hard-to-reach areas, too, since there are no wires or cords getting in the way. Unfortunately, there are downsides to it, too. For example, you’d have to charge them more often as their batteries can only last up to 45 minutes, although some can reach up to an hour and a half. If you’re going to groom several pooches at any given time or you’re going to use it more frequently, the batteries will wear out eventually. So, you’d have to replace them. Additionally, some cordless models are simply underpowered or run slower that they cannot efficiently cut through thick or especially challenging coat.

Corded hound clippers are preferred by professional dog groomers as it gives them speed and power to effectively trim their mutts. The only issue is that the cord can really get in the way to the whole process of grooming. Nevertheless, there are gadgets that can keep the cord well out of the way.

• Brand 

While we don’t usually recommend exclusively looking at the brand of dog shears, it is inevitable as those companies that already have proven track record in designing and manufacturing high quality hound trimmers will often be at the top of anyone’s mind. The thing is there are quite a number of well-respected brands that you can always rely on to give you an amazing product. Andis, Wahl, and Oster just some of the well-established brands when it comes to professional dog grooming clippers that are designed specifically for average pet owners.

Benefits of Grooming Your Dog

Having a well-groomed pet dog is not only a great source of pride for you as its owner and master. It can provide a host of amazing benefits for your pooch, too. Here are some of the advantages and benefits of grooming your mutt.

• Prevents and manages skin problems 

Matting is a very common concern among pet owners especially those canine breeds with long hair. Matting pulls on the skin, causing pain and discomfort, and leading to a variety of skin problems such as irritation and inflammation. Additionally, by trimming your pet’s coat, you are gaining access to its skin, enabling you to identify the presence of any health problem which would otherwise not be visible with a thick coat. This way, you are able to manage these skin problems a lot better.

• Prevents heat stress 

Dogs with double coating can suffer from heat stress. Since air cannot be effectively circulated from the skin towards the outside environment, it gets trapped underneath the thick coat or even the excessive mats. This can lead to heat exhaustion, causing a lot of health problems along the way.

• Improves blood flow 

This is closely related to excessive matting where clumps of hair pull on the skin, constricting tissues underneath. This prevents the more efficient flow of blood in these tissues, depriving them of oxygen and nutrients necessary for normal and optimal functioning. Grooming releases the tension exerted by matting on the skin, facilitating an overall improvement in tissue oxygenation and nourishment.

• Helps in the removal and management of pests 

If you’re having issues with fleas, ticks, and even mites, trimming or shaving your beloved furry pet can help you visualize these pests a lot better. You can then individually pick them out using tweezers. There are many diseases spread by fleas and ticks including Ehrlichiosis, dermatitis, Bartonellosis, Lyme disease, tapeworm infestation, Rickettsiae, and even meningoencephalitis. You don’t want any of these diseases affecting your pet or even you and members of your family. Part of its eradication is the manual removal of fleas and ticks and other pests from your pet. You can easily do this if your mutt is properly groomed.

• Strengthens or reinforces the special bond you have with your pet 

One of the most obvious, and perhaps the most important, benefits of grooming your own pet by yourself is the strengthening of the special bond you have with your mutt. Holding it close to, soothing it before making the trim so it will not be anxious, and giving it some form of treat or reward afterwards can help convey to your dog just how much it means to you. Everyone knows Fidos thrive on social companionship such that they feel happier, more contented, and become well-balanced pooches if they can sense that their owners love them so much. This is one of the reasons why many dog owners simply strive to learn how to properly groom their pets to further strengthen that special relationship they have.

• Facilitates understanding of your pet’s anatomy

While you may not have a degree in veterinary medicine, grooming your hound can open up many opportunities for you to better understand its body, particularly its anatomy. Since grooming doesn’t only entail trimming or cutting your furry pal’s hair but also includes eye-, ear-, nail-, teeth-, and anal- care, you are in a position to understand these body parts of your pet. You can then supplement these with adequate readings from reputable resources.

Trimming your pet’s hair is just one aspect of dog grooming. It also entails taking care of their ears, eyes, paws and nails, teeth, and even their anal sacs so they will achieve optimum health and wellness. Cutting your pooch’s hair can provide you with a host of benefits that range from the promotion of their optimum level of wellness to the prevention of infections, inflammation, heat stress, and even the infestation of pests.

It is therefore, important to know how to choose the correct dog trimmers so you’ll enjoy all of these benefits for your mutt. Noise levels, operating temperatures, speed, ease of maintenance, and the quality of the blades are just some of the factors you’d have to consider when buying a dog shaver. Nevertheless, our 8 best dog grooming clippers should give you a headstart.