Dog Grooming / Clippers

Question
I want to know what would be the best clippers to purchase to groom my Australian Shepherd.  He is terrified of the groomers and I am going to tackle it myself.  I also want to know what size of blade would you suggest.  I want to keep his hair pretty short.  He just stays HOT.

Answer
I personally use and most groomers I know use Andis clippers.  You'll want to get a good quality pair which you can expect to pay $80 to $130 for depending on the speed, if they come with a blade etc.  If you prefer or find a good deal on Oster or Laube clippers they are also well known and loved by a lot of groomers.  I don't use them myself so am not sure of the models you would want to choose.  In the Andis you'll want AG, AGC or AGR.  Two speed is better than one becauase they are more powerful on the second speed but still have the lower speed for sensitive areas such as the face and groin.  One speed is sufficient to groom most dogs it may just take more time.  I have tried the discount clippers and have talked to more clients than I can count who have...I have yet to meet anyone who has had success with them.  

For the blades you'll want a #10 for face, groin, under arms and belly, and between pads and toes.  The standard summer buzz length for most dogs is a #7F (the F marks the difference between a finish blade and a split tooth).  It's not a bad idea to invest in two of each blade because they get hot as you use them.  When they do get hot (they get so hot you can't stand to touch) you'll need to stop and wait for them to cool before continuing to clip because the heat is uncomfortable for your dog and can even cause him harm.  You can buy a can of cool lube to help them cool quicker or a trick I use is to keep an ice pack where im grooming and set my blades on it to cool down.  You can expect to pay $20 to $35 depending on the size of the blade and where you buy them. I prefer Oster blades over the other brands. I would avoid ceramic blades as they can be more delicate and difficult to get sharpened.  Otherwise I don't think it matters whether they're the cryogenX, Elite or whatever.

Great resources for products are petedge.com and ryanspetsupplies.com.  A good place to go for grooming how-to is petgroomer.com.  I would also be happy to answer any further questions you have about technique or anything else you think of.  Good luck and happy grooming to you and your furpal!