Grooming a bolonaise

Question
Hello Cindy.  I have a bolonaise, cousin to the bichon.  He has hair like a wire terrior, and we are wondering which blade to use to groom him.  He gets terribly car sick, so we try to do it ourselves.  My neighbor has a professional grooming kit (Oster), and she thinks she needs to use a #4 blade.  

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Jackie Sturr

Answer
Hello Jackie,  When a Bolonaise is shown, basically they are just a bath and fluff out.  So the first thing you need to do is decide how you want your dogs hair to look like.  Long ( you would use the #40 blade under a snap on comb) the snap on comb extends the length of what the longest blade would leave.  The longest snap on comb is a #0 then a #1, #2 would be the shortest snap on comb but still longer than the longest blade.  The longest blade is the #4.  This blade will leave the hair approx. 1/2 inch long.  The longest snap on comb will leave it closer to an inch, maybe a smidge longer.  If you wanted it Any longer than that you would have to just skim with a snap on comb or hand scissor.  I think if I was grooming your dog, I would use a #1 snap on comb and skim over the dogs coat just to take off the frizzies.  Giving the dog a neater appearance.  Any closer than that and you will be changing the look of the coat and the dog.  Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.  Thanks, Cindy lou :)