wet shave

Have anybody tried to do wet shave? I just recently heard for the first time about it.
I did not even know that dog could be shaved wet. If you know anything about it can you please let me know a bit more. And questions for the groomers who do cats. What kind of blade do you think it works best for lion cut. I heard that some groomers use #40 ( do you think that is safer? ) but at school I learned to use only #10 or #7. Thanks, Vesna

I have done wet shaves on dogs that are matted. I bathe them and use a conditioner on the really matted areas and try to break them up. I do a short HV drying so the dog is not dripping wet when shaving. I like to do this on larger dogs, like a Goldendoodle, as it saves some time - not having to pre-shave, bathe, dry and re-shave. Use a slightly longer blade than you would dry, i.e., if you would be using a #5, use a #4 instead. There is quite a good discussion about this subject on the Groomer to Groomer web site.

Thank you Atlantic 44. I will check that web site for more infos

www.groomingsmarter.com has a great demo on wet shaving

Wet shaving is awesome!! If the dog is matted or even if it's just really really dirty I'll do it. First I wash the dog and rinse really really well, throw a towel over the dog and pat them dry a bit, sit em on a puppy pee pad, plug my clipper into GFCI outlet and get to work. I have a spray bottle filled with water next to me so if I'm having a hard time getting through I just spray it a bit. Some groomers do it with conditioner in but I like it without. Make sure you don't tip your clippers up just incase water drips into the drive. If I normally would have to do a 7 I can usually get a 4 through.. you can get some ss combs through too. And when you clip wet you can usually finish with a longer blade.

As for the cat question, I don't groom cats but in school they always used a 9 or 10. They said 7s were too dangerous as the cats thin fragile skin could easily get caught in the teeth(they're spaced further apart).

Doesnt wet shaving wear out your blades faster????

as long as your HVing your blades after you use them, clean and oil them.. they should be okay. But you have to get them 100% dry or they'll rust.

http://groomwise.typepad.com/grooming_smarter/ at the bottom of the page is a pdf file you can download... has everything you will need to know about wet shaving.

I groom cats. I use a 10 blade on them all the time except for one sweety that mommy wants a little longer so I'll do a 4 on her but she's good.
I only resort to a 30 or 40 blade when the cat has tortoise shelling on its body. You can't get through that with a 10.

Forgot I do wet shaving on only the worst dogs. LIke a chow that looks like an armadillo.. He got a bath and I shaved him wet and he turned out good.

I did a variation of a wet shave today. I have a Bichon who comes in once every 9 weeks or so. She is usually semi-matted. Today I put my Bark 2 Basics D-Mat in a spray bottle (diluted) and sprayed her all over until she was wet. Then I clipped her with a #5 blade and put her in the tub. Washed her ears and head first, then put lots of D-Mat in them and worked out the mats. Then I washed her all over, dried her and finished her with #4F. Turned out great.