How to Groom a Long Haired Dog With Just Scissors

Grooming a long-haired dog can be expensive. Regular grooming trips are scheduled every month to six weeks, and can be a large drain on an income. To save on some expenses, you can trim your long-haired dog's coat yourself with a pair of grooming scissors. Do not attempt to groom your dog's hair if it is skittish or will not stand still. The risk of injuring your dog or yourself is too high in this case. Always work slowly and carefully when using scissors to prevent injuries.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog hair stripper
  • Comb
  • Spray bottle
  • Sharp scissors
  • Ball tipped scissors
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the dog on a table where you can easily reach all parts of the animal. Comb the dog's hair using the dog hair stripper to remove dead hair and large tangles from the coat. If the coat on the dog is very long, it could take a while.

    • 2

      Comb through the hair again using a regular comb. If the dog's hair is curly, straighten it by spraying it with a spray bottle filled with lukewarm water and then combing the water into the hair.

    • 3

      Trim the hair on the dog's head first. Cut any hairs hanging down from the chin and jaw line. Leave the hair about ½ to one inch long. Go slowly so you don't hurt or startle the dog, and cut gently so that if you do touch the skin with the scissors you will not draw blood. Trim excess hair around the ears and top of the head. Cut any hair hanging over the eyes with ball-tipped scissors.

    • 4

      Comb the dog's body hair straight down the sides and trim any excess or uneven hair hanging down below the belly. As with the face, leave the hair ½ to one inch long.

    • 5

      Pull up the tail and trim the hair around the tail. Leave the tail a little longer than the body hair, such as two or three inches long.

    • 6

      Trim the hair along the legs. Twist the legs back and forth to discover and trim uneven hair.

    • 7

      Turn the paws under and trim the back part of the legs. Trim around the sides of the dog's feet. Turn the paws back over and trim the front part of the feet. This is done so that you can see the outline of the dog's foot to prevent accidentally snipping a toe or toenail.