As dog owners, you are well aware of the fact that your dog needs a good trimming or haircut every once in a while. But getting your precious ones groomed by the professionals isn’t always cheap. At some point in your life, we’re certain that you’ve considered trimming your dog yourself by using the clipper that you have lying around at your home.
Your thought is in the right place, but there’s a question that may follow immediately after this idea: can you use human clippers on dogs? The short answer is, it depends on a lot of variable factors. While in hindsight, it seems like a straightforward matter as clippers are made for trimming hair, but the matter is not so simple in most of the cases because of exclusiveness.
Human clippers are built for the precise purpose of trimming human hair on a conscious human being, so it’s not always likely that it’ll do the same for your dog. Dog clippers are specialized instruments that cater to particular demands in this regard.
Follow us along to learn all the pros and cons as well as details about this issue so that you can pick out the best solution for your dog’s grooming!
Contents
Why Shouldn’t You Use Human Clippers On Dogs?
Your precious pupper deserves delicate care at every step of their treatment, and it should be taken to a whole new level when it comes to their grooming. When it comes down to the argument between dog clippers vs human clippers, we must identify a couple of factors that tell us why it’s unwise to use human clippers on dogs, and what are some of the instances that actually allow you to get away with it.
Dog’s Features
Your dog’s features are the things you should consider before you make your decision on the clipper to be used. If your dog is nervous in nature, then there’s a good chance it’ll get jumpy at the sound and vibration of human clippers. It’ll also make your dog prone to discomfort if the trimmer chops violently over the skin and leaves your poor baby scared to death.
Another factor you should consider is the size of your doggy. If your baby is a huge doggo, then it’s going to take a significant amount of time to get the entire grooming procedure done. With clippers made for humans, it’s usually inefficient and the prolonged operation can stress your dog out and you might have to stop halfway through the trimming.
Dog Hair Types
Your dog’s hair type is another matter of consideration while choosing which clipper you can apply for the task. There are usually three major types of dog hair, they are: undercoat, guard hair and outer coat. All these types have unique properties that can make the grooming fall at any gradient between difficult to straightforward.
Undercoat
The undercoat is usually present in larger dogs and it’s a layer of fur that resides underneath the visible fur. It’s silky, sleek and it’s present there to protect the skin from any damage as well as winter’s cold. That’s how dogs like the Siberian Husky, Pumi or Coalie roam within snow so freely without getting frosted.
If your dog has a layer of undercoat, human clippers aren’t made to cut through such fur. It’s going to be a hefty task to remove that fur with regular clippers and it may even end up injuring your doggo’s skin as it’s lying so close. So we’d recommend you to check the breed of your dog and find out if they have an undercoat. In such a case, a dog clipper would give you a better service.
Guard Hair
Guard hair for dogs is equivalent to the curly texture of human hair. It’s coarse, it’s coily and it’s not the kind of hair you’d want a human clipper to get entangled with as it’s barely going to be efficient – both effort and time wise. Breeds like Pumi or Commodore have guard hair that is twisted with strands that make it into tough strings. This type of hair grows relentlessly, so you better get some dog clippers to ease your puppy from the massive burden!
Outer Coat
The outer coat is the layer of fur that’s usually visible to the naked eye. This melanin induced layer originates from the follicles where natural oil secretes that make your dog’s fur look shiny. This is one of the many reasons that you shouldn’t use human clippers for this layer as well since an amateur approach can damage these follicles for an extended period of time.
A dog clipper should see to this matter as these are designed to take these factors into consideration. If you are confident however, you can get away with trimming this layer with human clippers but it’s not ideal to make it into a regular practice, as a slip of hand or sudden movement from your dog can be quite costly.
Dog Clippers vs Human Clippers
Now we’ve arrived at the debate between dog clippers and human clippers. Our experts have broken down the necessary features for dog grooming and presented a comparative study between the two types of clippers based on these to help you understand which one you should opt for, and which one you shouldn’t.
Motor
Dog clippers’ motors are built differently than human clipper motors. While human clippers are made for thin human hair, thus they are powerfully built to get the job done effortlessly. However, such a powerful motor isn’t the ideal choice for dogs as their fur & skin are different to humans and applying such brute force can generate unappreciated circumstances leaving your puppy injured at places.
Vibration
We, human beings, are used to the vibration caused by the clipper and it isn’t always a matter of concern for most of us. But when it comes to dogs, continuous vibration on the skin can make them nervous. And if your dog is easily stressed by nature, the human clipper’s vibration is only going to add to that.
Dog clippers in this case are rescue-elements of dog grooming. These are designed to vibrate the least amount while providing you with the most efficient outcome. Dogs rarely feel a thing when they’re groomed with such devices, and we’d suggest you consider these aspects before committing to either of these tools.
Blade Type
Much like human clippers, dog clippers have different types of blades as well. Two of the blade types are more common than the others, one of which has a higher teeth density than human clippers and the second one consists of a lower density.
Teeth with larger gaps allow you to remove the coarse hair of your dog as they allow each hair strand set between the gaps perfectly. The shorter gap blade is for dogs with thin fur. Also, human clipper blades quite often get riddled with dog fur and demand you to pause every now and then to clean up.
Dog clipper blades are built to deal with such varieties of fur, so they can operate for a longer period of time before you feel the need to brush the hair away. Additionally, these blades are friendly to dog skin, rendering them ideal for your dog’s grooming.
Grooming Time
Efficiency matters when it comes to dog grooming. Dog clippers are made in such a way that sees the results in the quickest possible time. Human clippers won’t necessarily do the same for all dogs based on the factors mentioned earlier. So for larger doggos, you should definitely consider getting a dog clipper to make the grooming time as short as possible.
Cable Or Cordless
It’s also something you should consider in this matter. For a large dog, it’s ideal to opt for a cordless dog clipper as it’ll allow you diverse grooming operations as opposed to a cabled one. However, if your dog is small in size, you can probably get away with a wired clipper, but make sure to situate your dog someplace where you can easily clean up the furry mess.
Clipper Guard
Clipper guards are present in dog clippers as well. It’s optium to pick dog clippers because their clipper guard sizes are between half inch to two inches length, which are the standard size for dog fur. Human clipper guard sizes on the other hand are within an inch, so you won’t be able to provide your dog the longer lengths of hair that is often desirable for many breeds.
Verdict
Now that you’ve reached the end of our article featured on this question: can you use human clippers on dogs? We have to place our verdict that – mostly you cannot use human clippers on dogs. In rare cases where your dog may have fine fur and isn’t anxious in nature as well as quite small in size, you may get away with human clippers on them.
But for the most part, it’s ideal that you select a dog clipper for regular grooming needs. Dog clippers are specialized instruments for dogs that aren’t loud, don’t vibrate much, made for particular types of dog hair and cut through them more efficiently than human clippers.
Thus, go for dog clippers if you want to protect your baby doggo from any kind of grooming based harm and give them the cutest haircuts to grab everyone’s attention!