does anyone know the half cut, puppy cut for a maltese?

Hi to fellow dog lovers and groomers.. ive started grooming dogs and for the life of me can not master the half cut on maltese and springers. ive been usings 5f, 4f osters blades and everytime, the dogs coat turns out blotchy and uneven. i would greatly appreciate!! any information anyone has to offer, before i go completly mad lol

No idea what "half cut" is. Puppycut can mean any length "same length all over". Are the blades new and sharpen? Are you prepping the coat correctly (clean/mat free/brush out)? Brush up/backward again, stretch the skin and re-shave till it's even.

Half cut.....left or right side off?? hahaha I crack me up:P ....Soz never heard the term .

4 or 5 cuts are simple easy clips & should not cause you any grief...as Shivering said..is your prep work up to scratch ?? Clean, dry, knot free coat?? are your blades sharp?? Are the clippers working ok..drive lever not worn?? are you following the flow of the coat or cross cutting causing choppiness??

post a pic of your result & we can probs help better with the problem

THANK YOU KINDLY, SO MUCH FOR SHOWING INTEREST.. OK BLADES ARE SHARP,OILED, COATS KNOT FREE AND I GO WITH THE COAT FLOW. NOT SURE ABOUT DRIVE LEVER? I KNOW MY 10 BLADES GO REALLY WELL. PERHAPS IM OVER OILING OR. i DID A FANTASTIC JOB A YEAR AGO ON ONE DOG , GLIDED THRU LIKE BUTTER.. MY BLADES CAN NOT POSSIBLY BE BLUNT, IVE HARDLY USED THEM, IVE STRUGGLED FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS, EVEN ON MY OWN MALTESE. THANKS AND KIND REGARDS LEE LEE

woofywagon wrote:THANK YOU KINDLY, SO MUCH FOR SHOWING INTEREST.. OK BLADES ARE SHARP,OILED, COATS KNOT FREE AND I GO WITH THE COAT FLOW. NOT SURE ABOUT DRIVE LEVER? I KNOW MY 10 BLADES GO REALLY WELL. PERHAPS IM OVER OILING OR. i DID A FANTASTIC JOB A YEAR AGO ON ONE DOG , GLIDED THRU LIKE BUTTER.. MY BLADES CAN NOT POSSIBLY BE BLUNT, IVE HARDLY USED THEM, IVE STRUGGLED FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS, EVEN ON MY OWN MALTESE. THANKS AND KIND REGARDS LEE LEE

Don't assume new blades are sharp.

Sorry i'm a bit late replying here but I hope I can give some useful advice.

Is this the sort of looks you are after ?



(here is the above dog in the before shot. I bath & blow dry this first before doing anything else, and it's front feet were all chewed up/knotty that's why they look shorter in the after shot. Sometimes you just can't fix it!)








If so, can I suggest you invest in a set of stainless steel snap on combs. I never use blades to do body clips these days unless its a 7# shavedown. The SS combs are a godsend imo and blade clipping is a thing of the past for me.

All of my photo examples above have been achieved solely with SS combs over a 30#. I choose my body comb usually the dark blue for approx 4# length, and the next 2 sizes up the orange & yellow are my favourites to give that plush look but still with a managable length. If the owner wants the head a little fuller like the little dog with the bow, I choose a length 2 sizes up from the body length and go over the head with that. If they want head same as body I just go over the head with the same comb as the body.

Like others have said, prep is crucial. ALL my dogs get bathed & force dried before I clip anything (unless they are matted to the bone & get a 7# shavedown). I happily bath/dry 4 inches of growth to achieve the look i'm after. I don't pre-clip any dog that is getting any sort of plush clip or style.

They look great Tammy and the SS combs are wonderful. I just love them.
I do have to whack fur off first though. I am too old to force dry a lot of fur.

Lol Jonna....i'm about the same age as you?? early 20's right

Lol. I have to use a multiplier.....

Ok....I could force dry a maltese.......no cockers please. I would force dry almost any dog first.

I have NEVER had any luck with blades over a 7. Dont ask me why *shrugs*, I wish I knew. Like you, everyone else doesn't seem to have any trouble. The only coats I have found them ok with are poodles, jap spitz etc, basically any coat that is thick and dead straight and standing out from the body.

For me, anything over a 7 blade I go straight onto the SS combs. Generally I go (sizing wise) 7 blade, 2 comb (3 reverse), 3 comb (4 reverse), 4 comb (5 reverse) ........

Also Osters, never had any luck. I use good old basic Wahl and find they 'pick up' the fur better than anything else I've tried.

Preparation as the others have said is like a chinese meal, ie: it's all in the preparation. Anything longer than a 7 clip gets forced dried and then the last 10% dried and brushed at the same time.

During my traineeship many moons ago we use to do half clips , being that name sounds weird on one level but really its taking half the length of the coat off according to my boss back then . Snap on combs or hand scissoring the coat works depending on time and the coat condition .