Why do I need different blade sizes for dog grooming?

As the other poster said, yes #10 is fine for face feet and the sanitary area (around the Anus, testicles, vaginac penis and belly) #40 again can be very dangerous if you are not VERY experienced. Our salon will not even allow us to use a #40 without a guard unless we've groomed at least a year.

The guards are okay, but only for longer cuts that will not take very much off of the body. If they are wanting much off, you will have to use blades.

#3 blades still leave the coat a little long. But the usual cuts for bodies are #5, #7, or even #10 if the poor pup is matted.

I rarely use lift combs or even #3 blades. When owners want haircuts for their dogs, they usually want to go short in my experience.

And again as the other poster said, with lift combs the dog cannot have any tangles or especially not mats. Mats usually only come out with a #7 or shorter if they are too bad to be brushed out, and trust me many dogs will come in matted. We have more matted dogs come in than dogs in good shape, honestly. I would advice getting a few blades.

The #10 is fine for face feet and belly area (some use a 15-we do in the grooming shop--The #40 is a surgical blade which is best used with the guards ONLY- only a professional should use a #40 you can give some really serious razor burn with a 30 and 40)

The guard is fine for longer clips but can easily get caught on matts and tangles making it fly off the blade. The best blades for body are the #7.5.and 4. Some of the guards will leave the same length as the #4 and some guards will leave longer lengths. When using the guards the coat MUST be brushed out and preferably bathed and hand dried too.

30 yrs grooming.