Cavapoo Dog Clippers & Grooming Kits

Cavapoo Grooming: Clippers, Brushes & Kits

Cavapoo coats run from soft waves to tight Poodle curls, and both mat fast around the ears, legs and tail. Everything below is chosen for that coat: cordless and mains clipper sets with 3mm to 13mm comb guides, slicker brushes, safety scissors and nail clippers sized for a small dog.

How to Groom a Cavapoo at Home

A Cavapoo is one of the more forgiving crossbreeds to groom yourself, provided you work in the right order. Brush the coat out completely before a blade goes near it. Clipping over a mat drags the skin and blunts the blade, and on a curly coat the mat is usually bigger than it looks from the surface.

Work through the coat in sections with a slicker brush, then follow with a metal comb to find the tangles the brush skimmed over. If the comb catches, the mat is still there. Only once the comb runs clear should you start clipping.

Clip the body with the lie of the coat rather than against it, in short overlapping passes, and leave the face, ears and paws until last. Finish those areas with scissors rather than clippers — safety bull-nose scissors have a rounded tip that will not catch if your dog turns their head.

Browse our dog clippers and grooming accessories.

How Often Should You Clip a Cavapoo?

Brush several times a week and clip fully every six to eight weeks. That rhythm is what keeps the coat manageable — brushing between clips is what actually prevents matting, and a coat brushed twice a week takes a fraction of the time to clip.

Cavapoos that swim, work in long grass, or are still in their puppy coat will need brushing more often. The puppy-to-adult coat change usually brings a spell where the coat mats far more readily than it did before, and that is the point at which most owners start clipping at home rather than booking in every few weeks.

Cavapoo Haircut Styles

Most Cavapoo haircuts are a variation on how much length you leave on the body and how you finish the face. The comb guides supplied with our clipper sets give 3mm, 6mm, 10mm and 13mm, which covers the range in practice.

• Teddy bear trim — the fullest of the common styles, with the body left long and the face rounded off with scissors. Work at 10mm or 13mm.
• Puppy cut — an even length all over, face included. Comfortable to maintain and forgiving of an uneven hand. Usually 6mm to 10mm.
• Summer trim — taken short for hot weather or a coat that mats faster than you can keep up with. 3mm to 6mm.
• Face, feet and sanitary tidy — no body clipping at all, just the areas that need it between full grooms. Scissors and a trimmer rather than a full-size clipper.

Whichever length you settle on, keep it consistent between grooms. Dropping from a long trim to a short one in a single session on a matted coat rarely ends well.

Shop comb guides and dog trimmers.

Choosing Clippers for a Cavapoo Coat

Cavapoo coat texture varies a great deal depending on which parent it favours. A softer, wavier Cavalier-type coat clips easily. A tighter Poodle-type curl is denser than it looks and asks more of the motor.

Our Cavapoo sets are built around two cordless models:

• Cordless PRO — a high-performance motor with precision-engineered Japanese A5 blades, in a lightweight ergonomic body. Supplied with four sprung-loaded metal comb guides at 3mm, 6mm, 10mm and 13mm.
• Cordless MAX — supplied with two rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, so one charges while the other is in use. Quiet running with low vibration, and a detachable A5 snap-on and snap-off blade system that takes the full range of A5 blades. Same four comb guides.

The quiet running and low vibration on the MAX are the reason to choose it for a dog that is nervous around noise. The second battery is the reason to choose it if you groom more than one dog, or if a full groom takes you longer than a single charge.

A mains-powered set is also available if you would rather not manage batteries at all. Both cordless models take standard A5 blades, so you are not locked into one cutting length.

See the full range of A5 dog clipping blades, and our blade care and oil.

Brushes and Combs for a Cavapoo

On a curly or wavy coat the brush matters as much as the clipper. Most of the work in a home groom is getting the coat mat-free before you start, and that is a brushing job, not a clipping one.

• Slicker brush — the main tool. Fine angled pins lift and separate the coat and pull out loose undercoat. On a dog the size of a Cavapoo a small or medium flat-head slicker is easier to control around the legs and face than a large one.
• Metal grooming comb — the check, not the brush. Run it through after the slicker to find what the brush missed. A combination comb with wide and narrow teeth on one handle lets you open a tangle with the wide end and finish with the narrow.
• Nail clippers — small-breed nail clippers are easier to place accurately on a Cavapoo's nails than a full-size pair.

Shop brushes, combs and grooming accessories.

What's in a Cavapoo Grooming Kit?

Our Cavapoo clipper sets contain the clipper and four sprung-loaded metal comb guides at 3mm, 6mm, 10mm and 13mm. That is the core of a home grooming setup and enough to do a full body groom on its own.

Brushes, scissors, nail clippers and blade oil are sold separately so you can match them to your dog rather than pay for duplicates of tools you already own. If you are starting from nothing, the pieces worth adding first are a slicker brush, a metal comb and a pair of safety bull-nose scissors for the face.

Larger sets are available with eight comb guides rather than four, which is worth it if you expect to change lengths seasonally rather than settle on one.

Also Suits Cockapoos, Maltipoos and Other Poodle Crosses

Nothing on this page is Cavapoo-specific in any technical sense — it is chosen for a wavy-to-curly coat on a small to medium dog. The same clippers, comb guides and brushes work equally well on:

• Cockapoos and Cavachons
• Maltipoos, Cavapoochons and other Poodle crosses
• Toy and Miniature Poodles
• Any small dog with a curly, wavy or dense coat

See our Cockapoo grooming range, or browse all breeds.

Cavapoo Grooming Questions

How often should a Cavapoo be clipped?

Every six to eight weeks, with brushing several times a week in between. The brushing is what keeps the interval achievable.

What comb guide length should I use on a Cavapoo?

The sets include 3mm, 6mm, 10mm and 13mm. 10mm and 13mm give a fuller teddy-bear look, 6mm to 10mm an even puppy cut, and 3mm to 6mm a short summer trim.

Do the clipper sets include a brush and scissors?

No. The Cavapoo PRO and MAX sets include the clipper and four metal comb guides. Brushes, scissors, combs and nail clippers are bought separately.

Which clipper is quietest for a nervous dog?

The Cordless MAX is designed for quiet running and low vibration, which is the model to choose if your dog is unsettled by noise.

Can I use these clippers on a Cockapoo or Maltipoo?

Yes. They are chosen for coat type rather than breed, and a Cockapoo, Maltipoo or Toy Poodle coat clips the same way.

What blades fit the cordless clippers?

Standard A5 blades. The MAX uses a detachable snap-on and snap-off A5 system, so you can change cutting length without changing clipper.

Can I clip a matted Cavapoo?

Brush and comb the mats out first wherever you can. Where a mat is too tight to open, it has to come off shorter than the rest of the coat, because clipping over it will pull the skin underneath.