Dog Clipping
The dog to be clipped should stand on a table over which there should be a hook of some kind to attach to a leash from its collar. By placing your hand under its crotch you can make the dog understand that it must stand, and it will eventually learn to pose like a statue.
When you are plucking, hold the handle of the plucking blade in your right hand with your thumb at a short distance from the serrated blade’s edge. Press the edge against the hair, apply thumb pressure, and pull. The haircut is released by removing your thumb. Repeat the steps for another comb full. The motion becomes quite rapid as you learn the method. Pull, pull, pull, pull as quickly as you can make your hand go. The long, old hair gives way quite easily and, in a short time, you can pluck out a good-sized patch, leaving only the curly undercoat. All of the neck and body are stripped. The legs are left as they are, and only the very longest hair is pulled out to make the legs look large, straight, and cylindrical. The hair on them is left considerably longer than the body coat.
The head receives different treatments. Showmen often clip the head with electric clippers, trimming the cheeks, the top of the head, and the ears. If you have no clipper, however, you can safely use a safety razor. The guard will prevent shaving the hair too closely. Cut the hair from the top of the nose to the same length as that on the top of the head but, starting at the brim, allow the hair down along the lips to be increasingly longer, to form the beard. From the rear angle of the mouth backward and underneath the eye, the hair is short. The only long hair is on the eyebrows and beard. When you have finished wills the head, the long hair of the beard should produce a line under the face, parallel to the line from the eye to the top of the nose. The hair on the feet should be cut with scissors to give them the appearance of round cat feet.
There is no reason to make grooming a chore. You need not try to complete the job in one session. If your dog is uneasy or gets tired, stop for a while and let it rest. After you have finished, look at another dog of the same breed that has been groomed by a professional – at a dog show if possible. You will soon see where you have gone wrong and learn how to improve your technique.
Scottish Terriers and Sealyhams. Dogs of these two breeds are especially easy to clip or pluck, and their appearance is greatly improved by proper grooming. After you have finished clipping and look at the dog from behind, it should have the shape of a half circle whose edges drop straight to the ground. More beard is left on the fore face of these breeders than on the Wirehaired Terrier, but otherwise, the clipping is similar. The eyebrows are also usually left a little longer. No hair should be removed from the underbelly. The trimming line ends halfway down the dog’s side and the hair below is allowed to grow progressively longer so that it appears to be continuous with that on the legs.
West Highland Whites, Cairns, and Others. Although owners often mistakenly think that some terrier breeds should be trimmed or plucked, “tidying up” is a better description of the kind of grooming they need. Certainly, no clipping is necessary, only the pulling out of stray or long, unruly hair is needed.
Cocker Spaniels. Cocker Spaniels include the old and new types of American Cockers and English Cockers. The old type of AmericanCocker is the one that in the past made the breed so popular. All the long hair is removed from the top of the head and from the top third of the ears (the insides are trimmed out too). The back, the top, and the sides of the tail and both sides of and the front of the legs are also trimmed, as are the feet all around and for an inch up the back of the leg. The hair that forms the “feathers” on the backs of the legs and the belly hair is left long. When the clipping has been finished, the whole coat should be combed to remove snarls.
When that has been done, scissors may be used to trim away any scraggly hair to enhance the clean-cut, jolly appearance of the dog. The new type of American Cocker is clipped on the head and back the same way as the old type, but the long hair on the legs is left uncut. The feet are clipped all around and the hair is combed down straight. This bushy-legged clip, though preferred by some people, has undoubtedly done much to harm the popularity of the Cocker Spaniel. Those who advocate it also breed for a heavy coat.
This huge coat gives the owner more to work with in grooming the animal, but the average pet owner will also discover that such long, abundant hair has an unfortunate tendency to become a snarled mass of burrs and twigs and an ideal breeding place for parasites. Not only does the long hair on the legs become matted and unsightly, but it also collects dirt which the dog dis-tributes about the house.
The Bedlington Terrier. When properly groomed, the Bedlington has a unique appearance, which can be developed only because the animal has a peculiarly thick, linty coat without a wiry texture. The coat of the show dog stands straight out and should be about one inch in length. It can be encouraged to grow in that manner by frequent combing and brushing toward the head.
The head of the Bedlington is clipped most distinctively. The hair on the ears is clipped short except for a flat tassel an inch long at the tip of each car. The topknot on the head should be the highest at the occiput and from there permitted to taper to its shortest length just behind the nose. It should be rounded over the bead, starting from the eyes and the point where the ears are attached.
The leg hair is somewhat longer and straighter than the body hair and should be trimmed to give the typical terrier appearance – cylindrical. Some experts use only scissors and combs for the entire job, some use a razor, and many laypeople simply clip the body close and let the hair grow again but leave the leg hair, which they trim with scissors and comb thoroughly.
Poodles. Trimming Poodles is not nearly as difficult as fancy styling might lead one to believe. Still, clippers, combs, scissors, and razors will all prove useful. The hard part is knowing the basic designs and then being able to start with a great ball of hair and give the dog that spiffy French appearance. Many poodle owners prefer to have the dog clipped in a more masculine fashion, without decoration, maintaining that poodles arc really hunters and general-purpose dogs.
There are four most popular clips, and for each there are variations.
1. THE FIELD CLIP: Usually the whole coat is clipped in the field clip with a blade, leaving long hair only in a pompom on the top of the bead and another on the tail. Tassels on the ear tip arc are sometimes left also. Clipped in this manner, the poodle is comfortable, easy to care for, and ready for action.
THE. PUPPY CLIP: As the coat lengthens on a growing puppy it is necessary only to keep it combed and clean. The only parts that really require trimming are the face, the tail where it’s close to the body, and the feet and legs up a few inches from the ground. Then when the dog is ready for its first fancy clip, the coat is all there to trim in whatever style the owner prefers.
2. THE DUTCH CLIP: In the Dutch clip, the distinctive features are the pantaloon effect, the whiskers, and the head pompom. The whiskers are left to form a long fringe about the face. The head, feet, part of the tail, and body are clipped short, and the pantaloons are trimmed with scissors only. There is considerable variation in the clips. Seine owners prefer the top of the long hair to start high up on the body with only four inches of the back separating the two sides. Some clip the chest clean while others leave it covered, with the long hair running from one”pants leg” to the other. Considerable combing, brushing, and scissor trimming are required to produce the proper cylindrical legs.
3. ENGLISH AND CONTINENTAL CLIPS: In the English and Continentalclips there are three distinct hair lengths. However, a good deal of variation is permitted. Several experts clip the ears and leave the eyebrows with a bare area between them and the pompom on the head. Others leave the hair on the ears long and the hair from the eyes continuous with the pompom. Show dogs need the full topknot and feathers on the ears to give the essential Poodle expression.
The feet are always kept clipped. In the Continental clip, a pompom is left on each hip only, but in the English clip, there is a blanket of medium-short hair. A modification of the English clip omits the upper bracelet on the front legs, and instead, the long hair over the shoulders and chest is left unclipped down to the position of the bracelet. Follow the design, study Poodles groomed by experts, and each time you clip you will come closer to perfection.
The Kerry Blue Terrier. Kerry’s soft wavy coat should be trimmed to leave the body well-covered but neat. In the proper trim, the head is clipped on the cheeks, ears, and forehead, but long bangs are left over the eyes and down the nose. The whiskers are full and flare out. For house pets, it is most practical to reduce the whiskers by shearing them shortly. If they are left long, they will require too frequent washing and combing. The legs are trimmed cylindrically.
Setters and Springer Spaniels. For showing, English, Irish, Gordon Setters, and Springers are clipped on the head and partway down the ears. The hair on the neck and shoulders is smoothed and all scraggly hair is removed from the back. The sides and top of the tail and the feet should also be carefully trimmed. The finished dog must look sleek. Such meticulous and careful trimming is unnecessary with pets or hunting dogs. Some hunters do, however, remove a goodly part of the feathers and long hair when they hunt with their dogs in the rough territory, especially where burrs are present.
See more: Dog Clitoris
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