Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Grooming Procedures & Recommendations

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Grooming Tips
Front Legs
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier The longest coat on the legs can range from 1 to 3 inches depending on the amount of bone and coat density. The front legs drop straight down from the body and have ample bone and muscle to show off a powerful and sturdy animal. The pattern line at the shoulder is about two fingers above the top of the elbow, at the point where the muscle begins to turn under. The coat at the transition line will be very short and taper into the longer leg furnishings. This can be accomplished by feathering off at the blending point with the same blade used on the body.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Most stylists prefer to leave the legs to shape by hand with shears ranging from 8.5 to 10 inches in length. Other methods of blending off at the top of the leg include using an attachment comb – such as a #2, #1.5 or #1– followed by hand scissoring and blending with thinning shears. After the final trim, the legs should form two parallel columns descending from the elbow into beveled, tight, round feet. The coat at the back of the elbow is very short and falls straight down off the back of the leg toward the ground.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Grooming
Feet
Both the front and rear feet are compact with well-arched toes. Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier  to show off these traits, the feet are trimmed very close to the edge of the foot, beveling out onto fuller leg coat. The feet should point straight ahead, toeing neither in nor out. Begin trimming the feet by forming a square box around the foot while the dog is standing in a natural, square position. With the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier dog standing squarely on the table, remove the sharp edges of the box and round the feet as they face straight forward. If detailing the feet with the foot lifted off the tabletop, always use a small pair of detailing shears to minimize the risk of accidentally cutting the pads.

Throat & Chest
Blades ranging from #5F to 2# guard comb, with or against the grain, based on the sensitivity of the dog’s skin, are common in the throat area. Follow the natural cowlick line that runs from the base of the ears in a ‘V’ shape towards the base of the neck. Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier The blending point for the chest begins about three or four fingers above the breast bone and drops to just below the turn of the muscle at the elbow/shoulder, creating a “W” shape when viewed straight on.

When viewed in profile, the neck into the chest should be straight without a predominant forechest. When blending the chest, be aware of the heavy cowlicks in the area. Many stylists prefer to leave the chest area to blend by hand with thinning shears or shears. When finished in this area, double check your work to be sure the neck, chest and front legs drop down in a straight line when viewed in profile.

The Head in General
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier the head is rectangular in shape. The length of the muzzle and the skull are about the same. The top skull is smooth and flat. The cheeks are level. There is a slight stop between the keen, sharp eyes that are accentuated by a fall of hair between them.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Grooming
Ears
Ears are clipped with a medium blade and should be coated. It is common to see a #7F or #4F blade used on the outside of the ear leather while a #40 blade is used on the inside. The clipper work starts at the ear fold, so when you look at the dog from the front, there is no break in the line from the topskull to the ear set. Gently brace the ear with your fingers to clip over it. When working with blades in this delicate area, always work from the base, or center, of the ear out toward the edge. To finish, use small finishing shears to trim around the outside edge of the ear leather.

Top Skull
The top of the head can be clipped with blades ranging from a #5F to a #1.5 guard comb. To create the pattern line for the fall between the eyes, follow the eye socket rim, working with the lay of the coat. Do not clip down into the stop area. Clip the top of the head from the behind the eye bone ridges to the
occiput. Use caution when clipping around the base of the ears.

Fall
The slight stop between the eyes will be filled with long fur. Shape the area over the eyes into an arch to accentuate the typically keen terrier expression. The coat will be very short at the back corner of the eye and longer as it blends out beyond the halfway point of the eye. When viewed in profile, the fall is a continuation
of the top skull as it grows out over the nose. Use curved shears in reverse to set the arch line above the eyes.
Line up the tip of the shear with a point on the nose. Repeat on the other eye. By using the nose as a set point, the angles of both arches are easier to match.

Beard & Goatee
The muzzle is left in a natural state as it forms the rectangular beard. The transition line for the cheek to the muzzle area runs on an imaginary line from just behind the back corner of the eye to the cheek whisker nodule, under the jaw to the single center whisker nodule.. The line should be well blended. The coat
under the eye area is never clipped as this hair forms one of the critical lines of the classic rectangular head style. Depending on the head, this line may need to be adjusted slightly.

The line on the dog’s face should be straight, from the flat, level cheek down into the muzzle area. Double check this line by laying a greyhound comb along side the head. Any fur that sticks out beyond the comb should be removed. Any hair inside this line should remain and be blended to create the rectangular shape.

Detail Finish
Remove any scissor marks or clipper tracks with thinning shears. Application of mild cologne and collar bows is optional.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Grooming Tips
Thinning shears can be your best friends on this coat type. Soft, wavy coats mark extremely easily. Thinning shears are erasers for the professional pet stylist. They that can remove most mild to moderate clipper or scissor marks left in a coat. position you want it.

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