The Afghan Hound’s First Groom

Elevate Your Grooming

The Afghan Hound’s First Groom typography

by Blake Hernandez

he Afghan Hound is the super model of dogs. And while you probably won’t see them cross your grooming table all that often, things like foot bevels, carding undercoat and plucking faces are all good practices to perfect your pooch-primping abilities. If you do have the opportunity to work on an Afghan, take it slow, as they are a very sensitive breed.

aerial view of a dog in a tub and a hand scrubbing its fur

Hand-stripping (plucking) is the hair-removing technique that targets top-coat hair and in the process will remove undercoat hair as well.

Carding (mucking out) is the hair-removing technique that targets undercoat hair and in the process will remove top-coat hair as well.

Fig 1) Afghans have some serious mutton chops that must be plucked down to enhance their long and elegant face. The top lip should be shortened to the length of the bridge of the nose through plucking.

Fig 2) I use my fingers to pluck all the fuzz from the top lip because I find it safer than using hard or sharp tools around the face.

Fig 3) Keep plucking back to the corner of the ear where you will begin your clipper work in the next step. Depending on the dog’s temperament and coat color, you might clip that line from the corner of the eye to the corner of the ear or pluck it.

hand holding Afghan hound's face to pluck fur

hand plucking fur near Afghan hound's ear

clippers shaving fur around Afghan hound's neck

Fig 4) Next clip the throat with a #7f or #10 in reverse. Afghans are traditionally left with some chin fuzz, but this client wanted it removed for a cleaner, more sanitary look.

Fig 5) To remove dead hair from the dog’s back coat, I like to start with a comb with rubber bands weaved between the teeth, as it creates places for dead hairs to get pinched and mucked out without being broken. Make sure to lie the comb flat with the dog’s skin to remove the most dead hair.

closeup up of carding knife smoothing out Afghan hound's fur

man holding a small dog in a red towel after a bath while smiling

Fig 6) Then I will rotate through a variety of carding knives, using them parallel to the dog’s skin like the comb, to muck out as much fuzz as possible. I’ll only hand-pluck some guard hairs after I’ve done as much carding as I can.

Fig 7) To finish, trim the foot bevels while the dog is standing to make sure not to remove too much width and to pinch your bevels.

Now when you see an Afghan in your appointment books, you will be ready to groom it like a pro! But at the very least, when the next fuzzy Golden comes in with saddle bags of dead coat, you’ll be primed and ready to muck and pluck your way to perfection.

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