The Importance of Breed Knowledge in Pet Grooming
by Daryl Conner
magine a new customer contacts you and makes an appointment for a two-year-old Bichon Frise she just adopted. You don’t groom many Bichons, and the ones you do all get short trims, but you happily schedule her for your next available time slot.
When the customer arrives, she has a nice-looking dog with a well-maintained haircut. She explains that she got this dog from a breeder who had shown it, and she’d like to maintain its current look, but maybe a bit shorter. You have a moment of insecurity as you imagine grooming this dog because you are not confident in your knowledge of the breed. What’s a well-meaning groomer to do?
Luckily, we have excellent grooming guidebooks available, as well as plenty of information online. However, a great place to start your education about a breed you are uncertain about grooming is by looking at the American Kennel Club’s breed standard. The standard will outline each breed’s ideal physical characteristics, which won’t give you much information about grooming, but it will educate you on what the dog’s physical structure should look like. Why is that important?
If you are unfamiliar with reading breed standards, they might seem a little confusing at first, but once you have read through a few, you will find they are full of interesting information.
For example, The Bichon Frise standard explains that the breed has an arched neck. That will help guide you as you groom, because leaving the fur longer there and trimming it to accentuate the arch will be necessary. It also says that this breed’s topline is level, except for a slight rise at the loin. These and other structural descriptions will help you visualize how to trim the coat to accentuate the breed’s ideal build.
to give the illusion of better structure can only be done when you know what a dog 
look like.”
-Desiree Ramirez de Rva
to give the illusion of better structure can only be done when you know what a dog look like.”
-Desiree Ramirez de Rva
to give the illusion of better structure can only be done when you know what a dog look like.”
-Desiree Ramirez de Rva
Her thoughts were echoed by groomer Desiree Ramirez de Rva, who adds, “As a person with dogs which I show, there’s so much in breed standards beyond just grooming. Structure, history, movement, and temperament are also important parts of a dog, and the more we know, the better groomers we can be.
“Corrective grooming to give the illusion of better structure can only be done when you know what a dog should look like,” continues Desiree. “Being able to name areas correctly, such as croup, hock, pastern, brisket, etcetera, is also important. Even if you are handling doodles or mixed breeds, this knowledge can absolutely translate.”
Many groomers reported that they didn’t believe knowing breed standards was important information for those in our career, saying “I only groom mixed breeds,” or “I live in an area where people only want their pets clipped close.” While that may be true, becoming familiar with breed standards can also be invaluable information for groomers to understand what individual breeds of dogs were originally developed to do and what their temperament will most likely be.
For example, if you know that the diminutive Chihuahua is supposed to be “Alert, projecting the ‘terrier-like’ attitudes of self-importance, confidence, self-reliance,” you might not be so surprised when they act like a bigger, tougher dog than they actually are when you attempt to groom one.
Angela Forrester, CCMS, agrees, saying, “I think knowing the breed standard is important in many ways, but probably the most important is temperament and purpose. If you don’t understand how the dog on your table thinks, you may contribute to a safety issue or make the groom more difficult. Even if they’re not purebred, you should be thinking about what this animal is bred to do and how that may affect its reactions to the grooming process.”
With over 200 breeds currently recognized, learning the American Kennel Club breed standard for every breed would be overkill. However, knowing how to find and read the standard for dogs you groom is a doable task.
Going back to the Bichon in the beginning of the article, the owner didn’t necessarily want the upkeep and maintenance required by a full-on show groom. However, she did want to maintain the correct lines of a breed trim to show her pretty dog off to its best advantage.
For the groomer unsure of how to accomplish that, starting at the breed standard is a fabulous first step. Once you have educated yourself by reading the standard, refer to grooming books for information on what tools to use to achieve the desired trim.
Looking at images online can also be helpful. If you type in the breed you are searching for and add the words “breed club,” you will find lots of helpful information on the breed, especially grooming practices, along with photos of properly groomed specimens.
Being armed with breed-specific familiarity can set you apart from the competition, help you gain confidence in your skills and translate as professionalism to your customers. Knowledge is one of the most essential tools you can acquire.