by Blake Hernandez
ometimes the season changes, a dog goes viral, or maybe the owner’s partner has a request. The point is, sometimes a dog must have their entire look transformed, which means no following someone else’s pattern, or even having the comfort of following your own pattern. Instead, you have to see through the hair and know what stays and what goes. Here, I’m taking a Poodlington into a short ear and tail Teddy Bear trim.
Fig 1) After a good bath, blow, brush, hot fluff and comb, it is time to shave your foot pads.
Fig 2) Also shave anything else you consider prep work, such as the dog’s lower lip folds and outside the ear canal.
Fig 3) This will include the anal sanitary, making sure not to actually make contact with the sphincter.
Fig 4) Finish up your prep work with the belly sanitary, and then you’re ready for the fun part!
Fig 5) Starting at the dog’s withers, or where the dog’s shoulders come together at the spine, clip to your desired trim length. Here I’m using a #1 guard comb.
Fig 6) Bring this length down through the trunk to give the dog a tighter body and defined waist.
Fig 7) From underneath the ear, continue this same length down. But once you hit the thickest part of your shoulder muscle, you need to skim off by releasing pressure from your clipper.
Fig 8) Then move up one guard comb length and repeat this process on the rear muscle group. This allows your thighs to look more powerful and aids in transitioning from shorter clip length to a scissored length.
Fig 9) On this dog, I want short ears but not tassels. So this means simply edging the ears to transform them and the overall headpiece.
Fig 10) Trim your feet tight and cat-like by first snipping everything that passes the bottom of the pad and then round from the nail up using a curved scissor.
Fig 11) Scissor your front legs into columns, like a stovepipe, using straight shears to block them in and then curved scissors to make them 3D and to retain continuity.
Fig 12) Scissor the rear legs into an A-frame. Here the groomer must see through the previously shaved inner thigh and work it into the inside leg parallels.
Fig 13) Comb the muzzle hair towards the eyes and use a curved scissor to remove hair at a 45-degree angle out of the inside corners of the eyes.
Fig 14) Reverse your curved scissors and trim the expression over the eyes after combing it towards the nose.
Fig 15) To finish, use your curved scissor to create an expressive bubble over the eyes.
Transforming entire patterns is so fun for me, and I hope this groom provides you the inspiration to give some of your clients an “America’s Next Top Model-esque” overhaul!