DOG GROOMING PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA COURSE Assignment Twelve CURLY COATS TUTOR TALK: The Learning Outcomes for this assignment are: Know the necessary appearance and condition of curly-coated dogs. Know the type of equipment used for styling and finishing curly-coated dogs. Learn how to use the equipment correctly Understand techniques for styling and finishing curly-coated dogs. Understand the client s requests for styling for curly-coated dogs. Know different types of breeds and how styling is achieved for curly-coated dogs. BREEDS The curly coat is characterised by curls, which is why it is often referred to as the wavy coat. This type of coat tangles and knots very easily, and has a tendency to become dry. Before brushing a curly-coated dog, you should always spray it with some sort of conditioning spray to avoid breakage. The following are some examples of common breeds with curly coats: Bichon Frise Curly-Coated Retriever Irish Water Spaniel Komondor Poodle Portuguese Water Dog Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 1
Equipment Nail clippers Ear cleaner Toothbrush and canine toothpaste Slicker brush Blunt-nosed scissors Size 40, 15 and 4F blades Clippers High velocity dryer Wide-toothed comb Fine-toothed comb Thinning shears Natural bristle brush Rubber curry brush Blending shears Finishing/conditioner spray Shedding comb Grooming Curly coats Frequency These breeds should be brushed three times a week and bathed and trimmed monthly. While curly coats can be difficult to maintain, this is not always true. Trying to keep a curly coat in perfect shape is a challenge, but not impossible. Unless the dog is planned to be shown, the grooming should take up much less time than you probably think. A monthly session with the clippers should be enough. Some curly-coated dogs have single coats that grow continuously like human hair, and some have double coats, which have a woolly undercoat. Both types tend to tangle up very quickly, because the hair curls back on itself, making it easier to tangle. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 2
The Aim The longer coat should look fluffy and like a cloud, with no clipper or scissor marks. The close clipper work should be smooth, neat and even. There should be no mats or tangles. The outline of the dog should look velvety, smooth, neat and elegant. There are quite a few different varieties of wavy-coated breeds. To get the best groom for the particular breed of wavy-coated dog, please research the particular breed s characteristics first. Below I have given you a generalised procedure. Cut nails as short as possible. Clean the teeth, ears and eyes. Before the bath, thoroughly brush out the entire coat with a pin brush or slicker brush to remove as much dead or loose coat as possible, and to de-tangle and remove the mats. To remove the mats, use a match comb or de-matting tool. If they are severe, then cut them with scissors to remove them. Then, run the comb through the dog s entire coat to make sure there are no hidden tangles left. Bathe using the shampoo of your choice, remove any dead hair and massage the shampoo deep into the coat with a rubber curry brush. Use a damp towel to rub over the muzzle after the bath. Dry depending on the breed, but usually fluff and blow-dry. Hand-scissor the legs evenly to remove the excess hair. Clip and trim the feet to the specific breed standard. Clip the body again as necessary to the breed standard. The muzzle can be styled to the client s preference. For close work, use a size 10 or 15 in reverse on the face and throat. The whiskers may be removed if requested by the owner or desired. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 3
Periodically take a step back to look at the dog and compare it to a picture of a well-groomed example of that breed. The curly-coated breeds can fall into several categories. Below I have listed these categories and have written specific grooming details about them. Water breeds Water breeds are sporting dogs with a harsh curly coat. These dogs generally spend a lot of time working by flushing out birds, serving as hunting companions and retrieving from water. A curly coat is particularly good at keeping the dog warm and repelling water. The coat is generally cut short, as the curls do tend to snag every twig or bit of underbrush that they come in contact with. The show examples of these dogs are generally scissored into shape, which is very difficult and labour-intensive. The hunting and pet versions of this dog are more likely to be clipped to a length of about two inches, except in the curly-coated retriever, which has a coat that is short enough that it doesn t require clipping. Cut the hair from under the foot between the pads. The foot should appear rounded and should blend in with the leg hair, appearing like a powder-puff over the foot. Use clippers down the torso and cut the coat to two inches long, or you can scissor off the fuzzy hair and shape the sides to neaten them. Shape these to best match the particular breed you re grooming. It is possible to slightly adjust the confirmation of the dog in the way that you shape and trim the curly coat. It is a good idea to take a small amount off at a time and constantly check your work. Irish Water Spaniel The Irish Water Spaniel should have a peaked top knot and the beard should be left in place. You should shape the top knot with scissors into a peak between the eyes and remove any stray or uneven hairs. Shave the rest of the face, moving in the direction of the hair growth, using scissors to neaten. This breed has a rat-type tail, which is long and thin with very short hair. However, it is important to blend at the tail base and the hair should not extend more than three inches down the tail. It is also important to keep the top knot and ears tangle-free. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 4
American Water Spaniel This breed has a close curly coat, which needs to be trimmed short and scissored into shape. This breed does have more feathering on the tail and legs than the Irish Water Spaniel, but is otherwise groomed in a similar way. Detail feathers will need to be trimmed into a neat sickle shape, and it is important to remove any stray long hairs. Overall the outline of this breed needs to be kept natural and the ears kept flowing and tangle-free. Curly-Coated Retriever These have crisp curls and a short coat. It requires very little trimming and it should never be shaved down. Remove any stray longer hairs from all over the head and body with scissors; other than that the coat should be left to air-dry in a natural state. Portuguese Water Dog This breed is special as it doesn t shed and grows hair constantly, just like human hair. This means that it does need regular brushing and trimming. This breed can have one of two clips: the retriever clip, in which it is shaved down to about one inch all over and the tail left long (this clip is easiest to care for), or the Lion clip, in which the hindquarters except the tail tip are clipped short, but the chest, back, front legs and head are left long and wavy. Curly Terriers These breeds are generally scissored for the show ring and clipped if they are pets. Bedlington terrier When grooming this terrier, you need to try and achieve a lamb-like look. Using a size 15 blade, shave the face from the front edge of the ears to the outer eye corners, and straight down to a half inch from the corner of the mouth. This includes under the jaw, shaving against the direction of the hair growth. Clip both ears, leaving a V-shaped tassel at the end of both ears. Carefully shave around the anal area and shave the underside of the tail about one third of the way down, and shave the rest of the tail on all sides. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 5
For pet dogs, the rest of the body should be shaved about one inch long all round. For the show dog, it is scissored to about one inch all the way round. The leg hair should be clipped or scissored to slightly longer than the body hair. Trim between the pads on the feet. This is to show off their angular hare foot shape. You need to form a Roman arch or Roman nose top knot by scissoring from the base of the neck to the tip of the nose. Kerry Blue Terrier They should look similar to the Wired Fox Terrier, but the coat is wavy, rather than wiry. Clip the stomach with a size 10 blade to about three inches in front of the back legs. Carefully clip the ears on both sides. When grooming the head, imagine a line from behind the ears to the upper chest, and another line from between the eyes to the hair follicle lump under the chin. Shave the jaw into a V-shape on the chest that comes to about two inches above the breastbone. Comb out the beard forward. Carefully cut the hair around the eyes. Scissor or clip the coat to about 1.5 inches with a size 5 or 7 blade with the clippers. Trim the tail hair short and shave around the anal area. Shave the hair between these lines, including the top of the skull, and then blend with scissors into the beard and muzzle. Use a slicker brush to brush the leg hair and trim the feet into a cylindrical shape. Finish by brushing with a natural bristle brush, and spray the coat with conditioner for a nice glossy shine. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 6
Bichon Frise When grooming this breed, you need to think that everything has to be round in shape. Always work from a picture of a well-groomed Bichon Frise as an example. Fluff-dry the dog. Facing the dog, comb the top knot and face, and scissor any hair covering the eyes. Part the hair on the muzzle and scissor off the hair blocking the dog s vision. Comb the hair on the muzzle downwards. Scissor the top of the head into a nice round shape, blending it into the ears and the beard to form a half-moon shape. Trim but do not shorten the beard. Trim beneath the ear flaps, so the ears fall naturally. Look at the dog in profile and use scissors to form a round head shape. Blend the hair on the chest into the beard, neck and head and continue the rounded lines. Use scissors on the front legs to make straight lines from the front to achieve a cylindricallyshaped leg. Trim the hair between the legs and blend into the bottom line from the side. Trim the top line level, making sure the coat along the back is shorter than on the neck. Leave the tail long but neatened. Shorten around the anal area. Poodle This breed has the widest variety of grooming styles, as its coat suits an endless number of different clips. Generally a poodle will have a clean, shaved face, a rounded moustache, a squared-off French moustache, and any different number of body styles. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 7
The good thing about poodles is that you can try many different styles and clips. The coat grows fast and lends itself to experimentation. Below I have included some of the coat options that are available to the poodle. With some of these clips I will go into more detail. Puppy Clip The puppy clip is a longer variation of the lamb trim, except for the neck, which is normally left fuller and sculpted by hand to give the dog an elegant neck and crest. The body can be hand-scissored or cut in using the long guard comb. The top knot style should be full and tall. The ears, muzzle, feet and tail are normally left to the discretion of the owner. However, they should be balanced within the whole overall trim. English Saddle Clip The Continental Clip The Retriever Trim This is also known as the all trim. This is low-maintenance and can be done with a moderatelength blade used all over the body. The typical size ears would range from a 7 to a 2 guard comb. The top knot, ears, muzzle, feet and tail styles are left to the discretion of the owner. The Lamb Trim This style is also known as the bladed body stylised leg clip. The main section of the body is trimmed with a moderate-size blade, ranging from a 7 to a longer guard comb. The transition areas are blended into the longer leg hair; the legs may be cut in with a longer guard comb for the smaller dogs or sculpted by hand-scissoring. The top knot, ears, muzzle, feet and tail styles are, again, all left to the owner s discretion. However, it should balance. The Single-Banded Trim The Miami Clip A Teddy Bear Trim This trim is a variation of the lamb or puppy cut. The head is generally scissored round and the ears are feathered. The tail is normally left the same level as the body, and the feet scissored round to blend with the full, stylised legs. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 8
Sporting Clip The Town and Country Clip The Dutch Clip The Bikini Clip The New Yorker or the Double Banded Trim The Kennel Clip Maintaining a show coat on this dog is a mammoth task. Generally the dog is wrapped to be kept clean, and the coat is handled with immaculate care in order not to break the hairs or compromise the coat quality. Below we have listed the steps on how to achieve a Kennel Clip on the Poodle: Fluff-dry the coat using a slicker brush and have the blow dryer set on low or cool. Shave the face with a size 15 blade on an electric clipper, or you can leave a doughnut-shaped or French moustache on the muzzle, creating these with scissors. The Poodle is the only curly-coated breed to have clean-shaven feet. This can be difficult to achieve and takes a lot of practice. Use a size 15 blade and clip the paws on the top, sides, between the toes and between the pads. Scissor the legs to about half an inch in length. Brush or comb out the ear hair, trimming with scissors if necessary to neaten. Shape the top knot by scissoring the head into a nice round shape. Herding Breeds/Corded Coats These are generally curly-coated dogs that have been left to make a corded coat. Cords are like dreadlocks. There are two breeds known best for this coat: the Komondor and the Puli. Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 9
Corded coats are very easy to groom once the cords have formed; this is normally done by two years of age. To help cord formation, work out the mats and woolly tangles with your fingers, and so the coat will form without matting. Never brush or comb out a corded coat. While giving this type of dog a bath, use a sponge to work the water in, and then shampoo into the cords and rinse thoroughly. Squeeze-dry it all over the cords with a towel. Trim and neaten the frayed ends with scissors. To remove mats, use a splitting comb and reshape the cords with your hands. TUTOR TALK: You have now come to the end of this assignment. Answer the questions relating to the work that you have just covered and return them to the College for marking. Copyright Reserved Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. Norman Vincent Peale Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 10
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STUDENT NOTES: Please use the space below for recording what you consider to be any pertinent information or notes. You may find it helpful to refer back to it later on! Dog Grooming Professional Diploma Course Assignment Twelve Page 12