Grooming Tips

Pat Fleury was a premier breeder in Canada, who is now retired. But her information and experience continues with the link below, which will demonstrate a step-by-step instructional on home clipping for pet welshies (as opposed to a show clip).

http://www.cymro-welsh.com/grooming.html

TRANSCRIPT:

PET TRIMMING
NOTE: These directions are for clipping (pets only). Since most groomers, if they are
not involved with terriers, haven’t the vaguest idea how trim a Welsh, this chart will help

CLIPPERING

trim1BODY: Trim body with #7 blade – with the lay of the coat. I use a #5 in the winter or if the dog is not of good body weight or very elegantly built and needs coat to give the correct look. In the summer when it is hot and the dog is of good body weight, I take them down with a #10. Clip the tail with #10 blade with the lay of the coat.

FRONT: Clip sides of neck and front with #10 blade, with the lay of the coat. Be sure to watch when you come to the area above the elbows where there is a dip. Leave enough fill in that area to blend in with the furnishings on the leg. Keep the inverted “fish hook” look of the front from the side.

trim2HEAD: Clip the head with #10 blade from the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth back. If it doesn’t lay flat, clip the same area again against the lay of the coat. Clip top of head from eyebrows back with #10. Clip ears with #15 being careful not to cut the flap on the inside bottom of the ear. I often use a #30 on the ears against the lay of the hair.
TUCKUP: Clip the inside of the tuckup with a #15 blade carefully.

REAR: Using a #10 blade, clip the inside of the back legs down to the second thigh. Clip up the rear to the anus.

SCISSORING

BODY: All lines should be smoothly blended. Blend the hair on the chest into side coat and up underneath to give a smooth line from chest to tuckup. The angle of the bottom line should approximate the angle of the top line. Bottom line should be longer at the front elbow and get shorter as it reaches the tuckup area. Blend the hair on the front legs into the clipped area.

FRONT LEGS: With straight shears, scissor off the back of the elbows. Scissor front legs to make them look cylindrical from all sides.

HEAD: Scissor beard and moustache to blend with the sides of the head. Do not hollow out under eyes, nor take much off the bridge of the nose. Head should look like a rectangle from the side and from the front. Eyebrows are semi divided, rounded off and not too long. Scissor around the edge of the ears.

trim3REAR LEGS: Using thinning shears, blend the coat on the rear legs into the clipped area. There should not be “chaps” on a Welsh when viewed from the rear. From the back, scissor the back legs to make straight lines on inside and outside of legs. Rear should look like an inverted U viewed from the back. With curved, blunted shears, scissor around the feet to make them look like “cat’s feet”. Scissor hair between the pads.

The finished Welsh should look neat, with all lines blended in. If you can tell where you stopped clipping and started scissoring, the lines have not been blended properly.