Grooming Your Aussie
While the TerrierType
article is excellent it was written in 1978, a lot has changed in 23 years! Aussies
in the ring today are much more polished and the pet Aussie is often groomed as
much as the show dogs of 1978.
Technology and nutrition has also changed over the years. With the high quality food and supplements
now offered your Aussie may grow coat faster than back in 1978.
In addition all types of new equipment is
available. I have found over the years
the stripping knife or shears I prefer may not be right for the next
person. You should get the equipments
that fits your hands and feels comfortable to use. So equipment can be a varied as the individual doing the
grooming. I have small hands so I
prefer smaller shears, brushes and combs.
This is a list of the equipment you would find in my tack box. From trial and error you will discover what
brands and equipment will work best for you.
Teflon combs move smoothly
through the coat. If you go with a
standard metal comb the Original Greyhound Comb or the #1 All Systems combs are
best and they are polished so the teeth have no rough edges that can tear the
coat. The same is true for wire brushes
and why I prefer Chris Christianson products although the #1 All Systems
brushes are good. Double Duck makes a
high quality smooth action shears, other brands are Millers Forge, Andre
Thisserand and Fromn. There are almost
as many brands of stripping knives on the market as shears. You will decide which feels most comfortable
in your hands and works best for you, many people prefer the Pearson stripping
knives.
Some of the wisest advise I received was from a Scottie breeder “a clean coat grows and dirty coat blows” To keep your dogs coat in tip top condition you will want to keep him clean. Terriers generally do not require the amount of bathing of other dogs but to keep your dogs furnishings in shape you will want to bathe and condition them weekly. There is nothing more distasteful than grooming a dirty dog! There are many types of shampoos on the market. I personally use Duurstead and #1 All Systems Crisp Coat for deep cleaning. For tidying up between baths I use Chris Christianson On the Wire waterless shampoo. This was specifically developed for wire coated breeds.
The “older” breeders and handlers will always tell you that hand stripping the dog is preferable. You will notice as the hair becomes longer on your dog it will often change color. This is the dead hair that you want to remove since Terriers do not generally shed their coats as other dogs. You can remove this hair in a variety of ways; hand stripping, stripping knives or pumice stones. The idea is with whatever tool you choose, to grip the hair by the end and pull it out. When stripping the hair you will want to avoid working one area for any length of time; by working smaller sections you lessen the risk of pulling out too much hair in one area. While some have the idea that stripping the coat hurts or is cruel that is really not the case. Since the hair is dead it pulls out easily and the dog does not feel it being pulled. If the dog is resisting then the hair is not dead. I do not recommend clipping the coat as this softens the texture. Dogs not destined for the show ring can be routinely combed and brushed to remove the dead hair. The average owner should be able to keep the coat in shape.
Tail & Vent Area - I do not strip the vent area as most dogs resist this. I will take the thinning shears and trim around the anus and shape the hair on the rump down to the tip of the hocks. When trimming the tail, strip the top side. Fan the hair out on each side and trim with the thinning shears. On the under side, hold the tail up, fan the hair out and trim with thinning shears and use either thinning shears or a stripping knife on the tip of the tail to give it a natural uncut look.
Face & Ears – With your fingers pull the long hair on the back side of the ears down to almost the base of the ear. I then use a personal trimmer (the type for a gentleman’s beard) to trim the edges and inside of the earr. With the stripping knife clean up the muzzle and throat area. Pluck any stray hairs between the eyes. With the thinning shears even up the hair on the underjaw so it is clean looking. You do not want to leave too much hair on the muzzle or underjaw as that will give the appearance of having too short a muzzle. You will want to comb the topknot forward as often as possible in order to train the hair. Pull any long hair in the topknot. The shorter the topknot the more full it will appear and the easier it will stand up but without being too short as this is the crowning glory of an Australian Terrier.
Legs & Feet – With your thinning shears you will want to trim the hair on the back legs from the hock down to the foot, so there is no long unattractive hair. Aussies are suppose to have a small cat foot so you want to show this feature off, this is where the small curved shears come in handy. On the underside of each foot trim up all the long hair so when the dog is moving away all you will see is the clean pad. Then with the dog standing trim around the outside edges of each foot. You will want to keep the nails short to make this easier. Strip the top of the foot and front of the legs on the back feet and the top of the front feet. On the front legs pull any long hairs on the front of the leg that may give the dogs front an untidy appearance. With the thinning shears trim the long hair on the back of the front legs, you will want this shorter at the foot than at the elbow. A good way to achieve this is to hold the leg out and cut at an angle. The same can be done on the rear legs, hold them out backwards and cut the long hair with thinning shears from the hock up so it makes a type of arch …like this ( .
Furnishings – The other outstanding feature to the Aussie is its’ ruff. You will want this as tidy as possible. Brush the hair forward and with thinning shears trim the long hairs. Again this will create a type of arch .. ( On the underside of the belly trim any long hairs with thinning shears. You will want the hair longer at the brisket than at the tuck up.
It is best to remember that when you trim with thinning shears you should fan the hair up or out and then trim, that way when it is brushed back into place it will look natural and not appear trimmed.
