Golden Paws Complete Guide to Dog Grooming Book

Sample Pages

SECTION IV
CHAPTER 18
4 MAJOR BREEDS DESIGN INTRODUCTION
The design instruction foundation begins first with the parts of the dog so you can determine where to apply the
necessary grooming skills to create the different breed designs. At this point you have developed most of your
grooming skills and now it is a matter of following the design instructional steps and applying these skills. Some
design parts may be shaved and blended into the length of hair parts or it may be a design where the hair is left on all
the parts for outline shaping. The instruction will explain each step and help guide you with the help of pictures or
drawings. This section refers to the instruction for the 4 major breed designs only. The four major breed designs
were chosen because these are the designs that are the most common. The Teddy Bear design is a design that is put
on many different breeds such as long haired mixed breeds, Lhasa Apsos, Shih Tzu’s, Maltese’s, etc. These are pet
designs you are learning. Clients want their dogs to look pretty and be comfortable but most do not want to spend
the time it takes to keep the long hair brushed. The Phase I basic prep and the Phase II bathing and drying will not
be covered again in the breed design chapters. You can refer back to them if you need to.
The 4 major breed designs will consist of step by step instruction for setting the designs and the Phase III finish
styling steps for each one. The major breed designs are the last section of the training program. You have covered
the sections of the background grooming knowledge, balance and fault correction and the developmental skills.
Acquiring grooming knowledge has given you insight into understanding how a dog thinks and why he will either
respond or react to you. You see the dog differently now not only with the familiar dog parts but with the underneath
parts, the bone and the muscle structure, and the top layer parts, the skin and hair that covers the underneath parts.
The underneath and the top layers make up the dog parts the head, ears, back, tail, legs and sides. You have learned
how to determine where the parts start and stop by using the bone and muscle structure as a guide, also how to
balance the overall design by balancing each part and then balancing the parts together to create the correct form.
Breed designs are fun. There are many similar breed designs based on these designs that require an adjustment on
different parts to create different designs. First study the instructions for each one of the four designs. Next
understand which parts are shaved and which parts have an outline shape. Blend the shaved and the hair outline
parts together, for each one of the designs. Then set the hair length and develop the lines of the outline shape in the
cut down process. Refine the lines of the outline shape for each one of the design parts after the cut down. The 4
major breed designs receive the same basic prep and may require a Prep Cut Down or Design in Phase I. All 4
designs receive the same bathing and drying procedures. The new instruction will address the dog parts when
setting the breed designs. Each one of the 4 major breeds has instructional steps for the various parts of the dog. If
the dog requires a prep cut down in Phase I Prepping follow cut down steps in Phase III under the breed design in
Section IV. The breed design is what gives the dog its breed profile. Breed Designs are developed to accentuate the
particular breed profile bone muscle structure and coat. The breed design reflects what the dog was bred for so it is
helpful to know breed history and the “look” of the breed. (We recommend reading the American Kennel Club). For
example most terriers were bred to “go to ground” and dig, the front carriage is strong and their front feet are usually
bigger than the back feet with large toenails. The foot is round and tight and sometimes a terriers nails are large and
may show a little.
Pet grooming and competition grooming are different. Pet groomers style for their clients and have more options
artistically. Show and competition groomers style for judges and the dogs are groomed by breed standards. Show or
competition grooming is done to show a correct breed profile. The pet stylist can achieve the breed design standard
as long as the dog has enough hair and correct coat type for the breed, the stylist can take the hair shorter or leave
length on the head, neck, shoulders, hips, top line (top of back), feet or other parts to give the illusion of the dog
having the correct breed structure and balance. If the tail is set too low or too high the stylist can leave some hair to
fill in to make the tail appear higher on the rear or take out hair to have the tail appear to set lower.
Angulation is another word used when discussing a breed profile. If the dog has enough hair the stylist can create the
correct angulation for the breed profile. Angulation refers angles created by bones meeting at different joints, mainly
the shoulder (point of shoulder), the rear (point of rear), stifle (knee) and hock.

Point of Rear Point of Shoulder

In the Balance Section you learned the balance points. The angulation is the bone structure at some points that
determines the line and hair length needed so if the dog doesn’t have the correct bone structure a good stylist can
correct structure faults. Rear Angulation is where the thigh bone and lower thigh bone meet and at the stifle (knee)
joint where the tibia and fibula go from the stifle joint to the hock. What does angulation have to do with grooming
exactly? This is another way to know where to place angles to create the breed design and structure your balance
points. If you have a dog with incorrect angulation you can make it correct by the amount of hair you leave or take
off. On the rear assembly to have a balanced leg on most breeds, (not all) have a ½ circle curve in on the back leg
line and it will be at the deepest just below and across from the knee (stifle).
The shoulder (scapula) slopes to the withers and from the shoulder joint the humerous bone slopes toward the elbow.
The top of the shoulder bone is the stop point of the neck. The poodle breed profile has a long elegant neck in
competition grooming or if your client wants the breed profile and the dog has enough coat the neck should be
scissored with lines flowing from a full beveled topknot straight into the wither and shoulder meeting the top line
and body. The topknot is beveled at the lines from eye to eye and eye to ear. The lines flow up and over the topknot
down the neck to the wither down a straight top line (back) and the rear can be scissored down or left fuller to create
length of body or shorten the body.
There are differences in competition or show grooming and pet styling and many are the same. The stylist in
competition and show grooming are styling the dog for the correct AKC breed profile. They want to have the breed
with a breed standard coat. Terriers have a wiry coat and to keep the coat texture they are hand stripped on a
schedule to keep the coat in condition and the rich color. Products are generally used more in competition grooming,
hair texturizer, hairsprays, coat conditioner, all used to get the hair in shape to assist in creating the lines and show
the design best. Pet groomers use a lot of the same products, and pet groomers use the same skill sets, balance and
proportion, line refinement, outline shaping, shaving, and blending to create breed standards. The major differences
are time and client preference. The other difference is salon client pets are usually pet quality not show quality bred
and most don’t have the coat that show dogs were bred for. Pet groomers get to style a wide variety of pets and can
really use their skills artistically bringing out individual characteristics. Competition groomers are pet groomers who
hone their skills in the salon and enjoy competing. The stylists that compete are incredible to watch and really put in
a lot of time and energy to style exact breed profiles. Pet groomers can hone their skills to competition level and
style their pets accordingly.
There are several AKC standard grooming instructional books that cover all breed designs. Usually we as pet
groomers are creating shorter haircuts on breed profiles for one reason, Pet Groomers, groom to make the client
satisfied as long as it doesn’t go against the #1 rule “No harm to the pet”. Clients prefer shorter styles because they
can’t maintain a full coat at home and they usually do not bring them in often enough for you to keep the coat
maintained. Hand stripping wiry coats is not an option for most clients, they would need to bring the pet in to you
about every 3 weeks to keep the coat in condition and cost can be prohibitive to the client. Hand stripping involves a
lot of time and knowledge of the correct procedures.
Pet Groomers need to work within time constraints. Time is money. Pet Groomers need to balance client requests,
giving their pet a style they are willing to maintain, the pets welfare, quality styling and time. Pet stylists can offer
pet grooms that mimic the standard breed design but may use either different tools to achieve the look or a shorter
version of the breed design.
This book is all about Pet Grooming and showing you how to use your tools to develop your skills to apply those
skills to the different dog parts to blend, outline shape or shave the dog parts with balance and correct proportion to
create any breed design or client request.
At this point you have learned the skills to do a basic prep; bathe and blow dry the hair, cut down the hair, and to
fine finish the outline shape. Now it is a matter of learning where and how to apply this knowledge and skills to
each one of the 4 breed designs by shaving certain parts refining the lines of the shape for each one of the breed
designs. Once you learn your skills, the dog parts, balance and proportion you can groom all breeds or individual
client requests just by reading a design book or getting specific client information. Have fun, consult with your
client, give them style options, and show your creativity. If you can style a pet that brings out their beauty and fits
your client’s lifestyle (maintenance) you will always have lots of happy clients!
SECTION IV
CHAPTER 19 TEDDY BEAR DESIGN

TEDDY BEAR HEAD DESIGN

The Teddy Bear Head can be confusing initially for some people to learn because there are not any shaved parts and
they are unable to see anything but hair. This is why the head instruction is divided into parts and shapes. The head
is divided into 3 parts; the first is the “neaten up” face parts, the second is the head “shaping parts” and the third is
the beard “shaping parts”. The initial head shape is a square box shape using 5 straight lines so it is easier to achieve
a balanced shape. The head sides and cheek parts are considered one continuous straight line. The top line is straight
and corner tips are cut off and rounded into curved lines to flow down into the back, sides, and front straight lines to
give the head a soft curved shape instead of a square box shape. It is easier to balance a straight line box shape
initially and then curve it than trying to create a balanced curved shape. This same principal applies to the beard
shape. Initially the front beard shape starts out as a rectangular shape box with 4 straight lines and corners which are
cut off and rounded into a curved line for the oval shape. The side part of the beard shape is located and balanced
between the front beard shape and the side line of the head. All three parts are balanced and connected together into
a continuous straight line shape so they flow from the side line to the front beard shape. To quality check the beard
shape look at the shape from different views from the top down, the front back, and the two sides. There are two
versions of the Teddy Bear Head Design, one without bangs and one with bangs. The “bangs” style is left most of
the time for a “personality look”. The front line of the head is where the shape is adjusted to create these two
different design versions. The front bang overhang hair is cut off, shaped and refined for the “no bangs” design and
the overhang hair is left, shaped, and refined for the “bangs” design. The rest of the teddy bear head shape parts and
steps remain the same. The head design without bangs is the one that most clients prefer and is the design selected
for the instructional part of the Teddy Bear pet standard design. Follow the head design steps for the cut down
shape process to remove the necessary length while developing the overall shape. Comb and pay attention to the
finer details when balancing and refining each part after the shape cut down. The same cut down procedure is used
for setting the length and shape first and also the final line refinement process. The steps start with the face “neaten
up” parts first.

PROTECT AND SAVE THE EYELASHES

Some clients like to have the eye lashes saved on their dog. The safest way to do this is to locate the eyelashes and
hold them down with one of your fingers to prevent cutting them off by accident.
TEDDY BEAR HEAD/STRAIGHT HAIR/”NO BANGS"

Front View Side View

Front View Side View Top View

TEDDY BEAR HEAD DESIGN/”BANGS”

Front View Side View Side View

TEDDY BEAR HEAD DESIGN “NO BANGS"

CUT DOWN HEAD SHAPE METHOD
In any cut down procedure the objective, is to cut off the excess hair length using the tool movements to set the
outline shape. You have the choice of two cut down methods and must choose the best method for the type of hair.
This is why it is always good to test the hair before cutting any off. For the straight and semi straight coated breeds
the straight hair method with the thinning shears, scissors, and the #7 blade are the main styling tools. All of these
tools are used in different ways for shaping the head parts. Each one has a purpose and is effective in different
ways. Follow instructions in Head Shaping Procedures.

FACE “NEATEN UP” PARTS-EAR OPENING, STOP & TEAR AREA

The tool choice is the #15 blade or the thinning shears for a softer look. The only time the tools change is for a Shih
Tzu when you can use a #40 blade to neaten up these 4 parts. The face on the Shih Tzu is so short and close to the
eyes it is difficult to use the other tools effectively and safely. The #40 blade is quicker and safer. Do not go over
the area more than once since the #40 is a close cutting blade and it can irritate the skin. Use a light quick touch.
Always check with the client about the face design-many may want these areas neatened and shaved but some may
not. The face parts can be done in Phase I but you will have to neaten them up again in the refinement part of Phase
III to prepare and improve the parts for the shaping process.

PART 1 SHAVE/FRONT OPENING OF EAR

STEP 1 Use a #15 to lightly shave against the hair grain for the front opening of the ear. This step can be done in
Phase I if you desire. The blade does not touch the skin. This is just a cleanup step. There is a small rectangular box
in front of ear area where the hair grows over the ear opening. This step is in addition to plucking the hair out of the
ear.

PART 2 STOP AREA/FRONT OF EYES

STEP 1 Locate the start and stop points for the nose stop in front of the eyes. Study the drawing to locate the
correct area. It is not a shaved look. Follow the path of hair on nose stop in front of eyes at the front of the head to
neaten this area by giving it a “natural look. ”Thinning Shears or a #15 Blade can be used – You choose the tool (it
will depend on the type of hair) to give it a “natural look” that is neat & clean.

SHAVE BETWEEN EYES/STOP AREA

STEP 2 Use the blade or the thinning shears to neaten up the part between the eyes at the front of the head. The
blade will need to be angled so the corner tip of the blade can fit between the eyes to shave the area or use the end
tips of the thinning shears to fit into the area to neaten it.

PART 3 FACE/EYE CANAL

Right Side Left Side

STEP 1 “Neaten Tear Drainage Area” if it needs to be neatened so it has a natural look. Angle the thinning shears
from the nose top down at a slant in front of the eyes on each side. The #15 blade with a light flicking motion can
be used at the front corner of the eye; thinning shears can be used angled at a slant out to lightly neaten up the eye
canal area. Choose the tool that will give the hair the best neat natural look but not a shaved one. The scissor can be
used “very carefully” to lightly neaten the area more.
HEAD SHAPING PARTS/TOP LINE/ LONG HAIR
PROCEDURE/SCISSOR CUT DOWN
TOP OF HEAD LINE “CUT DOWN”

1) Comb hair up between fingers/Hold at Middle of Head

2) Cut Length Side View

Front View Top View

STEP 1 & 2 This step can be used only if there is enough hair length to be removed and if it is a “Straight Coat”
Teddy Bear Head. For top hair that is long enough comb and pull the long top hair up from the middle part of the
head top with your hand and cut off the correct length straight across. This method quickly sets the length and
roughly blends the hair at the same time.
HEAD SHAPING PARTS/TOP LINE SHORT OR CURLY HAIR
PROCEDURE

The hair length may be short already on the top of the head and if it is the scissor, thinning shear or a #7 blade can
be used to start shaping the hair on top of the head. The lines of the shape remain the same even though you may
change the tool. Comb the hair and let it fall natural. Angle the scissor or thinning shear to follow the natural shape
for the top of the head. With the clipper turned on you can use the #7 blade teeth to lightly skim and “comb” over
the head top line hair to blend and shape it. Keep control of the blade so it does not touch down to the skin. Beware
of the ears. Do not catch ear flaps with blade. The dog will sometimes pick up the ears so it is safer to hold the ear if
using the #7 around the ear. You are using the same fine finish blade movement with the #7 to develop and refine
the shape of the top of the head. Any further refinement can be done with the scissor or the thinning shears. After
shaping the top line then blend it to curve down into the back neck line. Curve the outside perimeters of the head
down into the back line and the two side lines of the shape. Remember there is one straight line down each side of
the head for the head side and cheek parts and the top line is curved down into these lines. The front line hair step is
left till until the last line and it is this line that determines whether there are “bangs or no bangs”.

HEAD SHAPING PARTS/”SQUARE BOX SHAPE”

The square box shape is created first by setting straight lines for the top, front, and the two sides. It is easier to curve
the top line down into the back line with one continuous smooth scissor movement as you rotate the dog’s head from
different positions for the top and back lines; head tilted up, level, and head tilted down towards you.
PART 1 TOP OF HEAD/STRAIGHT LINE

Comb Hair or Brush Hair

LINE 1 Comb or brush the hair and slightly tilt head up so you can see where the front and top lines meet to start
the top line at that point. Next level the head so you can see from the front to the back of the head as you cut the
straight line back with a smooth continuous cutting motion with the blade or scissor blades (do not use the scissor
tips this will make the line choppy). The top line is a straight line across the top of the head then it curves around
and down into the back of the neck straight line. The tool movement is straight back. Comb the hair and use the
scissor or the blade to “line skim” by moving and angling the tools with the direction of the hair while creating a
straight area for the top line across the head. Study the drawing.

LINE 2 BACK OF HEAD/CURVE TOP LINE DOWN INTO BACK LINE

Curve Top Line down into back Straight Line

LINE 2 Tilt the head down towards you and continue the smooth scissor movement across the top of the head with
a curve down movement as you connect the top line down into the straight back line of the head.