By Kathy Rose
The Yorkshire Terrier, or “Yorkie,” is one of the most popular AKC breeds. It is at the top of our Bread & Butter client list. These long coats tend to mat and become too difficult for the average pet owner to maintain. This short and sassy trim can be adapted to any of the single-coated drop coats that we see daily in our salons.
Good preparation, including a thorough wash with a clarifying shampoo, should be completed before styling. For best results, avoid heavy conditioning with these open coats and fluff dry, following the coat growth direction. Nails, pads, and sanitary are done ahead.
Fig. 1 Use a #10 to shave the inside and outside top quarter of the ear. Support the ear with your hand and trim in the coat growth direction.
Fig. 2 Use a #10 to clip the corners of the eyes. Use a skimming motion to just remove the excess hair in the eye corners. Do not shave the bridge of the nose.
Fig. 3 Use a #30 to shave the hair on the front portion of the lips.
Starting about an inch behind the occipital bone, trim down the back, shoulders, and undercarriage, following the coat growth direction. A #1 snap-on comb over a #30 was used on this model.
Fig.4 While supporting the hind legs, clip the undercarriage against the coat growth direction.
Fig. 5 Clip down over the rear, following the coat growth direction. Clip up over the rear against the coat growth direction.
Fig. 6 While supporting the rear assembly, clip the legs, following the coat growth direction.
Fig. 7 Starting just under the jawline, clip the throat and neck area.
Clip down the shoulders and front legs.
Fig. 8 Clip the topskull.
Fig. 9 Clip the underjaw and cheeks.
Fig. 10 While supporting the foreleg, use small curved shears or very short straight shears to round the feet. Repeat for the rear feet.
Fig. 11 Use thinning shears to blend the rear.
Fig. 12 Pick up the foreleg and trim the stray hairs with thinning shears.
Blend the cowlicks on the neck with thinning shears.
Trim the ear edges with short scissors, following the coat growth direction.
Grab the excess coat on the topskull between your fingers and trim with thinning shears.
Trim the bangs from the outside corner of the eye across to the other outside eye corner. The eyes should be able to be seen from the side view.
Trim the jaw to the outside corner of the ear with thinning shears to blend.
Use thinning shears to blend the stray hairs and round out the shape of the head. For a round face, do not make a dip in the cheek below the ear. The shape is a semi circle from nose to the base of the ear.
Many of the Yorkie clients that grace our Bread & Butter list are sparsely coated and always seem to look messy. A fast and easy pet trim will keep them looking smart and keep their parents happy! Try this #1 all-over trim when a short but not shaved look is requested.