Senior Yorkie Color Correction & Trim

I love to bring an old dog back to its youth! I first saw this done by Cat Opson and knew it was something I’d be doing for the right senior pups from then on. You can do the dye work on just the saddle and still get a great result, and the owners will never want to stop! 

Fig 1) Whenever I am using dye, I always pre-cut any hair that I know can come off. This is going to keep you from wasting product, and it will also make it much easier to get your dye down to the root of the hair. 

Fig 2) Feet are always timely to dry, so this is another quick pre-cut area I do if the dog is on the table before the bath.

Fig 3) I start with the black dye on the saddle since it has to process for at least 45 minutes. I only do the area where he naturally has a darker saddle pattern. 

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Fig 4) I use my fingers to work the color all the way through before I switch colors and gloves. 

Fig 5) Next I used a pre-made, nozzle-tipped brown to refresh his natural brown. I just go right from the bottle to his skin and work it through. 

Fig 6) Now you will let the dye process. I decided to leave his ears alone since they take so long to grow. 

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Fig 7) Once the dog is rinsed and dried, I begin the groom with a #5F, going with the grain, to take his body down for a short lamb trim.  

Fig 8) Then I comb all the hair down on the legs and use a straight shear to sever any hair that hangs past the pads on the same plane as the pad. 

Fig 9) I repeat the process on the back legs and then use a curved scissor to round out the shape of the foot while the dog’s foot is down on the table. 

Fig 10) Next I scissor the legs into columns. On this dog I had to go shorter than I had planned to try to remove all of the pink, but some was still left. 

Fig 11) To finish, I did just a quick touch–up on the face for a clean appearance since this dog is growing out his face.

Now this is a dapper young dude at a firm 10 years old!

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This can easily be done to your aging terriers with black saddles. You can also try this on sable dogs to bring their natural browns back. In my experience, these types of creative grooms are way easier to convince clients to try because it enhances the natural color of the dog. No matter what you try, have fun! ✂️