Photographic Essay of Grooming a Norwich Terrier

Ungroomed and unbrushed, this is where you imagine what you want to achieve before you start grooming.

Brushed.

Envision the silhouette of a level top line, clean bottom line, columned front legs into clean shoulders, and good rear angulation with a powerful rear. Note that the back legs are should be positioned further back to be much better positioned.

A whole layer has been taken off which makes the dog look cleaner. The legs and neck have to blend in so stop here and move onto the front.

Mostly finished. The feet still need to be pulled so they look like cat paws. The front legs still need work at the elbow (more hair pulled) to create the columns. More hair taken out above the hocks will create the look of better angulation. Removing the lighter coloured hairs from the rear will also make the dog look more "cobby", that is, shorter backed.

The Front

The shoulders should be "kept clean", that is, shorter hair, to show their placement. Blend these into a clean neck. In this photo the front feet are placed too close together. They should be straight and wider apart.

See the shoulder and how the legs are being groomed to take the shape of straight columns from side and front view. Look close and you can see the shape of the chest. Pull all the long hairs to shorten and tidy the chest.

The left side is stripped and the right side is untouched. The faint white hairs divide the two sides. Pull the front tummy hairs to tidy the chest. For this dog I'll pull the hairs so the longest tummy hairs will be at the length of the bottom of the white hairs.

Slightly different angle photo at the same stage as the photo above.

See how the neck runs clean into the shoulders and the legs are taking on a columned look. The chest still needs to be tidied to be in balance with the overall grooming.

This is where we'll start. What you should see is that the eyebrows need to be pulled so they are reduced in volume and outside edge brought tight to the corner of the eye. Ears need to be pulled to the fringe and the outer edges of the ruff should break roughly just past the ears to frame the face. The foxy expression is achieved by shortening the volume in front of the ears and on top of the head.

Side view, ungroomed. The ruff needs considerable tidying to frame the face.

The right ear has been tidied to remove all hair past the fringe of the ear. The left ear has not yet been tidied. The overgrown ruff has been carefully pulled to reduce the longest lengths. Some hair has been pulled on the muzzle, between the eyes and between the ears on the head. Pull a few hairs, brush and repeat.

See how the ruff is getting tidied up. The eyebrows are still being tidied and the bottom of the muzzle into the neck is being shaped to neaten the look of the face. The neater look gives a foxy expression.

The outline of the head is highlighted here. Still more of the ruff must be neatened up and a few of the cheek hairs need to be pulled for fresh growth.

The ears are done leaving only a dusting on the inside. The hair between the ears on the head has been tidied. More hair from the ruff has been pulled and the eyebrows are still being neatened.

Here is a side view of the sculpted head.

And the other side with the sun highlighting the brilliant red hairs. The new hair growth that will follow will give an even darker red appearance.

Foxy and cute! Expressive eyes framed in a ruff that isn't overwhelming

You should also have a look from the back of the head. See how it all blends together...back to shoulders to neck to the ruff and front.

Here is a close up of how the ears look from behind.

The look of a powerful rear is enhanced with the rear hairs coming neatly together and long enough to make the rear look blocky. The lighter hairs in the middle of the rear need considerable tidying. Carefully take the longest hairs, comb, look, take a few more hairs and comb again. Take your time.

The rear is mostly groomed here. Look at the rear outline as well, including the legs. See that the legs from this angle are not as straight as they appear on the legs of the following photo.

The left side leg is much better and the right side leg still needs some tidying. You need to look from the rear and from the side to make sure the shape looks right. So lets look at the rear legs from the side now

The rear angulation on this dog can be enhanced by shortening the hairs on the back of the hock at the knee and growing more hair off the bottom of the leg. Additionally more hair on the front of the leg will give a better angled look.

More grooming on the rear legs to give the look of better rear angles on this dog. The rear paws need to be tidied so that the hair does not "bell out" but rather the paws look a cat's paws with short nails

The Final Product

Before After