1. Natural Dogs with Smooth Faces/ Dogs That Need Help with a Smooth Face

Head Styles

1.  Natural – Dogs with smooth faces/ dogs that need help with a smooth face.

Ex/ Retrievers, cocker spaniels.

Leave alone or shave

2.  Rectangular head – series of straight lines that form a rectangle

Ex/ Airdale, Schnauzer, Wheaten

Line for cheek starts behind eye and follows boney ridge back to eye canal

Line for beard starts behind back corner of eye and runs on a diagonal toward the back corner of the mouth

Throat and neck line start at base of ear

Eyebrows – use eye socket ridge to set brow

For short brows clip with the lay of the coat

For long beards and brows blade in reverse

For brows line shears between back corner of eye and point on nose – 2nd brow line points match from the first

Use curved shears in reverse to set long brows and falls

Shorter beards – snap on comb 1.5 or 1 over beard

3.  Clipped close with topknot – Poodle, Irish water spaniel

Lines –

ear canal to back corner of eye – stretch skin continue clipping down bridge of nose

At stop clip inverted V. To leave fur for moustache clip diagonal halfway down the nose

To clip lip place finger at back corner of mouth and stretch the skin and use edge of blade follow with hand shaping or thinning shears. Neck is a V

Scissoring topknot –

Clip face first – comb hair to one side, flip ear over

Glide scissors under line, rest blade gently on skin, Bevel shear slightly away from skin

Repeat on other side, blend

Comb forward – Glide shear beveled away from face

Comb to back and blend fur into neck

Use curved shears round the top edge – check all lines

Light coats use longer blades because of sensitivity

4.  Round Head – Shih tzu, Bichon, Westie

Varies with coat type and body style

5.  Tie up top knots – Pull hair from outside corner of eyes to occiput (triangle shape) – make back pony tail and tie front into back pony – DO NOT DISTORT EYE SHAPE

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/grooming/topknots.htm