How to Groom a Yorkshire Terrier

The standard Yorkshire terrier show coat is long with the top knot tied up on top of the head with a bow. This is a very hard style to maintain. To keep the dog looking well groomed, you must brush the coat daily and shampoo and condition the coat at least weekly. If you fail to keep up this grooming routine, your Yorkies long coat will end up a tangled mess.

The Yorkshire Terrier's coat can be either soft or silky. The soft coat is harder to maintain. Soft hair mats more, is more difficult to keep clean and it breaks more easily.

If your dog is a 'show dog' you will have to resign yourself to this rigorous grooming schedule for the entire time you will be showing your Yorkie. If he's a family pet, you will probably be much happier keeping his hair in a short cut. One of the most popular short styles is the puppy cut. The puppy cut is essentially just trimming the coat into short layers all over the body and around the face.

Another popular short style is the modified Schnauzer cut. This is the cut I prefer for my Yorkie. This cut is where the coat is trimmed short on the torso and left a bit longer, or feathered, on the legs. The face is trimmed in the traditional Schnauzer mustache and beard.

Here is how to groom your Yorkie at home:

Buy a grooming table with a grooming post or arm and a grooming loop. A grooming table teaches the dog that being groomed is not a time to play around or act up. The grooming loop helps the dog keep still and not jump off the table. The table gives you, the groomer, a comfortable place to work.

You will also have to purchase a professional dog grooming clipper. A good clipper is the Andis AG One Speed clipper. It comes with a #10 blade and a 4 ounce bottle of clipper oil. The one speed model is adequate for a Yorkshire Terrier's coat. You will need a few other size blades. The blades warm up as you cut, so you need to change them often or they will burn your dog. Get two #10 blades, and two #7F blades. (more if you have more than one dog to do in a row).

The #10 blade is used for the body, head, neck, bottom and cheeks. For a dog with a thin coat, you will want to use a size #8 1/2 blade for this. To leave the coat longer for winter time, use a #7F blade. Also, get two #40 blades for inside the ears and between the foot pads.

If your Yorkie is small and has a silky coat and is kept tangle-free, you only need a small clipper such as the Laube Speed Feed Kit. This is a cordless, lightweight, ultra quiet clipper with very low vibration. It comes with 2 batteries and the blade adjusts from size 9 to 10, 15, 30 and 40.

New blades must always be cleaned with a blade cleaner before use to remove the protective coating put on at the factory. The blades won't cut well until they have been cleaned. Always clean anf oil your blades after a few uses with blade cleaner and blade oil..

You will also need scissors to do finishing work. You will need 8 1/2 straight shears for the legs and body. (Roseline JFRL82085 are good). Also, you will need thinning shears to blend the hair on the cheeks and near the eyes. (The Fromm 44 tooth thinning shear FMRS44 is a good one).

Yorkshire Terriera need to have their hair cut every 4-8 weeks to keep them looking their best. The time between cuts depends on how quickly the hair grows.

Giving your Yorkie a hair cut:

1. Shave the abdomen, the crotch and around the anus with your clipper and a #10 blade.

2. Then use the #10 blade on a third distal of the ears (inner and outer); and over the top part of the muzzle from the nose to the eyes.

3. Use blade numbers 4, 5 or 7 over the head by following the direction of the hair starting slightly behind eyebrows until the back of the neck and slightly on the sides. Don't go down to the temples.

4. Shave the chin all the way to the throat.

5. Cut the hair on the chest and the trunk until the beginning of the tail as well as the sides and under always going the direction of the hair growth. Do this to the legs, stomach, bottom and chest.

6. Shave the lower part of the paws.

7. Cut the ears to a point with the straight scissors.

8. Cut around the contour of the paws.

9. Brush the eyebrows forward and cut them with the scissors following the natural arch of the head.

10. Brush the hair on the cheeks forward and arch from the base of the ear to the angle of the nose.

11. Brush the sides of the head outward and cut them in a rounded shape.

12. Brush the hairs on the chin downwards and even them out.

13. Blend everything with the thinning shears so the cut marks don't show.

PLEASE NOTE: Buy a good Yorkshire Terrier Dog Grooming Video and study that carefully before attempting to groom your Yorkie for the first time.

After cutting your dog's hair, give him a good bath. (Also be sure to bathe him weekly to keep his coat clean and shiny and his skin healthy). Clip the dog's nails before bathing. Use a good clipper and follow the directions that come with it.

Fill the kitchen sink with comfortably warm water. Use a rubber mat in the sink so the dog will not slip. Use a good dog shampoo and dog conditioner. For the Yorkie's face, use a Puppy 'No Tears' shampoo that won't sting his eyes.

Be sure to wash his ears using a dog ear wash. Rinse all the soap from your Yorkie's coat with clear warm water. Rinse well. Dry the hair with a blow dryer or let air dry.

Yorkies need to have their excess ear hair pulled out. Usually you can use your fingers to pull out the hair, and a little Groomer's Ear Powder helps to grip the hair better. Brush and arrange the hair when it is thoroughly dry.

With a little practice, you will be able to groom your Yorkshire Terrier yourself. Don't worry. If you do make a mistake, a yorkie's hair grows quickly!