BICHON PET GROOMING USING A SNAP-ON COMB

While some pet owners complain that they have to beg their groomers to leave their Bichon Frise with a little more length, my customers sometimes have to ask me to take it shorter. I confess that hand scissoring often results in both my bichons and my poodle lamb cuts getting fluffier and fluffier. Obviously I'm not taking enough off each time.

This is Bailey. We've shared this adorable bichon with you before. Yesterday his mother asked if I could "Please take it down some (more)". Hmmm. I THOUGHT I had done that last month, but apparently not. One look validated her comment that the grooming was "not holding up well."

The easiest way for me to reset the length on a scissored groom is to use a snap-on comb. Many groomers use these combs as an alternative to scissoring. I use them more as an aid than as a substitute. This was done with a Laube #0 comb, which leaves the hair 7/8". I've taken Bailey shorter than that once to 5/8" but we (the owner and I) did not love it. This grooming I liked. We will see how it holds up.


I used the snap-on comb with the Hanvey Artmaster vacuum clipper system. The vac action helps to get a beautiful result because the suction literally holds the hair up for the clippers. You can do okay without a vac system, but it takes more going over your work, while this was done quickly, with just one or two passes of the clippers.

The above picture shows how I started the clipper work behind the withers, leaving the back of the neck. That part is blended in last, after I do the head. I went all over the back (topline) working down the sides, underneath the chest, and all the way down the back of the rear legs. I did NOT use the clippers on the front of the back legs, that was scissored. The front legs were also mostly scissored.

I clippered straight down the front from under the chin and then worked back across the shoulders. One of the tricky areas of Bichon grooming, IMHO, is blending the top of the shoulders into the back of the neck. If I take it in too short and deep, I have ended up with a neck piece that looks like the mane of a Roman horse. Whoops. If you don't take it short enough, the dog becomes a turtle or a football player. The neck sort of disappears. After I took the clipper w/comb down the front and shoulders, I went back over the front with a #3 3/4 blade to make the front more tight. I then blended from the side with the scissors. A short, tight, front gives the dog more appearance of stature. An overly fluffy front can lend a dumpy appearance. Oh, listen to me!

Here is a shot that I want to share:

I'm glad I took this picture, because it illustrates very well the straight lines from the rump down the sides of the rear legs and from the shoulder down the side of the front legs. This is a key element to a grooming that looks "put together"!

No one would ever suspect that this groom was not completely hand scissored! What makes for a successful snap-on comb grooming is to have a very thoroughly combed and fluffed coat and to learn where to lift off with the comb, such as the front of the back legs. You can "dig in" with the comb on the inside of the rear legs, and down the backs of those legs, but you want to be careful coming down the outside and front of those legs. And you don't want the shoulders to dip in shorter than the sides of the front legs. Otherwise, you lose integration of the whole. You don't want the Bichon Frise to look like a barrel with four legs stuck on it, nor do you want it to look like a shapeless marshmallow. The goal is to maintain the integrity of the correct Bichon outline, even though you may be going considerably shorter than a show trim. IMHO, of course. To me, pet grooming should approximate or at least make reference to the show trim, even though you may be making modifications.

BBird is a veteran of 34 years of pet grooming and owns Transformation Pet Center in Tucson, Arizona USA. She is certified by NDGAA in Non-Sporting Breeds and has owned bichons for seven years.

The above grooming used a Laube #0 comb on an Andis #40 blade with an Andis Super Two Speed clipper attached to a Hanvey Artmaster vacuum system. (Say THAT fast five times!) Scissoring was done with an 8" Arius-Eickert Slimline II straight shears, AE Fang II Curved, and AE 5.5 Proline curved scissors. These scissors and more can be viewed and purchased at http://www.bbird.biz Your support is appreciated.

BBird can be contacted at: petpals@dakotacom.net