Rosie's grooming offers a great opportunity to review the styling aspects of sculpting the Bichon Frise. Okay, I had time to take pictures, and she was a good subject. :-) Here we go!
Step One: Bath & Fluff Dry
We can't overemphasize the importance of this fundamental part of the grooming process. In order to scissor and sculpt, products are chosen that do not overly soften the coat. Rosie was bathed with Chris Christensen Clean Start shampoo and a Blueberry Facial, followed by a light rinse of CC Ice on Ice, diluted through the Bathing Beauty recirculating bathing system. She was dried using a Laube "Magnum" forced air dryer, finished the last 10% under an arm dryer with brushing.
Once Rosie was bathed and fluffed, it was even more obvious that she had too much ears for a round, Bichonly, head.
Trimming the feet.
Yup, there they are! Bichon feet - rounded, not pointy. For a full article on bichon feet, click here. Although many of the steps in scissoring can be done in a different order than outlined, I prefer to nearly always define the feet first and build the grooming from there.
Set in the tail. By scissoring around the tail in a narrow band where the tail meets the rump, we can help to better define our rump line. Rosie's tail picture did not turn out, but you can find a whole article on this step here.
Round the croup slightly. That would be the area right behind and alongside the tail. This helps you define a nice rump, and helps to determine how much you want to take of the topline (top of the back).
Scissor top line from croup to withers.
My thumb is marking the first joint of my finger in both pictures. I scissored off 1/4-1/2 inch. Rosie was not horribly bushy, having grown out from a short summer cut.
Shape the butt, aka "Bichon Buns". Define rear angulation.
In hindsight, I would scissor even closer into the "bend" of the rear leg. Something for next time!
Insides of rear legs scissored straight in a reverse "U".
This is a bit more of a "V" than a "U". Next time, we'll take off a little more from the inner thigh.
Scissor down the hip and outside of rear leg.
Notice that the line is straight off the hip, down the side of the leg. The legs are neither poofy nor indented.
Shape the "tuck up" and the "underline". The tuck up is the (tricky) point slightly forward of the flank where the front of the back leg connects to the side. It is indented slightly upward, i.e. "tucked up". The line then slopes ever so slightly to a point at or just above the elbow. If the dog has short legs the underside can be quite short. If you want to camoflauge legs that are long, you can leave more length underneath.
Sides rounded into underside.
Other side - Scissor rear legs straight to foot in front & set in the front legs.
Scissor very closely down the front. (Tip: hold up the chin)
Shape the shoulder.
Scissor front legs straight.
Inside the front legs.
Match up the other shoulder and front leg.
This is a good view of how the leg is lined up under the withers, and how the chest rounds slightly from the point of shoulder (you can feel the foremost point of the shoulder blade) under the chest. Notice too, how the front leg is set out from the body at the elbow.
And now to the head!
Looking at this picture, it suggests that the previous groomer scissored the top of the head, sides of the face, and the beard separately. The sides of the face were scissored straight down. At the eyes, it sort of mushroomed out to form a cap on top. The beard and ears were trimmed, but ears were totally separate from the head. This picture is after 8 weeks of growth.
First the eyes.
Not the best picture, but already there's a happier expression to the face. For specific instructions, click here.
Create the ledge in front of the eyes.
The ledge gives depth to the expression. How much of a ledge is determined by the firmness of the hair (less firm hair flops sooner), and the interval between groomings. Click here for more details.
Scissor under the chin, and then start shaping up the sides of the ears.
Next time we can take off a little more on the sides of the ears. By then the sides of the face will be grown out more.
Lastly, the neck.
The back of the neck should be scissored from the top of the head to the withers. Even if you don't wish to leave a really full neck piece, there should be an unbroken line. You can see in this picture where I blended in the indentation that had been created by the previous groomer scissoring the back of the head from the back of one ear to the back of the other to shape a poodle style top knot.
There you have it! This is not a perfect groom by show or competition standards, and there are a few things I would "tweak" after looking at the pictures. Nonetheless it is a good study of the styling elements of the Bichon Frise. Rosie is an adorable Bichon and certainly looks cute regardless of the hair cut. But after 6 years of groomings, her owner writes of this one:
I finally feel Rosie is on the right track to looking like a bichon~
P.S. Much of this material is repeated from previous articles. Use the Google search feature on the top bar of the Groomblog to find lots more information and specifics.
Once Rosie was bathed and fluffed, it was even more obvious that she had too much ears for a round, Bichonly, head.
Trimming the feet.
Yup, there they are! Bichon feet - rounded, not pointy. For a full article on bichon feet, click here. Although many of the steps in scissoring can be done in a different order than outlined, I prefer to nearly always define the feet first and build the grooming from there.
Set in the tail. By scissoring around the tail in a narrow band where the tail meets the rump, we can help to better define our rump line. Rosie's tail picture did not turn out, but you can find a whole article on this step here.
Round the croup slightly. That would be the area right behind and alongside the tail. This helps you define a nice rump, and helps to determine how much you want to take of the topline (top of the back).
Scissor top line from croup to withers.
My thumb is marking the first joint of my finger in both pictures. I scissored off 1/4-1/2 inch. Rosie was not horribly bushy, having grown out from a short summer cut.
Shape the butt, aka "Bichon Buns". Define rear angulation.
In hindsight, I would scissor even closer into the "bend" of the rear leg. Something for next time!
Insides of rear legs scissored straight in a reverse "U".
This is a bit more of a "V" than a "U". Next time, we'll take off a little more from the inner thigh.
Scissor down the hip and outside of rear leg.
Notice that the line is straight off the hip, down the side of the leg. The legs are neither poofy nor indented.
Shape the "tuck up" and the "underline". The tuck up is the (tricky) point slightly forward of the flank where the front of the back leg connects to the side. It is indented slightly upward, i.e. "tucked up". The line then slopes ever so slightly to a point at or just above the elbow. If the dog has short legs the underside can be quite short. If you want to camoflauge legs that are long, you can leave more length underneath.
Sides rounded into underside.
Other side - Scissor rear legs straight to foot in front & set in the front legs.
Scissor very closely down the front. (Tip: hold up the chin)
Shape the shoulder.
Scissor front legs straight.
Inside the front legs.
Match up the other shoulder and front leg.This is a good view of how the leg is lined up under the withers, and how the chest rounds slightly from the point of shoulder (you can feel the foremost point of the shoulder blade) under the chest. Notice too, how the front leg is set out from the body at the elbow.
And now to the head!
Looking at this picture, it suggests that the previous groomer scissored the top of the head, sides of the face, and the beard separately. The sides of the face were scissored straight down. At the eyes, it sort of mushroomed out to form a cap on top. The beard and ears were trimmed, but ears were totally separate from the head. This picture is after 8 weeks of growth.
First the eyes.
Not the best picture, but already there's a happier expression to the face. For specific instructions, click here.
Create the ledge in front of the eyes.
The ledge gives depth to the expression. How much of a ledge is determined by the firmness of the hair (less firm hair flops sooner), and the interval between groomings. Click here for more details.
Scissor under the chin, and then start shaping up the sides of the ears.
Next time we can take off a little more on the sides of the ears. By then the sides of the face will be grown out more.
Lastly, the neck.
The back of the neck should be scissored from the top of the head to the withers. Even if you don't wish to leave a really full neck piece, there should be an unbroken line. You can see in this picture where I blended in the indentation that had been created by the previous groomer scissoring the back of the head from the back of one ear to the back of the other to shape a poodle style top knot.
There you have it! This is not a perfect groom by show or competition standards, and there are a few things I would "tweak" after looking at the pictures. Nonetheless it is a good study of the styling elements of the Bichon Frise. Rosie is an adorable Bichon and certainly looks cute regardless of the hair cut. But after 6 years of groomings, her owner writes of this one:
I finally feel Rosie is on the right track to looking like a bichon~
P.S. Much of this material is repeated from previous articles. Use the Google search feature on the top bar of the Groomblog to find lots more information and specifics.
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