Page 21 - The Norwich Terrier

Grooming the
TNORFOLK & NORWICH TERRIER By Lori Pelletier
he first thing to consider coat”. This coat is a tight jacket but is only can actually create a picture of the dog that when grooming a Nor- a single layer and will not last more than a is unbalanced or can create the appearance folk or Norwich terrier month or so. The person showing this dog of faults that are not actually there.
is the breed standard for might get 6 weeks out of the coat before it Norfolk and Norwich terriers should each breed. The Nor- starts to get too long and starts to open up be trimmed to hide faults and highlight folk and Norwich terrier (part down the back). When this happens the positive attributes each dog has to
standards differ in that the Norwich terri- they will have to pull the coat down and offer. One of the biggest mistakes I see
ers body type is that of a Square dog and the Norfolk terrier body type is stated to be slightly longer than tall dog (off square). As stated in the AKC Norfolk Terrier stan- dard: Length of back from point of with- ers to base of tail should be slightly longer than the height at the withers. The same reference to length from the AKC Norwich terrier standard: Length of back from point of withers to base of tail should be slightly longer than the height at the withers.
The outline of the dog should be every groomers starting point. Throughout the grooming process one will mold the coat to fit the described outline for each breed. A dog in good coat is a sight to behold. A dog in a blown or dead coat is often hard to evaluate without placing your hands on the dog. Grooming can both help and hurt the dogs’ chances in the show ring.
The Norfolk and Norwich terrier standards state they should be shown in natural coat with minimal tidying (this is where we all chuckle) the standards state “a minimum of tidying is permissible but shaping should be heavily penalized”. Many of us spend hours each week doing “minimal tidying” to keep our dogs coat in show condition and looking its best. There are two ways people prepare their dogs coat for the show ring. The first method is most common and probably the easiest way for people without extensive grooming experi- ence to manage a dogs’ coat. This groom- ing process is when the groomer pulls the dogs’ whole outer layer of hard coat off and just leaves the dog in its soft undercoat. After removing the whole hard coated out- er layer they then tidy the furnishings and wait 12 weeks for the dog to grow a “show 242 • SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2014
start all over again thus taking the dog out of the show ring for another 3 months.
The second method is to “roll” the coat. This is where the coat is worked on a weekly basis. The groomer rolls a coat by taking the coat and pulling it up between their fingers and removes the longer, light- er colored hairs and leave the intermedi- ate length hairs. This is done all over the dog in an even manner to create an even appearance. This method allows the coat to grow in in layers. The layered coat can be kept going indefinitely and will allow the dog to be shown continuously. This is the preferred method of grooming for the Norfolk and Norwich but it takes consid- erable skill and patience to achieve a rolled coat. Once a dog is in a rolled coat it can be maintained by continuous pulling of the coat. It is important to note that you need to pull coat in order to get new coat to grow in. When examining a rolled coat one can really get an idea of the dogs true coat texture and an appreciation for its weatherproof characteristics.
Norfolk and Norwich terriers should be shown in coats that appear to be all one length. They should not have exces- sive skirting or puffy pants, they are not Scotties or Westies, or massive mutton chops on their faces. All of these things are extreme grooming techniques that detract from the natural appearance of the breeds. These dogs were bred to be working terriers they were bred to go to ground and to dig in the dirt. Profuse coat hanging off their body would not only be a disaster in the field but is often unattractive. A dog that is trimmed properly will accentuate the good points of the dog, a dog trimmed poorly
people make when grooming the Norfolk and Norwich terrier is that they leave too much hair on the elbows of the dog. This makes even a perfect front look bad. I have never met a dog that needed extra hair on its elbows. This area should be kept short. The next common mistake that people make to is over trim the head of their dog. They remove too much hair from the top of the head and give the dog a flat skull. Both breed standards state the skull should be broad and slightly rounded with good width between the ears. Taking away too much hair detracts from the overall expres- sion of these breeds. The hair on the corner of the eyes should be kept short. Leaving long hairs at the corner of the eyes makes the dog have a sad expression and not the “keen” expression as is called for in both standards. This method of trimming can also make a round eye appear even rounder again accentuating an improper eye shape for the breed.
Grooming the topline is a topic we could write volumes about. The topline as stated in the standard for both of these breeds should be level. Now not every dog is born with a level topline. Toplines on Norfolk terriers seem to be stronger and straighter than the toplines the Norwich terrier thus easier to groom. When you have a topline that is not level you must create a level topline using the dogs’ hair. If the dog has a dip in the middle of their back a groomer must be careful not to remove too much hair from this area when trimming the dog. It is best if the groomer can grow lay- ers in this area so there is always coat to fill in the dip. If the dog is high in the rear the groomer must keep the dogs coat short