Bouvier - Grooming the head

This is Beaucoup's first (and last) professional haircut. I asked the groomer to teach me. He did one side (the one shown) and I did the other. I keep this picture as a reference.

The groomer is an "old" Bouvman -- he worked for Bowles. He's not current with the show world, nor was he 9 years ago when I took this picture. So the style you see may not be current show style.

He does have a very good sense of the particularity of a Bouv's head -- what each Bouv needs, different than the next Bouv, to bring out expression and respond to the structure. I have found that, over the last nine years and three Bouvs, to be so true. Cut and experiment and find *that* Bouv's best look.

I have found, over the years, studying dog after dog after dog, that the photos really help [...] It is truly an art, even for a pet groomer like me.

Carol Rauch