Bouvier Grooming Article

The basic care of a Bouvier, demands a good brushing at least once a week, with a metal brush and a medium comb. The nails need cutting, the teeth have to be cleaned with a dentists tool and brushed with baking soda on a wet cloth or a tooth-brush. The ears have to be cleaned with a ball of cotton wool, dipped in a special cleaning liquid for the ears.

Before you start to even out the fur the dog has to be brushed and combed thoroughly.

1. The hair on the outside of the ears has to be cut very short and right to the leather on the amputated part. You can use scissors or a clipper with a blade #10. Remove all the hairs inside the ear using tweezers, especially the very long ones inside the canal. The fur on the lower part of the ear can be cut with scissors till just above the jaw.

2. On the top of the head, from the occupit to the eyebrows and down to the temples, it must be cut to a 1/2 inch long with thinning shears or a blade #7.

3. Trim down the eyebrows till 1 inch long with a stripping knife and thinning shears. Avoid cutting them too straight. The hair between the eyes should not be removed or cut (like in the Terrier), but rather fall down over the muzzle, only trimmed around the nostrils.

4. Brush and comb the beard thoroughly, only even it out in length. With a stripping knife you thin out the cheeks. Avoid giving the dog a "hamster-look" and comb out the fur into a thick beard.

5. Starting at the jaw cut the fur on the throat very short, leaving it longer going down, to 1 1/2 inch long at the sternum (the start of the chest). On the lower part of the chest, (where the front legs meet the body) the length of the fur should be about 2 to 2 1/2 inches. Along each side of the neck it should be rounded out, to about 2 inches long.

6. With a stripping knife even out the fur from the occupit to the neck and cut the hair of the neck in a straight line down to the back.

7. Even out the hair of the back to a length of 2 to 2 1/2 inches right down to the tail.

8. Even out the hair on the shoulders down to the front legs.

9. The hair on the front legs should be thoroughly combed out. If you lightly even out the hair of the legs, preferably with a strippig knife, it will give the effect of a straight line, especially along the back of the legs. Often you need to cut more fur on the front and the sides to get the desired effect. Use round-tip scissors to cut the hair between the toes and thinning shears to make round feet.

10. The fur on the tail has to be cut quite short, especially along each side and underneath. You may use straight scissors, a stripping knife or a blade #10 fot the tail and a blade #4 for the hindquarters.

11. Even out the hair, rounding out the hindquarters, from the short hair on the tail leaving it gradually thicker going down to the hocks.

12. Cut and even out the hair down to the middle of the thigh leaving it progressively longer and thicker going down to the feet.

13. With a stripping knife slightly even out the hair from the middle of the thigh down to the hock.

14. Straighten out and clip the back of the hocks with scissors. Cut the hair between the toes and around the feet.

15. Even out the fur on the body, cutting it short on the back and leaving it progressively thicker along the sides.

16. Cut the fur underneath in such a manner that there is a slight tuck-up and even it out.

If the dog has a very thick fur you might need to thin it out, by taking out the underfur. The best way to control the situation is, once a month:

1. Brush the body thoroughly with a metal brush and a pin-brush.

2. Repeat against the direction of the fur.

3. Comb with a fine toothed comb, against the direction of the fur.

4. Finish by brushing with the metal brush in the regular direction.

The other option is to once year strip the dog down with a stripping knife, which is a very tedious job and for the dog very painful.