Grooming Your Boston
A Boston Terrier is pretty much a wash and go type
of dog. A simple bath, a quick drying and your off for a romp at the beach or a
walk in the park.
Grooming will help insure the health
and general appearance of your dog.
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Brushing and petting are healthy for skin and coat as well as occasional bath will allow you to inspect your dog for abnormal growths, cuts and abrasions and dry scaly skin. This special time is also a good time to find fleas and ticks.
Bathing your dog should not be done excessively. To many baths with to harsh a soap can dry your Bostons skin. Most all soaps will kill fleas. Just leave on for about 5 minutes then rinse. The soap bubbles prevent the flea from getting oxygen so be sure to allow the five minutes before the rinsing.
Never put the soap directly on your dog. Soap direct from the bottle can burn the skin. Wet the dog then apply soap using a sponge or special dog scrubber. Be sure to rinse the soap completely out of the coat.
Be extremely careful to avoid getting
soap in your dogs ears and eyes. For the eyes rinse out immediately with
clear gentle stream of water. Much the same as you would with soap in your eyes.
For the ears you can place cotton in them to help prevent water from getting in.
Should you forget and water gets in, dry the best you can with a cotton ball..
Watch that the dog does not developed any ear infections the next several days.
I prefer to just use a wash cloth to clean the head of my BTs. The hair is so
short that this method works the best for me.
After completely drying your dog, recheck the tail area. A lot of our Bostons have inverted tail sets. (pocket that the tail sits in) Be sure that all dead hair is removed from the pocket and that it is 100% dry. If this pocket is not kept clean and dry infection can occur requiring veterinary care and possible removal of the tail. Running your finger around in the pocket will help remove the dead hair and dirt, or you may prefer a q-tip. Just be sure to be careful not to rub to hard and damage the tender skin.
Cantrip's All That N' More
Show Grooming
You will need clippers, scissors straight and blunt
curved , thinning scissors and maybe a stripping knife and a sanding stone. Nail
clippers and a nail file or grinder for the nails. Grooming powder and
chalk mate to hold in the chalk. A soft brush and a couple of small fine brushes
like a woman uses to place their make up on. A grooming table is nice to work
from. Eye wash and a coat finish for the final touches.
The Basic Steps Past General Grooming
Your first step is to stand back and look for what
you would like to change about your Boston.
Not enough neck, like him/her a little more square, top line not real level. Look for corrections and then look for what you would like to accent. Once you see your dog's good and the not so wonderful you are ready to start.
Clipping your Boston for the
show
I prefer to have a mirror across on the far wall
behind the grooming table so I can see both sides of the dog at the same time.
Have the table set up so you can work from both sides with all your equipment
with in easy reach. If your dog is afraid of the table try feeding him while on
the table. Make this time a pleasure for him.
I like to start with the clippers, trimming off all the scraggly hairs that stand up off the body. Clean up the stomach area of all loose hair. Trim off the hair between the toes. Smooth up the rear of the dog so it appears flat more then rounded. Place cotton ball in the ears so loose hair can not enter the canal as you remove any hair on the inside edge of the ear and the outside. Smooth out the hair in front of the ear.
With your scissors remove all whiskers. Be careful not to cut the moles on the cheek when removing those whiskers. Remove the long hairs on the eyebrows. Trim the cowlicks on both sides of the neck. (thinning scissors work best ) Go slow so you do not trim off more then needed leaving a bare spot. With your thumb and forefinger to roll up the white hair that overlaps the black, trim. Try to get a even appearance . Trim the white lines on legs. Trim any cowlicks on the rear of the dog.
Stand back and take a long look at what
you have already done. Be sure to look at both sides. Now is the time to detail
your dog----To show off the best point and to cover up any bad ones.
Once you have all the trimming completed allow your dog to run around and relax as you watch his movement and look for other areas you would like to improve on.
Bath your Boston
The day of the show your will be doing the final step of chalking. Be sure to arrive allowing yourself plenty of time. Using cholesterol or a product called caulk mate apply to both hands and then to the white hairs of the dog. Brush in chalk to all white area. Then brush out. This is to make you dog look whiter and to give more body to the coat. Be sure to remove all chalk. You do not want the judge to get chalk on their hands. Re trim the whiskers( they seem to grow over night.) Apply a coat dressing if needed.
Off to the ring you go.
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BIS Am/Can Ch Cantrip's Iced Cinnamon
Swirl