There you are, happily clipping along on a dog that is getting a smoothie-style groom, and whoops! A bald spot suddenly appears. You stare in confusion at your clipper. Did it suddenly manifest into having a shorter-than-you-were-using blade? No. The problem is that you ran into a cowlick.
Cowlicks are areas where the hair grows in a different direction than the surrounding hair does. On dogs, this is common on the front of the chest, generally in the area where the front legs join the body. Many dogs will have one or two swirls of hair there that, when clipped to the same length as the rest of the body, will appear to be much, much shorter. The term “bald” could accurately describe the look you can get if you are using a close blade, like a #7.
Other common spots where cowlicks can be found are on the back of the rear legs on either side of the tail in the region of the hip bone or sometimes down the back of the rear leg and on the elbows. A cowlick may grow in a straight line or a whorl, which is a circular pattern. Cowlicks on the head are not as common but are also seen occasionally.
If you are performing a close clip on a dog for the first time, look for cowlicks as you dry and do your prep work on the dog. If you don’t notice them, you may be surprised by a cowlick and leave a shorter-than-you-planned-to area. Once this happens, keeping careful records will help you prepare for how to groom the dog in the future. By noting where the irregular hair growth occurs, you can avoid leaving a short spot by:
- Lift your hand as you clip over that area and skim the coat rather than holding the clipper blade flat against the skin.
- Reversing your clipper in the area of the cowlick so you are clipping with the unique hair growth and not against it.
- Use a longer blade in that spot. For instance, if the rest of the body is being clipped with a #7 blade, use a #5 blade instead.
- Avoid clipping the area entirely and use thinning shears instead. Brush or comb the hair so it stands up, sculpt the fur with your thinners, and blend it into the clipped areas.
If you accidentally create a short spot because you overlooked a cowlick, explain it to the customer on pick up and assure them you have noted the irregular growth pattern and will blend it in better on the next groom.
