During the warm months, many groomers find that they are using a #7 blade more frequently. In some cases, this is because pet owners want smooth, easy trims for summer; in other instances, it is to remove heavy matting from dogs that have not been groomed in too long. No matter the reason, many of us struggle with making the feet of closely clipped dogs look nice.
Here are a few tips to help you create neat feet when the trim is short.
- Carefully clip the underside of the pad with a #10 or 30 blade. Scoop the hair out between the large food pad and toe pads. Spend time doing an extra neat job because there will be no fluffy hair left on the foot to hide any straggly bits.
- Some groomers use a fine trimmer blade and carefully neaten up the edges around each toe pad at this time. This can be tricky work, and it might not be a viable option if the dog is sensitive about having its feet worked on.
- While trimming the pad's underside, trim the edge where the large foot pad joins the leg up about ¼ inch into the fur.
- Clip the top of the foot with the same length blade you used to clip the leg fur.
- Brush the hair up, away from the nails, towards the leg with a slicker brush.
- Use scissors, pointing from the toe towards the leg, to neaten the hair and even it up, ensuring you trim the fur between the toes. You can also use a clipper blade between the toes, working against the grain.
- Brush again.
- Use thinning shears to blend the hair neatly, making it look as natural as possible and matching the clipped leg area.
- Put the foot down and allow the dog to stand naturally. Look for uneven areas.
- Pay special attention to the tricky hair that grows at the base of the nails. You may have to brush and trim repeatedly to get everything a uniform length.
- Don't be afraid to let the claws show on very short trims. If you leave fur to cover them, the feet will grow out faster than the rest of the coat, looking messy and unkept and dragging dirt around.
An alternative method to using scissors is to use one blade length longer than you used on the body and clip just the foot in reverse. For instance, if you clipped the pet with a #7 blade, use a #5 and clip from the nails to where the foot bends against the grain to blend that fur into the leg coat, then go back with a brush and scissors to catch anything the blade missed.
Making an effort to create tidy feet on a closely trimmed coat will help the groom look more polished and professional.
