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Grooming Your Silky |
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A Silky should be bathed when 'dirty'. Some dogs, especially a young dog, may need a bath more often due to what they may find to 'get into'. Sometimes a very thorough brushing will suffice until you can get around to the bathing. Also, remember to use a conditioner after shapooing and always, always rinse thoroughly! Take care with your dog's ears - don't get too much water down the ear canal. If necessary, a bit of cotton with Vaseline placed in the ear can help keep this from happening. It isn't necessary to 'blow dry' the hair unless the weather is cold or you are preparing for a Dog Show. It is necessary to keep the Silky out of the 'dirt' until dry! If let loose in the yard, they will most likely find the 'best smelling' thing they can find to roll on and make sure they 'smell' good!
It isn't always necessary to brush a Silky everyday (but this can become a pleasurable time for both Silky and owner) but they should be brushed between baths. If not, the hair will become tangled just as yours would if not brushed! If you think of the Silky's coat much as you would your own hair, you should have no trouble taking proper care and having a nice looking dog.
The nails, teeth and ears should be taken care of at bath time. Always check your dog's ears for excess hair down in the ear canal. If there is a lot of hair and it becomes wet, this can be a great place for bacteria to grow. There is ear powder available to help dry out the ears and this powder will also allow you to be able to 'hold onto' the hairs and pull them out. But just pull a little at a time. The nails are easier clipped when soften by bathing. Always have some Quick Stop (blood clotting agent) on hand as Silky's toenails are very quick to bleed and this will come in handy to stop the bleeding. When your dog is young, get them used to having their teeth taken care of. You can purchase brushes and tooth cleaners or finger brushes or just use some gauze wrapped around your finger and a touch of baking soda to 'brush' your dog's teeth. This is probably one of the most neglected areas of dog care and can be the cause of much in the way of health problems in later life. Please check your dog's teeth and have the vet clean them on a regular basis if necessary.
Now, as to actually grooming or clipping of hair, the Silky should have a 'clean' ear - free of long hair. Some will have much more hair than others. You can use small animal clippers, mustache trimmers etc. to clean the excess hair from the front as well as the back of the ear if necessary. If your Silky is more of the original style and is clean pointed, there will not be MUCH hair and you may only need to trim along the edge for a sharp and clean looking ear.
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The feet should be free of excessively long hair. You can take a pair of scissors and trim off some of the excess up to about 'ankle' high - be sure to clean the back side and between the pads as well. The long hair of the body should only come to the top of the foot (more or less). |
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You don't want a coat which is dragging on the floor, as this is more like the coat a Yorkie would have. |
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A Silky coat should follow the body outline. |
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The tail should not appear to look like a "flag" but be trimmed to approximately 1 inch in length. |
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Now the tricky part is the area between the eyes. The long hair between the eyes should be trimmed so that the eyes are visible. From one inside eye to the other inside eye make an inverted V berween the eyes up to the part on the head. You can do a little cleaning up of any excess hair with thinning shears to give a more natural look if you like. |
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One word of advice ~ A Silky has a strong character. You must tell him and show him what it is you wish to do and be FIRM about it. If you lose control, don't get upset but put aside the grooming until another time. After all, this is a little dog but he will try your patience ~ one good reason to start a routine early in the dog's life and keep at it on a regular time schedule. Even though some of these things may not need to be done to the very young puppy you have, if you start now, when the time comes that it is required, he will be totally used to the routine.
Tools needed: natural bristle brush, pin brush, metal comb, toenail clippers, scissors (straight and thinning is good) and a clipper if you wish to use these instead of scissors.
shampoo and conditioner, ear powder, Quick Stop, cotton balls, towel.
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Information and pictures provided by Silky Terrier Club Of America |
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You're Listening To: Little Wooden Head (Pinnochio) |
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