Choosing A Bichon Frise Hair Cut

It can be a difficult process to do a Bichon Frise hair cut, but even the novice groomer can do a few shorter styles. While overwhelming at first, Bichon Frise grooming can become easy after you follow the steps a few times and begin to do it more often.

First you should choose a Bichon Frise hair cut style. There are three choices when it comes to simple styles. The shaved down or lamb cut is first which is the closest cut you can do and is good for Dogs with a lot of mats that need to be removed. The modified puppy cut is second and resembles a panda. When you choose this option you only clip the body and the chest from the Adam's apple to the breastbone and then all other areas of the body are hand trimmed with scissors. The fuller cut or puppy cut is the last option and is the most difficult for those without grooming experience since the entire body is hand trimmed with scissors.

When you first start your Bichon Frise hair cut you should start with the genitals first while the blade is cool. Always be careful that you don't clip any tail hair. Next raise the Dog up by their front legs so that they are standing on their rear legs and clip their belly up to the first or second set of nipples. Just make sure you always know where you are clipping. If you can't see clearly where you are then move hair out of the way before clipping.

If you feel the teeth of the blade then you know they are separated and the skin can catch in the teeth. So always make sure you are clipping with the lay of the coat and never against the coat. Whenever your blade doesn't seem to be cutting properly you should check and make sure its not clogged with hair. A blade can be clogged quickly when trimming Bichon Frise hair.

Next you need to use scissors to hand trim and shape the Bichon head. When it comes to a Bichon Frise hair cut there isn't much that needs to be done on the head, just a little clipping to keep it in proportion to the length of the body coat. It can take a lot of practice or trial and error to shape the head. It is best to use a picture of a Bichon Frise head for reference while scissoring and don't be discouraged if it doesn't come out perfect the first time.

Trim away any hair that hangs into the eye so that the eye is exposed, but still keep a little visor to the fur in order to maintain the round appearance. Don't cut any hair that is beyond the outer corner of the eye. Comb the head hair up before scissoring. The length of your head hair should be similar to that of the chin hair to keep the round appearance to the face.

Mary Stevenson has owned and bred dogs and has also devoted a great deal of time to studying dogs and thus is considered by some to be an expert on all types and breeds of dogs. To learn more about the history behind the Bichon Frise requires sifting through every available bit of information that will help you understand how this toy breed has survived many ups and downs in his life. For those who want to learn about the history behind the breed, this article provides all the necessary Bichon Frise information on the subject.