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Grooming the Hindquarters by Victor Sattler
The hindquarters should be groomed to show a neat and tidy appearance. From the two following side view photos you should see the grooming should show off the correct angulation of the rear. Thighs are groomed to blend into the rear and legs. There is a moderate shelf behind the tail.
Note that there is little hair left on the back of the hocks. The tuck up in front of the leg should be moderate. The hair on the paws is also short to show off a “cat foot”.
Looking from the rear, you should see reasonable width between the two legs. In the following left photo there has been no grooming done to the rear. The long unruly hairs under the tail (they look more wheaten in colour) need to be stripped for a cleaner presentation. The right photo show considerable tidying including cleaning-up the legs. Note you can now see the rear pad which is desirable when the dog gaits away from you. Of course, while the correct shape is now groomed in, this dogs needs ideally a fuller look which will come when the just stripped lengths grow back in, particularly with regard to the whispy hairs between the legs.
It is a little easier to see on the following red coated dogs. Notice also that the columns of hair created on the leg are a much tidier presentation from the rear. Lastly, you should be able to see a little bit of pad from the paw from the rear.
Note that there is little hair left on the back of the hocks. The tuck up in front of the leg should be moderate. The hair on the paws is also short to show off a “cat foot”.
Looking from the rear, you should see reasonable width between the two legs. In the following left photo there has been no grooming done to the rear. The long unruly hairs under the tail (they look more wheaten in colour) need to be stripped for a cleaner presentation. The right photo show considerable tidying including cleaning-up the legs. Note you can now see the rear pad which is desirable when the dog gaits away from you. Of course, while the correct shape is now groomed in, this dogs needs ideally a fuller look which will come when the just stripped lengths grow back in, particularly with regard to the whispy hairs between the legs.
It is a little easier to see on the following red coated dogs. Notice also that the columns of hair created on the leg are a much tidier presentation from the rear. Lastly, you should be able to see a little bit of pad from the paw from the rear.
Grooming the Norwich Body, by Victor Sattler
Body moderately short. Compact and deep. Good width of chest. Well-sprung ribs and short loins.
The top line is key to the breed silhouette and should be level across the back into the tail set. A topline sloped any other way unbalances the silhouette. If the dog is high in the rear you will see the topline rise to the tail. The cosmetic solution is to have the hair on the back near the tail very short and encourage more hair growth over the back to make the topline appear level.
Of course there is also a “bottom line”, which is the silhouette of the belly. This too needs tidying. A body that conforms to the description of the breed standard does not need any type of skirt. Sometimes longer legged dogs may have a skirt to trick the eye to suggest it is balanced, albeit with hair, not body. Notice also the moderate tuck up just forward of the hind legs.
Front Legs by Victor Sattler Page 9
The legs should be hand stripped. What you should groom is a straight column that runs from the foot, up the leg and blends into the shoulder. Using the elbow on the back of the leg as a starting point, you should strip the long hairs down to the foot. There should be no flair of hair at the elbow, rather just a straight column. The back of the leg is kept very short.
“Short, powerful legs, as straight as is consistent with the digging terrier. Pasterns firm. Feet round with thick pads. Nails black. The feet point forward when standing or moving.”
Here is an ungroomed leg. Notice the distinctive paw. What is more desirable as a “look” is a columned leg that ends in a cat like paw.
Now the leg has been combed. You should see that there are a lot of longer hairs on the back and front of the leg that need to be tidied up to make a column.
The column is actually achieved from leaving a little more length on the front of the leg, rather than the rear.
The best trick here is to use your comb as guide. The back of the comb rests against the elbow. Any hairs that lies out side of the guide are stripped.
Do this about once every two weeks and your columns will come in nicely after a few sessions.
You should also notice that by tidying up the leg even the paw starts to look much more cat like. This is done by keeping the hairs on the paw very short and having short toe nails.
Finally the leg looks something like this one you are done. Even this leg could use some more work but you can now see what the end product should resemble.
Grooming the Norwich Front by Victor Sattler
This portion speaks to the correct Norwich Terrier front. It is important to understand what is correct so that you do not groom the incorrect conformation and unnecessarily fault your dog. However, you can not look at any one part without considering the whole dog which balances what is right in the parts. We have already looked at the head in detail. The logical flow is next to the front. For that reason this section’s first photo show you a whole dog, and lets you focus on the parts as part of the whole, to keep perspective.
Ruff
Where the head transitions to the neck, ruff and shoulders, all this should flow clean transitioning between body parts. Notice the chest in front of the legs and the very neat and tidy appearance of the overall silhouette.
“The coat on neck and shoulders forms a protective mane. Neck of medium length, strong and blending into well laid back shoulders. Elbows close to ribs”
Front – From the Front View
Focusing now on the front, the following illustrations have three Norwich, head on. The left Norwich is generally balanced. The second is definitely too wide as well as “toes in” (incorrect). The one on the right toes out and has a fiddle front (incorrect). You should be aware that “form follows function” for animals. Norwich were bred to dig into lair of their prey. The way the Norwich digs is by lying on its belly and paddling our the dirt underneath. So, to some extend, the natural form would be a bit of digging front which is similar to the fiddle front on the right. However by grooming we present the front legs as straight and the leg in motion should show clean, straight, front to back movement.
Correct Incorrect Incorrect
In the following photo you should see that the left side shows a clean, head on presentation. On the right side, simply due to grooming, the straight column is not there. Obviously it needs a little more stripping at the bulky areas to get that nice straight column from the front view.
Front – From the Side View
Of course, the side view is breed silhouette. You should have that imprinted in your mind at this point, whether it is the lead photo of this section or the black and white cut-out on the left here. This is the template to groom to. Focusing on the front, a correct dog has a chest in front of its legs, not just hair. If it had no chest that would likely an indicator of incorrect construction.
Next we will look at the front legs in detail.
Grooming Paws by Victor Sattler
Again, since the parts make-up the whole and the whole gives perspective, the photo below is of the rear from a side view.
The focus here is on presentation of the feet which should show “cat like paws.”
Notice here that the nails are short and there is little hair on the paw of this dog. If it were left long it would look more like the long foot of a rabbit, which is incorrect for the form for the function of quick turning and agility that a Norwich needs.
The left paw is ungroomed. After a few minutes work the hairs are stripped and you can already see a more correct foot. Of course, more work needs to be done to get the cat paw look presented in the first photo above.
I also cut the hairs
between the pads so that you can see the flash of pad when the dog moves away from you. This is the only place that scissors need be used on your dog. Keeping the hair short between the pads is particularly good to keep show and ice from building in the feet, if you live in those climates.
Finally, here is the close-up. The nails could still be shorter but you can see the cat paw now.
Hand Stripping the Head by Victor Sattler
There is no denying that Norwich have beautiful heads. It is a keen and alert expression which makes them so attractive.
The Head – Norwich Terrier (American Kennel Club Standard)
“The Norwich Terrier, spirited and stocky with sensitive prick ears and a slightly foxy expression . . ., The hair on head, ears and muzzle, except for slight eyebrows and whiskers, is short and smooth. A slightly foxy expression. The skull is broad and slightly rounded with good width between the ears.”
We will start at the head since it is a small area and relatively easy to do. First have a look at the pictures following to see what the final product of your grooming should resemble. Different groomers have different styles but generally what you should see is the hair that frames the face.
Using a grooming table, and with the head in noose, is the easiest way to start. Grasp the head with your free hand holding the hairs of cheek … carefully and gently. You may need to adjust your grip to find what is comfortable for you and the dog. For dogs that fidget, place the elbow of that hand holding the head on the table. The leverage will make it easier for you. Again, you may need to adjust your grip so the dog is comfortable.
Eyes
Start with the eyes. The “slight eyebrow” means the eyebrow is short, usually with nothing breaking past the outside corners of the eyes. The stop (between the eyes) should be very short. The hair on the muzzle and the forehead should also generally be short.
Start with the eyes. The “slight eyebrow” means the eyebrow is short, usually with nothing breaking past the outside corners of the eyes. The stop (between the eyes) should be very short. The hair on the muzzle and the forehead should also generally be short.
“A slightly foxy expression. Eyes small, dark and oval shaped with black rims. Placed well apart with a bright and keen expression.”
If you frame the face of the dog with you right hand, as in the photo (left), imagine that the hairs inside the thumb and finger are what frames the face. So any hairs that go past your finger can be plucked. The key here is that you only want to pluck a few hairs at each session. The reason for that is you will create layers and ultimately, a fuller appearance. It does take weeks to really get a beautiful, full face. For a show dog the cheeks and muzzle should be washed twice a week. I have used countless shampoos and conditioners and have actually found that water alone is sufficient. The point is dirty hair breaks more easily.
Ears
“Ears medium size and erect. Set well apart with pointed tips. Upright when alert.”
The ears should have short hair on them. The inner ear has just a neat dusting of hair. The outer ear is also clean but tappers from the tip to blend in with the back of the head. Notice that the edges of the ear are kept short. Also, there is a small “fence” of hair at the bottom front of the ears. These expressive ears are an important part of the facial expression.
Here is an ear that needs to be cleaned up. If you look closely you can see a fine black line on the right side of the ear. We are going to strip all the hairs that fall on the outside of this line.
Here is the final product. I have left just a tiny bit of hair at the corner of the ear. Of course, this is done to all the edges of the ear.
Muzzle
You do need to groom the muzzle. The AKC Standard says:
“Muzzle is wedge shaped and strong. Its length is about one-third less than the measurement from the occiput to the well-defined stop. The jaw is clean and strong. Nose and lip pigment black. Tight-lipped with large teeth. A scissor bite.”
It should be as neat and tidy as the rest of the face. The bottom of the muzzle should also neatly frame the face. Too short muzzles are usually groomed to have longer hair. Longer muzzles should have short hair at the nose and then grow more hair in the cheeks to give a shorter appearance. The wedge shape is characteristic of the breed, so that is the aim of either leaving or stripping hair on the face. Like the rest of the coat the plush look is achieved by having layers. That is done simply by routinely pulling only a few hairs out of the face every couple of weeks. This “rolling” of the face hair is the trick to a beautiful face.
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