Yorkshire Terrier Grooming

The long, silky coat of your Yorkshire Terrier requires constant care, which should begin while the dog is only two or three months of age and the coat is still underdeveloped. If you start early and introduce your puppy to grooming properly, he will learn to enjoy the handling and grooming he will need if his coat is to reach its potential.

A daily brushing and combing with a natural bristle brush keeps the coat tangle-free and helps stimulate growth. Applying a little hair conditioner on the ends of the coat after a bath prevents unnecessary knotting of the hair. An occasional application of oil, used sparingly, on a dry coat prevents breakages.

Grooming for Show

To achieve the final perfections of the Yorkshire Terrier's full adult coat, careful preparation must first begin when a puppy is still only a few months old. The major setback experienced in coat growing is always accidental damage caused by scratching, rubbing, or the playfull pulling of other dogs.

The principles of shampooing and conditioning the coat are similar to those used in the treatment of the pet Yorkie, but much more care is required, when the coat begins to grow, especially during rinsing and the subsequent combing through. If you have been using special veterinary products or medicated shampoos and suddenly the dog seems irritated by or allergic to them, switch to preparations(such as baby shampoo) that are mild. For more information about ingredients causing allergic reaction and skin and hair care on Good with Children web site. Whatever oil that you use to condition the dry coat, it should be placed only on the coat, and not on the skin, otherwise irritation and dandruff may result. Clogging of the comb can indicate that a finer blend of oil is necessary, ot may be more frequent shampooing.

At approximately five months of age the tying up of the Yorkshire's coat, or "crackering", can begin. Start with the triangular section of hair taken from the central point between the eyes and the base of each ear. This section of hair should be gently combed up to the top of the head and carefully wrapped in a strip of tissue paper, which is then folded towards the roots of the hair and finally with an elastic band. Great care must be taken to ensure that the Yorkie's hair is only held in place and not pulled.

When it becomes necessary to wrap the entire coat, the method used is identical to the one described above. Similar sections of hair need to be wrapped until the entire coat is held in the tissue paper curlers. A fine linen or a cotton jacket placed on the dog will serve to keep the wrappers in place and also protect carpet and furnishings from the oil.

Tradition dictates that the coat is centrally parted from down the dogs' spine, from just behind the ears to the root of the tail, and is allowed to hang smoothly and straight on either side of the body. Next the topknot is gathered up to the crown of the head. Make certain that no strain is placed on the eyes or ears, which can give the dog and undesired pop-eyed expression. The topknot should be finished with a silk ribbon bow of the appropriate color.