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Toy Dog Grooming

Under about ten pounds. Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese and Pomeranians.

A Pomeranian and a Yorkshire Terrier, both under ten pounds

What counts as a Toy dog

Under about ten pounds. Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese, Pomeranians, Papillons, Toy Poodles and Brussels Griffons.

Toy dogs are quick to wash and slow to finish. Very little of the appointment is body work, because there is very little body. What takes the time is the face, the feet, the sanitary trim and the nails, all of it detail work carried out on an animal small enough to sit in one hand, with skin thin enough that there is no margin for a slip.

Owners are often surprised that a toy dog is not the cheapest groom in the book. Size sets the bath and dry time. Coat and detail set everything else, and on most toy breeds the coat is a silky or curly one that needs a full haircut.

Weight

Under 10 lb

Time on the table

Short on the table but fiddly. Most of the appointment is face, feet and sanitary work on a dog that fits in one hand.

Why a toy dog is not a fast appointment

The intuition that a smaller dog is a smaller job holds only for the parts that scale with body mass, and those are the quick parts anyway. A four pound Yorkshire Terrier baths in a few minutes and dries in a few more. Then the actual work starts.

Everything that takes skill on a dog of any size still has to be done, and on a toy breed it has to be done at a smaller scale with tighter tolerances. A face trim on a Pomeranian involves scissoring around eyes that are millimeters from the blade. Feet the size of a walnut still need the pads cleared, the hair between the toes removed, and the outline scissored round. Nails are tiny, the quick is proportionally close to the tip, and there is no room to guess.

Toy breeds also tend to carry the highest maintenance coats. A Maltese is a silky coat, a Toy Poodle is curly, a Pomeranian is a double coat. Each of those is a full appointment in its own right before size is considered at all.

Add to that the handling. A small dog that objects has to be managed rather than overpowered, because there is nothing to overpower safely, and rushing a wriggling four pound dog around scissors is how accidents happen. Time spent settling a toy breed is not wasted time.

Handling a light boned dog safely

Toy breeds carry a set of structural fragilities that shape how a good groomer works with them, and they are worth knowing as an owner too.

Patellar luxation, where the kneecap slips out of its groove, is common across the toy group and particularly in Pomeranians, Yorkshire Terriers and Toy Poodles. A dog with a loose patella should not be allowed to jump down from a grooming table or a sofa, and a groomer will lift rather than let the dog step off.

Collapsing trachea is the second, and it is the reason nobody who works with these breeds uses a neck restraint carelessly. Yorkshire Terriers, Chihuahuas and Pomeranians are all prone to it. It is also the single best argument for walking a toy breed on a harness rather than a collar, and any pressure at the throat that produces a honking cough is a sign to stop.

Their bones are genuinely light. A fall from table height is a serious injury for a toy dog in a way it is not for a Labrador, which is why a grooming loop and a groomer's hand are on the dog continuously and why a table is never left unattended.

They also lose heat fast. A wet four pound dog gets cold quickly, so drying happens promptly and the room stays warm.

The face trim changes a small dog more than anything else

On a toy breed the head is a large fraction of what you see, and the way it is trimmed changes the dog's apparent age, expression and even breed far more than any body length does.

A rounded face with the hair left full above the eyes reads younger and softer, and it is what most people mean when they ask for a teddy bear or a puppy cut. A shorter, tighter face with the muzzle scissored close reads older, neater and more like the traditional breed pattern. A Yorkshire Terrier with a short face and a Yorkshire Terrier with a full one barely look related.

This is the part of the appointment worth talking about specifically, and the part where a picture is worth more than a description. Bring one. Style names travel badly between salons and mean different things to different groomers, while a photograph does not.

Two practical constraints sit on top of the aesthetics. Hair growing into the eyes is a welfare issue rather than a style question, so something has to be done about it whichever look you choose. And on light coated breeds, tear staining collects in exactly the hair a full face trim leaves longest, so a fuller face means more daily wiping.

Toy dog breeds

21 breeds

An Affenpinscher, a harsh shaggy jacket and a monkey face

Affenpinscher

A harsh shaggy jacket meant to look untidy, on a dog that fits in one hand

Affenpinscher
A Bolognese, a fluffy open coat that is never brushed flat

Bolognese

An open flocked coat that is combed out and left standing, never brushed flat

Bolognese
A rough coated Brussels Griffon, the variety that is hand stripped

Brussels Griffon

Rough and smooth in the same litter, one hand stripped and one needing almost nothing

Brussels Griffon
A Chihuahua in both of its coats: smooth and long

Chihuahua

Two coats in one breed, and a dog small enough that the handling matters more than either

Chihuahua
A Chinese Crested in both varieties: hairless and powderpuff

Chinese Crested

Two varieties out of one litter, one with no coat at all and one with a full silky one

Chinese Crested
A Chiweenie, a Chihuahua and Dachshund cross with a long low back

Chiweenie

A Chihuahua and Dachshund cross: an easy coat on a long back and crowded teeth

Chiweenie
A Havanese, a long soft wavy coat that mats quietly

Havanese

A long soft wavy coat that mats quietly, and a puppy coat change that catches everyone

Havanese
An Italian Greyhound, one of the most fragile frames in dogs

Italian Greyhound

Five minutes of coat on one of the most fragile frames in dogs

Italian Greyhound
A Japanese Chin, a silky single coat over a very flat face

Japanese Chin

A long silky single coat that is far less work than it looks, over a very flat face

Japanese Chin
A Maltese in full show length coat with a topknot

Maltese

Pure white, floor length, and a full time job if you keep it that way

Maltese
A Miniature Pinscher, no relation to the Doberman it resembles

Miniature Pinscher

No relation to the Doberman it resembles, and older than it by centuries

Miniature Pinscher
A Morkie, a Maltese and Yorkshire Terrier cross with a coat lottery

Morkie

A Maltese crossed with a Yorkie, so the coat is silk either way and mats either way

Morkie
A Papillon, a long silky coat that almost never needs cutting

Papillon

A long silky coat that almost never needs cutting, which is rare enough to be worth explaining

Papillon
A Pekingese, a flat face under one of the heaviest coats in the toy group

Pekingese

A flat face under one of the heaviest coats in the toy group, so both daily jobs apply in full

Pekingese
A Pomeranian in full standing coat, a breed that must never be shaved

Pomeranian

A northern double coat on a five pound dog, and the breed shave downs ruin most often

Pomeranian
A Shih Tzu in full silky coat with the face hair tied up

Shih Tzu

A floor length coat on a dog that would rather be on your lap

Shih Tzu
A Shorkie, a Shih Tzu and Yorkshire Terrier cross with two silk parents

Shorkie

A Shih Tzu crossed with a Yorkie, so it is silk from both sides and mats from both

Shorkie
A Silky Terrier, longer in the leg and coarser in coat than a Yorkie

Silky Terrier

A Yorkie sized coat on a bigger leggier dog, and rather less work than it looks

Silky Terrier
A Toy Fox Terrier, a five pound dog with a satin coat and erect ears

Toy Fox Terrier

The Smooth's coat on a five pound frame, where the handling matters more than the coat

Toy Fox Terrier
A Yorkiepoo, a Yorkshire Terrier and Poodle cross with a coat lottery

Yorkiepoo

A Yorkie and Poodle cross: silk, wool or anything between, and all of it mats

Yorkiepoo
A Yorkshire Terrier in long silky coat with a topknot

Yorkshire Terrier

Hair rather than fur, on a dog small enough to sit in one hand

Yorkshire Terrier

The other dog sizes

Weight decides the equipment and the drying time. Coat decides everything else.

A Bichon Frise and a Shih Tzu, the ten to twenty-five pound range most grooming books are written around

Small

10 to 25 lb

Ten to twenty-five pounds. Shih Tzus, Bichons, Cocker Spaniels and Miniature Schnauzers.

Small
A Border Collie and a Cockapoo in the twenty-five to fifty pound range

Medium

25 to 50 lb

Twenty-five to fifty pounds. Border Collies, Springers, Standard Schnauzers and most doodle crosses.

Medium
A Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle, where drying takes longer than cutting

Large

50 to 90 lb

Fifty to ninety pounds. Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Labradors and Standard Poodles.

Large
A Newfoundland and a Bernese Mountain Dog, a half day appointment and often two groomers

Giant

90 lb and up

Ninety pounds and up. Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, Great Pyrenees and Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Giant

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