Skye Terrier Grooming

About the Skye Terrier

One of the most endangered dog breeds in the world, with only a few dozen puppies registered a year, and a coat unlike anything else in the terrier group.

Most terriers carry a short harsh jacket that is stripped. A Skye carries a long, straight, hard outer coat over a short soft woolly undercoat, and the outer coat reaches the ground on a show dog. It is parted down the middle of the back and hangs straight down either side, with a veil of hair falling forward over the eyes and heavy feathering on the ears.

The dog underneath is very long and very low: about nine or ten inches at the shoulder and roughly twice that in length.

So this is a brushing breed rather than a stripping one, and the back needs the same care a Dachshund's does.

Brushing a parted coat

The outer coat is hard rather than silky, which helps: it is straighter and less inclined to cling than a Maltese or a Yorkie coat. What mats is the soft undercoat beneath it.

Brush every two or three days with a pin brush, working in layers rather than sweeping over the top. Lift the coat, brush the section beneath it down toward the ground, and work up the body. Then prove it with a metal comb.

Maintain the parting down the middle of the back as you go. It is not decoration: a coat that is not parted falls into a single mass and mats along the spine.

The failure points are behind and under the ears, the armpits, the chest, the britches and anywhere a harness sits.

The ear feathering is heavy and mats where it meets the head, which pulls on the ear.

Bathe every six weeks, comb out fully first, and brush while drying so the coat dries straight and parted rather than in a tangle.

A misting of water or a light conditioning spray while brushing helps a long hard coat and reduces breakage.

The veil over the eyes

The hair falls forward from the forehead over the eyes in what the standard calls a veil, and the breed sees through it perfectly well.

There is no welfare reason to remove it, and plenty of pet owners trim it back or tie it up anyway, which is fine.

What matters is saying which you want, because a groomer who knows the breed will leave it and one who does not will cut it off.

Hair actually resting on the eye surface is a different matter and should be kept clear, since it irritates and eventually scars.

Wipe under the eyes if there is discharge and dry after, since a long coat holds moisture against the face.

The ears are either prick or drop depending on the individual, and both are correct. A prick ear carries a fan of feathering; a drop ear needs the weekly lift, look and smell that every drop eared breed gets.

Keep the hair around the ear opening trimmed on a drop eared dog.

The long low back

A Skye is proportionally one of the longest and lowest dogs there is, and the build carries the same risk the Dachshund and Dandie Dinmont pages describe.

Handling is where a groomer can help or hurt. Never let a Skye jump down from a grooming table, a bath, a bed or a car. Lift it with one hand or forearm under the chest and the other supporting the hindquarters, so the spine stays level.

Say it at the first appointment, because on a coat this long the shape of the dog underneath is not obvious.

Keep the dog lean. Weight loads a long back, and a floor length coat hides condition completely, so feel for ribs rather than judging by eye.

Puppies should not be encouraged to jump on and off furniture, and ramps are worth it.

Sudden reluctance to jump, a hunched back, yelping when lifted or wobbling in the back legs needs a veterinarian the same day.

A rare breed, and the shorter option

Skye Terriers are genuinely endangered and most groomers will never have seen one, so bring photographs and expect to explain the parting and the veil.

A full length coat is a real commitment: brushing every two or three days and a groom every six to eight weeks, with no room to let it slide.

A shorter pet trim is a legitimate choice and is what many companion Skyes wear. It reduces the brushing to something sustainable and does not harm the dog.

Clipping does change the coat, since there is an undercoat: a clipped Skye can come back softer and denser, and a soft coat mats more readily than the hard one it replaced. That is a real cost and still better than a pelted dog.

Whatever the length, keep the pads cleared, the sanitary area short and the hair around the eyes clear.

Skyes are reserved with strangers and famously loyal to their own people, so a groomer who meets the dog first will get a much easier appointment than one who does not.

Nails every three to four weeks.

What to tell your groomer

Say the coat is brushed and parted down the spine, not stripped, since the terrier group suggests otherwise.

Bring photographs and expect that they have never seen the breed.

Say whether the veil over the eyes is kept or trimmed back.

Ask for layer brushing with a comb check, and the coat dried while brushed so it dries straight.

Say the dog must be lifted on and off the table with chest and hindquarters supported, because the back is very long.

Give a length in numbers if you want a shorter trim.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Skye Terrier