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Black Russian Terrier Grooming.
Informtion on how to groom your Black Russian Terrier
DBT highly recommends the How To Professionally Groom Your Dog At Home ebook when learning to groom your dog or pet.
The Black Russian terrier is also called the Mustaterrier. It has a full moustache, beard and eyebrows. It is usually all-black with a rough, coarse, tousled (not curly) overcoat and a thick, downy undercoat.
This dog is often described as wiry-haired but in fact its outer coat should be coarse, not wiry nor so soft that it becomes curly. It is better described in what it's not: not soft, not frizzy, not silky, not wooly, not curly, not wiry.
This dog is low shedding but requires a high level of grooming. This dog needs help to remove dead hair but frequent brushing can ruin the coarse nature of its outer coat.
The most important thing to remember, and the most common mistake among Black Russian terrier owners, is that you must comb/brush from the skin.
Tools: Spray conditioner, preferably oil-based. Greyhound comb (1/2 medium-toothed and ½ fine-toothed), wide-toothed metal brush.
Line brushing consists of holding hair up and out of the way and then brushing/detangling a small amount of hair, a line or row, at a time from underneath. Always work from the inside out on a coat and from the bottom to the top of the hair.
Work at tangles with the brush, softening with spray as necessary. The objective is to be able to comb through the coat easily. Use a soft brush or rubber curry comb on your spaniel's head.
Use the comb to pull out dead hair from the undercoat. Don't overly thin.
Strip only when the coat texture too soft. Hand stripping or plucking is a special skill important to your terrier. See the end of this article for more information.
Eyes: Check your dog's eyes daily.
Debris is flushed to the corners of the eyes and daily wiping with a wet cloth or paper towel can prevent the build up of bacteria.
This is especially important since your Black Russian tends to get eye infections. If you don't intend to show your dog, keeping the hair around the eyes clipped short will help.
Ears: Check the ears frequently.
Your Black Russian terrier's ears are prone to infection. Your dogs ears should be pink and healthy inside. If not, don't do anything to them until you see a vet. Keeping your dogs' ears clean minimizes odour, removes dirt, bacteria and mites trapped in wax. Never use a cotton swab on the inner ear.
Tools: Cotton wool balls or soft cloth and ear solution.
There is solution made specifically for dogs but substitutes include: hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, mineral oil, witch hazel, and tea tree oil .
Place a few drops of ear solution in ear and rub and massage to loosen wax. Swab out with cotton wool balls or cloth.
Ear Hair Plucking: Every two weeks.
Your terrier has hair growing into the ear canal. This can prevent the canal from drying properly, trap bacteria and cause fungal infections.
Tools: Tweezers, powder, chalk, rubber gloves all optional.
Lift the dog's ear and lay it back. Grasp the hair along the inside of the ear between thumb and forefinger and then pull firmly. This hair should come out easily.
Use tools to help grip slippery hair.
Teeth: Regularly.
80% of 3 year old dogs have periodontal disease due to lack of brushing. Cavities and gum disease are painful for your dog; they diminish its pleasure and ability to eat. Bacteria that develops can infect the heart, kidney, liver and brain. Really bad breath is usually a sign of gum disease.
Tools: Toothbrush/finger cap/cloth, doggie toothpaste, tooth scraper.
Never use human toothpaste. It is not edible.
Starting your dog off with this practice takes patience. Reward it constantly, no matter what its behavior to get it used to grooming.
Start off by getting it used to its mouth being handled.
Progress to touching the teeth with your finger.
Get some meat-flavoured toothpaste and apply with your finger.
Then introduce the brush. Clean a few teeth at a time and soon you will have a routine that takes just minutes.
Brush in a circular motion and get under the gum line.
If you don't want to brush everyday, use a tooth scraper once or twice a month to get rid of the build up of plaque. It accumulates mostly on the outside of the teeth and on the back molars. This won't be much fun for your or your dog though. Lots of bones and hard, crunchy foods can minimize plaque but not to a truly effective degree.
Nails: Every two weeks.
Nail care is very important for your Black Russian terrier.
Nails that aren't trimmed can splinter and infect the quick or grow and curl into the flesh. This can be painful for your dog to walk on, affect it's gait, posture, and eventually it's skeletal and ligament health. Nails should never touch the ground. When your dog is standing its nails should rest above the ground. If you hear clicking on the kitchen floor, clipping is overdue.
Tools: Doggie Nail Clippers (Scissors, pliers, guillotine), Dremel or file, Styptic or Kwikstop.
Sit beside your dog and put your arm around its shoulders if you can so that you are clipping from underneath and at the right angle.
Lift the paw and press on it to expose the claw.
If it has a clear nail you should be able to see the quick: a dark bundle of nerves and blood vessels. Clip from underneath close to the quick but do not cut into it. If you do, your dog will soon let you know. Use Styptic pencil or Kwikstop to staunch the bleeding.
Buff the ragged edge with a file or Dremel.
Some dogs can handle their nails being buffed by the Dremel regularly, rather than clipping.
If it has a dark nail, clip just under the curve of the nail and then you will be able to look inside and see the quick if you look close enough. Clip using tiny snips at a time.
Don't forget to check for dewclaws: an extra claw dogs may have farther up on the leg that works like a thumb. It is better to clip your dog's nails frequently as this encourages the quick to recede farther away from the tip.
Paws: Check daily/ Trim every two weeks .
It is very important to Check between your dogs pads for foreign objects that may have wedged there and check the pads themselves for cuts, scrapes and infection.
Tools: Small, blunt scissors, slicker brush.
The hair that grows between and around the pads of the Black Russian terrier can mat and trap bacteria besides becoming painful to walk on.
Trim hair around the paws to keep them clean. This should always be done with the dog standing.
Then, push feathers growing on top of the foot down through the toes to the pad.
Lift the paw and from the back, brush out the hair and trim to pad level.
Push feathers back up through the toes and trim from the top.
Hygienic trimming: 2 to 4 weeks.
Tools: Thinning shears, electric clippers
Thinning, trimming and clipping at the ear opening, base of the tail, around the anus and privates keeps your dog feeling better as well as keeping it and your house cleaner.
Expressing Glands: Every 2 to 4 weeks
This is a task normally done when you take your dog in for professional grooming. Your dog uses scent glands in the anus to mark its territory.
These glands also excrete when your dog defecates. At times, they may get impacted. Signs of this include: increased doggie odour, excessive licking and chewing of the behind and worst of all, scooting (when your dog drags its bottom along the floor or carpet).
There is no risk of overly expressing these glands so it's best to get accustomed to doing it regularly as it will lessen dog odour.
Tools: Warm cloth
Lift the dog's tail and hold the cloth against it's behind. Place your fingers at 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock and press inward and squeeze to expel.
Bathing: As needed
Most dogs do not need regular bathing. They have natural oils that moisturize their skin, keep their coat glossy and resistant to dirt and water. Stripping these oils with frequent bathing dries out the skin and is a detriment to a healthy coat.
The Black Russian terrier's coat suffers from frequent bathing and both its hair and skin tend to dry out.
Dilute shampoo.
The Black Russian terrier, when it goes outside, will need more bathing, but not too much.
Tools: Non-slip mat, sprayer hose, dog leash, towels.
Choose a place where you can block escape routes and expect 1-3 water-spraying shakes.
A leash tied to a higher point than your dog's head will keep it standing and prevent it from escaping. This is highly recommended as it's really difficult to hold a slippery dog.
Never bathe your dog in standing water. A sprayer hose is a must.
Use warm water to stimulate oil production.
Wet your dog using your hand so as to massage and lift the hair to get to the undercoat.
Avoid getting water into the eyes, nose and ears.
Massage lather down to undercoat.
Rinse thoroughly as leftover shampoo can severely dry out and irritate your pet's skin.
Squeeze out excess water by running your hands along its body and pressing.
Dry with a towel.
Comb and blow-dry feathers.
The Salon Treatment:
Varies by preference.
If you'd like to show your Black Russian terrier, you'll need some guidance from a professional groomer.
For a basic trim you'll need the following tools: Electric clippers, Straight scissors, greyhound comb, slicker
Basically, the legs and face furnishings are left pretty long.
A square above the eyes is shaved short to less than ¼ inches.
The underside of the tail, butt and down the back legs is shaved very short, less than ¼ inches in a wishbone shape.
The insides of the back legs, just under the short shave line, not altogether, are shaved to ½ to ¾ inches.
The head above the eyes to the skull bone is trimmed to medium length.
The neck is trimmed in front very short, less than ¼ inches, and on the sides medium short, ½ to ¾ inches.
The body is trimmed to 1 1/4 inches-2inches.
Clip the hair short on the lower tail, hipbone, hindquarters, and belly.
Scissor the hind to medium length.
Clip the neck from the ear base to the jaw, the neck front and down to the chest.
Scissor both sides of the neck.