ABK GROOMING GUIDE- CREATING A NATURAL FOOT -TRIMMING
Trim the pads starting at the centre two digits. Remove the long fur at the edges Make of the foot while clipping the pads with a very close blade and a gentle touch. Make Sure to keep the blade flush with the pad while clipping. While working flush with the pads, come right up under the nail bed.
Feet Types
The shape of the foot will be oval, cat-like or hare-footed, based on the original purpose of the dog. Breed standards for most dogs call for a well-arched toe. In general, the cat foot is found on breeds in which endurance is needed. The hare foot is found on breeds that need great speed and excels at jumping great distances. The oval foot is a combination of the cat and the hare foot, typical for breeds in which both endurance and speed are important.
Large feet were developed for travelling in snow or sand or for swimming. Small feet
were developed for dogs that had to travel rough and rocky terrain. When trimming the feet, not only is it important to create a neat outline of the foot but also to show off the proper shape of the foot for the breed.
Clipping the Pads
Start with a clean and dry coat. Trim the pads with a very close blade, ranging between a #40 and a #15 blade length. When trimming the long hair from between the pads, edge the outside of the foot pads by gently gliding over the perimeter of the digits. Make sure to stay flush with the pad of the foot. Do not cut up into the sides of the foot with this very short blade. Trimming the pads alter the dog has been bathed will extend the life of your blades Cutting through the dirty hair on the pads is like cutting through sandpaper Plus, you'll save time because the coat has already been fully prepared for finish work, so the pads will only need to be handled once.
Trimming by Hand
Feet -
Once the pads are clean, move to the top of the foot. Hold the foot in your hand
and back brush with a slicker brush, starting at the nail bed of the toes. Repeat the back-brushing stroke three or four times to pull the long fur up from between the toes. Use the full pad of a firm slicker brush. Once the coat is standing away from the foot, begin trimming with either thinning shears or small scissors. Hold the shears at right angles to the foot and cut straight up. Trimming in this manner will ensure a "well-arched toe." Once the long fur is removed, lift your elbow so the shear runs parallel to the dog's leg. Lifting your elbow minimizes the risk of taking too much coat off the top of the knuckles, flattening out the foot.
Trim the long fur on the foot to the same length as the natural shorter coat found further up the leg, in the saddled area when you finish, the foot should look very neat and natural as if it naturally grew that way. Thinning shears are a great help in achieving a very natural finish on any coat type. Do some light detailing around the nail bed of the foot with small detailing shears to get a really neat look. Double check the trimming work one last time by back brushing each foot. Correct anything found on the final brush up.
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