I came across this article on the web today. The site is called Terrier Grooming. Its totally devoted to grooming all kinds of terriers and it contains a wealth of information. I’ll give you the article first, then add my two cents.

When grooming any dog it’s important to familiarize them with the grooming process from the time you get them, especially if you get your dog as a puppy. Most groomers can handle whatever you throw their way but if you plan to do it yourself you should familiarize yourself as well as the dog with the process.

A good place to start is just getting them to stand still on your grooming table or a flat surface, if your dog is already trained to follow commands it will help to aid in keeping him still. Gently brush them to get them accustomed to the process. Using a stand with a collar may or may not help, it all depends on your dogs temperament and how you feel about it.

Maintaining the Coat of Your Westie

When grooming a West Highland Terrier there’s two ways you can do it, to maintain a coat for a household pet or a coat for shows, they should have a dual coat but this can only be achieved through proper grooming which shouldn’t be too much hassle because their coats are fairly easy to clean.

A few tools you should have to get started are:

• Grooming table
• Scissors
• A 2-in-1 de-shedder and rake
• A slicker brush
• Body brush with shampoo applicator
• De-shedding kit
• De-Shedder tool
• Eye cleaner
• Ear cleaner

When trimming with scissors be sure to trim their ears to a point and be sure that the hair on their head is never as tall as their ears, the shape of their head should be round when you’re done. Be careful around the eyes, some dogs don’t like scissors that close to their face (my dog hates it!) and can jump away if you get too close, having your dog comfortable with the grooming process ahead of time will help with this. When trimming the feet be sure to get the hair under the pads so that it doesn’t become matted, also pay close attention to their behind, shorter hair means less chance of feces getting stuck.

Keeping a West Highland White Terrier White

Because West Highland Terriers are white, keeping them clean isn’t always the easiest task especially if yours is a household pet that runs around the yard. Their fur is like a magnet for debris and if it’s not groomed every day can be prone to matting, using a brush with stiff bristles will help get through any tangles so that you can remove any debris that gets tangled in your dogs fur. Having the hair trimmed around their eyes and ears should happen as often as they need it, your groomer should be able to suggest when to have it done and a full body trim should be done only a few times a year.

Not a bad overview. The list of tools was pretty extensive. You could certainly use all that stuff from time to time, but, if you groom every day its a way more than you need. All we ever use on Willow is a lady’s hairbrush with plastic teeth and knobs on the end and the comb I carry in my back pocket. I brush her out with the hair brush first. That busts out any large tangles. Then I go over her again with the comb, and that leaves her looking pretty good. We use a wood TV tray on wheels for a grooming stand when we bother with it. That usually only happens after a bath. Our more normal drill is simply to have her lie on one side. That lets us do a good job on the upper side and doesn’t stress Willow the way standing on a grooming stand would. Next, we roll her onto her back so we can do the chest and the inside of the legs. Finally, roll her over and comb out the side she was lying on to start. While this certainly doesn’t give her the same quality of grooming that she would get on a stand, I think its good enough for everyday. The main thing you’re after is to ensure that all the hairs are separated and no mats are forming. I usually do this while watching TV and its a relaxing ritual for everybody.

I also have to take issue with what they said in the article about Westies being hard to keep clean. Maybe we’re just lucky and Willow has some unusual type of coat, but our little Westie is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a self-cleaning dog. Even after a trip to the dog park where she comes back with a lot of mud on her, it seems that once she dries the dirt just falls off. Anything that doesn’t comes out when we comb her. This is especially nice, because it means we don’t need to be constantly bathing her. Too much bathing compromises the natural oils on the skin and coat that help protect the dog and keep it waterproof.

Everything I said here supposes that your Westie is just a family dog. If you are showing things are entirely different. Then you need all the tools and a fair degree of skill as well, because the name of the game is looking good according to an external standard and winning those ribbons. If you aren’t in that particular orbit, though, all that stuff isn’t needed. The main object of a casual groom is simply to prevent mats and to give you a chance to go over your whole dog so you can spot any developing problems. Do it right and everybody involved will enjoy it.

Westie equipment