Grooming???

[Roxy Music]

Hiya Boxer Lover's,

I'm kinda new to the showing of boxer's, i've taken Roxy to quite a few now bit i need help on where/how/what to trim.

I know that there should be no whiskers etc........well at least thats what i was told by my breeder (i'm from the UK by the way so i dont know if its different in the US)

And i know that they should be neat and trim i just dont want to trim any where and make a boo boo and she looks silly!
Do i use scissor's or electrip clippers?

Thanks
Gemma & Roxy (Isle of Man, UK) xx

 

[Alisha Mobley]

I'm not sure what all is trimmed, etc. in the UK. You might want to ask your breeder to explain in more detail..or better yet, show you!

I do not use clippers on the face, only scissor the whiskers off. I shave all the swirlies off the backs of the rear legs and the bum area (I've noticed my English Boxers are much hairier on their behinds than any of my others were) then take thinning scissors to blend the non shaved fur in with the shaved fur. I scissor off the funky hairs that grow on the backs of the front legs. I shave their bellies, bottoms of feet and between paw pads (...can't really see the fur on the bottom of the feet but it bugs me), underside of tail and scissor off any long hairs on the tip of the tail (be careful not to trim the tail tip too close if your dog doesn't have fur covering the tip). I trim down the white on the front side of the neck.

Basically you want a clean outline all the way around when finished.

 

[abby's mum]

Is there anywhere online that shows pictures of the typical clipping on a boxer? I show horses and there are some books out there that show exactly where you clip, what blades, etc.

 

[Alisha Mobley]

I've never been able to find any books or much info on the net. Asking around and trial and error...that's the only way I've learned what little I have.

 

[JulieM]

In the US, you can hang out around the handlers' set-ups and watch them groom. (This works much better if you know the handler, or at least let them know what you're doing If you go to ABC, there's one room where most all of the handlers are; if you squeeze into a corner, you can see a variety of different ways Boxers are groomed. (Including the not-exactly-legal things, so be sure you know the AKC rules before you do much more than trim or clip!)