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. THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER Quality, texture and quantity. These three little words are of prime importance in a Yorkie coat. The hair should be long, silky, straight and cool to the touch. It should be dark steel blue on the body and three shades of gold on the head and legs. This is basically the description of the perfect Yorkie coat. . Unfortunately, all Yorkies are not perfect. What I'd like to do here is address all types of coats. We as breeders always strive for perfection, but there are always throwbacks to some ancestor long forgotten. . We sell these puppies because we can't use them in our breeding program and can't show them. They usually go to a pet home where they are just loved for themselves. The problem is, most of these pet home Mommies or Daddies have no idea what to do with the coat of their pet puppy even if it is perfect. . I have been showing and breeding for many, many years and have encountered many different kinds of coats. I will try to give you my advice on the different coats that I have run across. . Understand that I am not perfect. If anyone reading this has a better idea on how to take care of a particular kind of coat, I will be glad to hear from them and will be glad to use their ideas on my page. . Don't send me any "secret formulas" because they will not be secret for long. I believe in helping everyone, not just keeping all the good stuff to myself. This article contains the products that I use and have found works for me. . There are many different varieties of coats, but I am just going to discuss the three main ones. From these three you should be able to develop your own formula for your particular kind of coat. . The first coat is the "perfect" coat. As I talk about this one I will give you step by step instructions on the care of not only the coat but the whole Yorkie. Most of these steps should be applied to all Yorkies, what ever kind of coat they have. In the next two kinds of coats I will point out the things to do differently. . First is to make sure your Yorkie is flea free. One flea on a Yorkie will ruin the coat. They scratch and make a tangled mess of them- selves and Mommy or Daddy usually has to cut them down in some kind of puppy cut. . There is nothing wrong with a puppy cut. Mine are cut down after I show them so they can be more comfortable and me too. But this article is mostly for those who want all the hair and are willing to sacrifice the time and patience to grow it and keep it looking beautiful. . There are many new kinds of flea control on the market now and if used, will work. I use front line in the summer once a month and then use the non toxic spray for the winter. . I live in the south and here the flea's are as big as our alligators. You can find the home page for the non toxic spray on myYorkie links page. It really works and it smells good. I also spray my home and yard (any commercial spray) once a month in the summer and every three months in the winter. I also use the non toxic spray for bedding, puppies and my pregnant bitches. Here's a direct link. . A good brushing every day is essential. You know what you would look like in a week if you didn't brush your hair everyday. "Egad". . Never brush a dry coat. It breaks hair. I use "Coat Gloss" made by Ring 5. It is a lusterizer, conditioner. I spray it on my brush (a Mason Pearson nylon 7 inch) and brush one section of the coat at a time. Another good spray product is "Miracle Coat". . Always start from the bottom of the hair strand and work upward toward the body. If you encounter any mats along the way, use a pin brush (P.S.I. 25249) to get them out. You can also use a slicker brush (any small one) for the really tough mats. I usually only use the slicker on puppies. . Don't use the slicker on the thin coated dogs. Instead use a wide tooth metal comb. .. Any mat or knot should be treated gently. Don't rip through the hair. Gently pick as much apart with your fingers as you can and work from the ends up to get the mat out. . If you are wondering where to get all the products and tools that I use, I will post the name and address of the supply company that I use at the end of this article. They will accept credit cards, money orders or what ever and will ship. They are venders at the shows that I go to. You should be able to find a show in your area. The vendors are great places to spend lots of money. :) Some of the products have a link to a supply company that sells them as my vendors don't carry them. . I believe in the weekly bath. Some breeders I know say every two weeks. I think it depends on your Yorkie. If he's dirty, bathe him. Some of my "mud puppies" get two a week. . The worse thing next to fleas for the coat is dirt. First I brush him until all the tangles are out. Pay particular attention to under the arms, legs, neck and behind the ears. . I use an ear cleaning solution (any brand) in their ears and gently with a q-tip clean them out. If there is any hair in them, this should be removed. A hemostat works great but you can also use tweezers. Too bad if you're squeamish. Those hairs have to go or your pup could get an ear infection. (Squeemies see your Vet). Also I treat for ear mites once every three months, just as a precaution. . Next check toenails. If they are too long, cut them. I know, you're gonna say "but what if I make them bleed?". There is a product called "Quick-stop". If they bleed: First, "don't panic". Second, just dab a little Quick-stop on the toenail and it stops the bleeding right away. You can also use it on yourself for the teeth marks your Yorkie left on you for cutting his nails too short. A good guide is the curve in the nail. I hold the clippers flat against the upper part of the nail and whatever curves down into the clippers gets cut off. You can buy good clippers HERE. S and S probably has them also. The ones to get is NO6 . The next thing I do is check their teeth. Can't stand "Pee Yuu" breath. I brush their teeth before every bath. I use the toothpaste I get from my Vet., and a baby toothbrush. Sometimes they get built up tarter and I use one of those teeth cleaning tools I get from my supplier and scrape them clean. Afraid to do it yourself? OK call your Vet. He'll do it for about $100. If your Vet does it, get him to check your Yorkies teeth about once a year. But you can brush them yourself!!! . Next, pull up top coat so only the leg hair is showing. Pick up one foot and trim all hair off the pads and cut hair in a circle around the foot. If you're not showing and your Yorkie has a lot of leg hair go ahead and shave the whole foot with the clippers. Just don't go too high up. . Then pull leg hair down to just above floor length and cut in a circle. You want it above the floor so he doesn't trip on it. When you pull the body hair down, it doesn't show. The idea is to get the hair off his feet so he doesn't trip or slip. Now you can do the other three feet on your own. . The body hair is cut a little longer. I comb the hair straight down and with my palm facing the dogs body I put the hair between my index and middle fingers like they are a pair of scissors. I bring my hand straight down to the table and lay my palm flat on the table. The ends of the hair are sticking up between my fingers. I cut about one fourth inch above my fingers. Sometimes I even cut myself. Ah! The joys of dog grooming. . For a semi-show cut, (a cut that looks long but easier to take care of) I use an oster clipper with a 4F blade and start at the top of the neck and push the clippers toward the rear of the dog. If you want the hair shorter use the same blade but start at the tail and push the clippers toward the neck. I cut all the blue but leave the gold. I also cut the tail hair off. . On the sides I just cut a straight line between legs halfway between body and floor, without cutting the leg hair. You can ease the clipper down on the sides to taper the hair. I cut the muzzle to 1" but taper longer toward the back to blend in with the neck hair. Sometimes I leave the topknot about 6" long so I can still put a pony tail in. This is how all my boy's are cut once they're finished showing and they love it. . This is the "Judge" in a semi-show cut without the topknot. See how happy he is? He's smiling. :) . "the Judge"  We all know that dogs will mark in the house occasionally unless they are well trained. For the fastidious pet owners, I suggest you use either panties for girls or a belly band for boys. Just slip a half of a kotex in them and you can take your dog out without fear of them marking. I get mine from Jennie Schull-Wright http://home.mindspring.com/~rite1/id7.html Next step are the ears. The tips
should not have any hair on them. Using a pair of clippers (Wahl from Walmart)
I look at the back of the dogs ear and
Update:
Tammie Ford now has a line of shampoo
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