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TAKING CARE OF THE COAT
It is a good policy to allow the dog to grow accustomed to being groomed from the age of 3-4 months.
It is preferable to do this positioning the dog on a table.
At this age the purpose is to gradually to allow the puppy to get used to the long and involved grooming process that he will submit to as an adult.
A soft brush will be used so as not to hurt him, and his head, ears and private parts will be trimmed using clippers.
The first grooming can be carried out when the dog is 5-6 months old, leaving the coat very short but not touching the beard, tuft, legs and lower part of the chest.
From this this age onward, grooming should be carried out fortnightly, the dog will be trimmed along its entire body,in order to limit the growth of the undercoat and allow the covering coat to develop properly.
This must be done using a wide-toothed stripping blade, used like a comb.
The beard and tuft must be carefully cleaned and combed after each meal.
Should these impair vision, the tuft can be tied back with an elastic band.
The legs must be brushed along the hair growth and against the growth being careful not to remove the undercoat as this will give a full and cylindrical appearance
to the leg.
Particular attention must be paid to hairs growing inside the ear canal.
These must be removed gently, by pulling out small tuft with the aid of specific powders or, should these not be available, talcum powder.
The hair growing between the toes must also be checked carefully, and any matting cut off with scissors.
When the body hair has grown back it must be combed with a comb with
a conical teeth or a bifilar comb in order to keep the formation of the undercoat in check.
Bathing can be done whenever the need arises.
The use of a professional shampoo diluted with water is recommended.
Spread it on the wet coat and lather, then rinse carefully in order to remove all traces of soap from the skin and coat.
There are vegetable oils and masks available on the market.
These can be applied on the coat before drying, and they nourish the coat and protect it from the removal of the natural oils caused by a bath.
Dry the dog with a hairdryer using warm air, being careful to dry along the natural direction of the hair growth.
The first real cut is done at 8-9 months.
This will allow the dog to be shown at his best.
The head is shorn first, with a 3 mm shearing head.
The ears must be cleaned, not starting from the joint, but from the fold where they fall downwards, in order
to visibly to widen the top of the head.
The head must also be shorn with a 3 mm shearing head, beginning from 1-2 cm behind the arch of the eyebrows and stopping 1-2 cm before the scruff of the neck.
The aims are to emphasise the typical cut of the head that must be flat and wide.
Then, using scissors, remove all the ridges, creating a natural flow from short hair to long hair.
With scissors, trim the edges of the ears to give them a neater appearance.
With a 9 mm sharing head square off the lower part of the beard, shearing an line from the lower joint of ears, following the mask, touching the beard, which must be kept as long as possible in front.
Then using scissors, sculpt the head giving it that squared shape that emphasises the lines.
All the hairs growing from the cheeks and the beard must be cut, until the so-called "brick-shape" is
achieved looking from above and from the side.
Still using the 9 mm head, beginning from the lower joint of the ear, shear a line on the side of the neck to the beginning of the shoulder line, this will emphasise the shoulder line.
Use the same shears to cut below the throat and the chest to the sternum.
Using scissor, work in the same direction as the hair growth, and blend the shearing on the sides of the neck to the upper part, where the length of the hair must give an appearance of a strong neck while at the same time allowing the stretching of the head.
The shoulders must be trimmed in keeping with the proportions of the head.
Feet must be rounded and the legs must be shaken after combing against the growth.
Place the dog in position, and using scissors cut downwards from the top to the bottom so that the hair forms perfectly cylindrical columns.
The coat in the lower line of the chest is left a few centimetres longer than the elbow, gradually rising towards the groin to emphasise chest depth.
The sides of the trunk are cut beginning from the shoulders, which have been done previously, tapering slightly to the loins, then cut slightly deeper.
To give the correct shape to the back line cut the top of the back using a 12 mm shearing head, and using scissors, join to the withers with a straight and slightly raised line.
With the 3 mm head clip the anal and groin areas.
Shape the tail with scissors, it must be large and squared.
Using a 9 mm head clip the fur from the lower tail joint to the hock point and with scissors smooth out the thighs, trying to flatten them slightly and not fluff them up.
The front fringe must be straightened, highlighting the knee angle.
The back feet must be rounded like the front feet and small columns are formed in this way that must be perpendicular to the ground.
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