English setter cut short

[mygirlgreta]

I am a recent grooming school graduate and am just starting my own biz and developing my client list. I have an english setter on Tuesday that the owner said that she likes to keep him pretty short. Now I know that can mean many things to many people but I was hoping that some of you could share your ideas or past techniques that you may have used to groom an english setter other than the breed standard.

thanks!

[doggroomer123]

ask if she would like feathering on the dog. if she does follow the same pattern that you would use on a show dog. i call this a modified show trim. it is the same exact trim, only the feathering is scissored shorter. if she gets the dog clipped all over, well then clip it all over. try to leave feathers on the ears to maintain some of the look of the breed. depending on how short the owner wants it, a #4 in reverse makes for a super smooth finish (equivelent to a #7 with the grain of the coat). you can also use a #4 reverse to clip the back, if the owner isnt concerned about the coat being ruined. if the owner is concerned about proper coat texture, card out any under coat, dead hair and then clip with a #7 skip tooth, bathe, then card after the bath. this should produce a fairly natural finish.

[Helly]

Most of the setters I groom are hunting dogs. They get a field trim; clip the body with a 7 or 5, scissor any long hair from the legs, tail, ears. It ain't pretty, it's functional.