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Jack Russell Terrier Grooming

Jack Russell Terrier‘s have a hard overcoat, softer undercoat and their coat has the ability to repel water. Soft coated Jack Russell’s are easier to groom as they can be brushed or combed and don’t require as much hand stripping. Otherwise, they are the same as rough and broken coated Jack Russell Terriers, which are more detailed in the article to follow.

Grooming your Jack Russell Terrier is done not only for appearance and comfort, but also to help the coat do its job of repelling water and dealing with other substances. Unlike many other terriers, the grooming of a Jack Russell Terrier involves hand stripping rather than combing or brushing.

This makes grooming a Jack Russell Terrier a lot more time consuming, but you end up with a very tidy looking dog in the end. Fortunately, many professionals say that you really only have to do serious grooming a couple times a year – the rest of the time is simply upkeep. If you don’t have time to hand pluck, you can use a plucking comb in order to get rid of the hairs. You won’t get the same polished result, but it will do the job. If you are unsure on how to do it, make sure to ask a professional groomer for advice!

Bathing Your Jack Russell

Jack Russell Terriers do not need a lot of bathing – Only on a required basis such as when they get into something gross. Too much bathing dries out their skin and ruins the water repelling quality of their hair. However, you can run a damp towel along them to get rid of daily dirt and loose hairs if you want to. When you do want to give your dog a bath, make sure the water is tepid and dry them off by wrapping a towel around them and tying it off snugly so that the coat dries flat. Don’t blow dry a Jack Russell Terrier as this makes their coat fluff out weirdly.

Broken Hair Shafts – Uncomfortable to the Dog!

Jack Russell Terrier’s should also not be clipped too much, except around their face, in their ears, and genital area as clipping leads to broken hair shafts which will be pushed out eventually, but in the meantime are uncomfortable to the dog and unsightly to people.

Other aspects of grooming a Jack Russell Terrier are the same as grooming any dog. You need to clip their nails every couple of weeks in order to keep the nails healthy and keep the dog from damaging himself or the furniture. The corners of their eyes should be cleaned regularly to remove the build up of dirt that accumulates there from the eyelashes pushing them away.

Check and Clean the Ears

Jack Russell Terrier’s also need to have their teeth brushed from an age as early as possible in order to get them accustomed to it. They also need to have their ears checked for anything strange which a vet should look at and otherwise should be gently cleaned with a cleaning solution and a soft cotton swab around the outer ear. Check your dog’s pads for anything wedged in them and remove any debris.

Finally, make sure to give lots of treats – Many Jack Russell Terriers, especially those being hand plucked, can be uncertain about the whole thing and treats helps to ease things.

Terrier Grooming

Jack Russell Terrier Grooming