Pomeranian

Part 1 | The groom starts in the bath

Alicia shampoos right down to Cooper’s skin, then concentrates conditioner through the areas carrying the most dead coat. A good massage starts loosening that undercoat before he has even left the bath.

After high-velocity drying, she switches to the stand dryer and brush dries every section thoroughly. This is where Alicia puts the real work into Cooper’s deshed: separating the coat right down to the skin, lifting out loose undercoat and getting him completely dry before any trimming begins.

Part 2 | Feet, hocks & the Pom booty

Once Cooper is clean, dry and brushed out, Alicia tidies his nails and pads before rounding those little Pom feet.

Then we reach the bum. Cooper isn’t being prepared in a traditional show trim; this is the neat pet finish Alicia’s Pom clients commonly request. She rounds the rear, works in tighter underneath to create two distinct little cheeks, straightens the hocks and lightly removes untidy ends while keeping the finish natural.

There’s even a useful trick for anyone nervous about setting that round rear shape: Alicia uses a comb as a physical guide before refining everything with scissors.

Part 3 | Tail, furnishings & final fluff

Cooper’s tail stays largely natural, with just enough taken from the ends to create a neat fan when it sits over his back. Alicia straightens the front feathering and removes some of the remaining soft dead coat that can dull the colour and knot easily, particularly around the ears.

And that’s Cooper done: tidy round feet, straight hocks, neat furnishings, a beautiful Pom tail and, naturally, that very excellent bum.