MASTERCLASS

Dachshund

JESS BARDEN

AUDREY

Little Audrey is having her very first groom. She’s a slightly nervous Long-Haired Dachshund, so Jess takes things slowly, introducing the bath, dryer, clippers and general grooming process without making a huge production out of any of it.

And Audrey doesn’t need a huge haircut anyway. This is a lovely example of how little you may need to do to a Long-Haired Dachshund: get the coat beautifully clean, work through any loose coat, tidy the bits that need tidying and leave the rest alone.

Part 1 | Audrey’s first bath

Jess takes Audrey through her bath with two shampoos followed by conditioner, working methodically through the coat while keeping an eye on how this first-timer is coping with everything.

The hydro is introduced gently at her feet before Jess works upwards, and she changes tack around Audrey’s head rather than blasting water straight over a nervous little dog’s face. There’s plenty of attention to those low-hanging Dachshund ears too, which can collect their fair share of dirt close to the ground.

Part 2 | How much grooming does she really need?

Once Audrey is bathed and dried, Jess discovers there really isn’t much coat to deshed. What she had appears to have largely come out with the dryer, so rather than raking away for the sake of it, Jess moves on.

After nails and paw pads, the tidy itself is deliberately minimal. Feet and hocks are neatened, the pants are softened and shaped, the hygiene area is cleared and a few stray hairs along the underline disappear. Jess keeps returning to the same goal: Audrey should still look like a Long-Haired Dachshund when she’s finished.

Her ears get the same treatment. Instead of chopping off their lovely natural length, Jess follows the shape with her blenders and removes only what’s needed to neaten them. The tail stays completely natural at Mum’s request, and Audrey heads home looking very much like herself, just cleaner and a little tidier around the edges.