How to Clip a Westie With Electric Clippers

West Highland White Terriers are hand-stripped and professionally groomed for competition, but you can give your Westie a stylish grooming at home with electric clippers, thinning shears and ordinary scissors. Grooming a Westie at home involves several steps, but the overall process is not difficult. Spend some bonding time with your Westie and give him a trim at home. Westies should be trimmed on a regular basis -- around every three to four months -- and regular grooming ensures that your pet is comfortable, attractive and clean.

Things You'll Need

  • Electric clippers with number ten and number five clips
  • Thinning shears
  • Ordinary scissors
  • Comb
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place a number ten clip on your electric clippers. Lift your Westie's upper torso so that he is standing on his back legs and trim hair away from the groin area. Put him back on all fours.

    • 2

      Lift each foot and trim any hair growing in between the pads, still using a number ten.

    • 3

      Clip the top half of the ears inside and outside, using a number ten clip.

    • 4

      Switch to a number five clip on your electric clippers. Begin clipping from behind the ears on the neck and clip the length of the back in a straight line, ending at a half of an inch before the tail root. Follow the center of his back and the length of his spine. Clip the entire back area (no sides).

    • 5

      Clip from behind the ears in a downward motion toward the chest area. Keep the clip on a number five. Follow where his collar is normally placed, and clip from the top left down and then from the top right down. As you approach the underside of his collar the lie -- or direction of the coat -- will change. Follow the direction of the lie when trimming the front of his neck.

    • 6

      Return to the back area to blend the clipped area into the sides. The clip is still number five. Clip from the top of the back down toward the ribs and gradually lift off the clippers about halfway down. Clip the full length of both sides, but leave the bottom skirt area long. Comb the bottom skirt area and trim the edges with scissors for a well-groomed look.

    • 7

      Blend the short hair under the neck with the long, untrimmed front chest area by using thinning shears. If you have never used thinning shears, simply comb the bulk of uncut hair close to the skin and cut with the scissors. Keep thinning as you "comb" through the fur. Continue to use the thinning shears until the front fur is blended.

    • 8

      Trim the feet with scissors, following the perimeter of each foot. Comb the leg hair and taper it with scissors, trimming diagonally, to blend with the length of hair on the feet.

    • 9

      Trim the hair on the underside of the tail short with scissors. Leave hair wider at the base and taper it toward the top.

    • 10

      Use thinning shears and thin out hair across the eyebrow area.

    • 11

      Comb and trim the hair under the chin to make it look neat with regular scissors.

    • 12

      Pointing your scissors downward and cutting in a downward angle, trim the rest of your Westie's face. Work behind the ears, then trim neck and head hair. Try to achieve a soft, rounded look by only clipping at an angle when working on the face and head.

    • 13

      Pluck away any unwanted, spiky hair on the inner corners of the eye and under the eye with your fingers.