Part the Hock

Have you ever looked at those beautifully sculpted poodles that are in the competition ring and wondered how they get those amazing hocks to be perfectly beveled and not a hair out of place?

Well I am about to give you a little secret that was passed on down to me from Christina Pawlosky many years ago....The information was shared with me freely, thus, I believe it should be paid forward just the same.....freely.....

This technique ,if done correctly, will balance your hock to your leg each and every time you do it. guaranteed....

First, before you begin this process, you must create your rear angulation. That should be your first step in grooming the rear legs of any breed/mixedbreed that has angluation from the point of rump to point of hock.( I will create another post that walks you through scissoring the rear assembly)

 To create the perfect hock, you must first begin by grooming your outside parallel line on both your back legs. If you are unsure of what I mean by, " outside parallel line" , I will break it down a step further.  When you scissor down on the outside of the back leg from the hip to the foot, you are creating the "outside parallel line". So, decide the proper length you wish to leave on the leg from the dogs body to the scissored edge of the hair. Trim from the point at which the hip turns to meet the leg to the foot,  in a "straight line" , thus creating the "outside parallel line". After you have achieved this on both back legs, you then, create the "inside parallel line". This means , to scissor the inside of the legs from where the legs meet the groin to the foot. The length of this coat depends soley on the pets structure, if it is bow legged you will have to leave it fuller to fill in . That though is a whole other topic, which I promise to cover in the future. Once you have done these things, you then stand directly behind the leg you wish to create the bevel for the hock on.  Gently Holding the foot just at the toes,(so as not to have any coat from the leg in  your hand as this will affect your lines )Lift the leg toward you , careful not to twist or distort the hock from the position it would rest naturally if the pet were to be standing on it. you then "part the hock" down the middle combing the hair to either side "over the outside and inside parallel lines" you have already created. You should then scissor the coat you have combed over from the hock to "match" that of the inside and outside parallel lines. Once you have done this, set the leg back down and comb up and out and you will notice that you have created the bevel from the outside lines to the center of the hock. You then, standing to the side of the pet so that you can see the pets' angulation, will scissor the center line of the hock so that it blends softly into the bevel from the point of hock to the foot....in just a few short steps, and a very short amount of time, you have created a perfect bevel for your hock! No more combing and combing and scissoring and scissoring ...... plus , if you are as I was, which was spending twenty minutes just trying to get the darned hocks to match, it will save you so much time......I hope that you find this tip as useful as I did when it was given to me, Happy grooming! Kim W.

 

Comments

[Michele Hoehner]

I have been grooming for 29 years and just recently began washing out ears with my bathing system. I love doing this and have had less ear problems than ever before. It is really hard to change from the many years of being told by vets and owners to NOT get water in the ears! Would love to hear from other groomers on this subject.