"Cat Feet"

 
No, I don't really mean a cat's foot, but rather a foot type on a dog. This style of foot is generally found on dogs such as Golden Retrievers, Keeshonds, Huskies, Pomeranians and the like. Dogs with fuzzy, tufts of hair that explode from between the toes are prime candidates for this type of foot. It is called a "cat foot" because when it is finished it resembles the foot of a short haired cat.

 What you need to accomplish this look is a fuzzy foot, slicker brush, comb, clipper for the pads, shears to trim the hair with, thinning shears and nail trimmers or a dremel.

Start by getting the dog clean and dry because the feet are the dirtiest part of the dog and I refuse to work on dirty dogs. Then, trim or file the nails as short as you can get them, and trim the hair from between the pads (or scissor the pad hair flush with the pads, whichever you prefer).

Place the foot on the table and brush the hair on the foot up towards the leg. If there are mats you can leave them in, since this is a sensitive area to begin with and it hurts to comb them out in many cases.  
 IF the mats are severe or really deep in between the toes, you can use a comb to slide behind them and then cut them out with either a ten blade or thinning shears. DO NOT cut them out with shears unless you have something behind the mat because skin can be pulled up with the matted hair and result in a badly cut foot. The comb slid behind the mat prevents the shears from coming close to the skin and leaves enough length in many cases to avoid a hole in between the toes. On dogs with mats you will not get as nice of a foot as on dogs with no mats between the toes, but the same basic technique applies. You can see in the photo to the right what it looks like when there are mats removed from in between the toes.

After you brush the hair up, you take shears and cut the hair off the top of the foot and the sides of the foot, making it as round as possible and taking all the hair around the foot OFF the table. When you have dome what you can from the top, lift the foot from behind the leg and fold it towards you, trim any hairs that hang below the foot and around the pads of the foot. Finish with thinning shears on the top of the foot to soften the look and make it look more natural.

This same technique can be used on spaniel feet and pekingese feet as well.

This video clip is short, and the dog was really not very cooperative. It was her first haircut ever and we had some issues working on her. You will hear the voice of my son in the background talking to her every now and then. SHe did calm down and allow me to work on her more after she got used to being handled by me. Overall she did really well.

 

Overall this is a simple, fast and easy way to accomplish a "cat foot" on most dogs. I hope this has helped you understand a bit more about how to go about grooming this type of foot.

Comments

[Jonna]

My dog (I think she's huskyborder collie) has tufts of hair SO long &'thick on the bottom of her foot pads they're out off control -I cut them; they grow back overnite.... What is the reason for this? They don't bother her & they're kinda cute! Any harm in just leaving them? I call her my little CLYDESDALE.....!