The coat of Norwich Terrier is wiry, straight and lies close to the body, with a thick undercoat. It is longer and rougher on the neck, forming a ruff to frame the face. The hair on the head is short and smooth, except for slight whiskers and eyebrows. The color is red, wheaten, black and tan, or grizzle. White marks or patches on the chest are undesirable but permissible.
Coat Maintenance
Excessive trimming to leave a sculptured look, as in some terrier breeds, is undesirable. Trimming of a different kind is required for show dogs ‑e.g., rolling the coat to keep a new coat growing amongst the older coat is done in most cases. Pet owners usually prefer all the old coat removed to help prevent molting hair on clothes and furniture.
Equipment needed: Pin brush/slicker brush, medium-toothed comb, stripping knife, straight-bladed scissors, thinning scissors.
Breed tip: Brush on a regular basis to keep the coat free from burrs and debris.
- Brush and comb through the coat, using a slicker or pin brush, and a medium-toothed comb.
- Strip out any loose hair with your finger and thumb or a stripping knife. Then work backwards from the stop to the point of the neck, and from the outside corner of the eye to where the corner of the ear joins the top of the skull. Strip straggly hairs from the ears.
- When all dead hair is removed from the body, blend into the underskirt . If this is more than 2 inches (5 cm) long, shorten with thinning scissors to give a smart appearance.
- Strip out hair from the front of the tail. Using thinning scissors, trim down the back of the tail and around the anus to leave a neat appearance.
- Using straight-blade scissors, cut the hair a round the outside of the feet and, underneath the feet, excessive hair growing over the pads. Remove straggly hairs from the legs.
- Bathe the dog in a good quality, natural ingredient shampoo.
- Air-, cage-or blow dry the coat.
- Brush and comb through.
- Check the dog’s nails, ears and teeth.
- Norfolk and Norwich Terriers are often clipped because the owners want them short coated. This is a shame, as they are lovely when carefully trimmed. Where the owner insists, a coarse blade is sufficient to maintain a natural look and smart appearance.
