How To Groom A Yorkie Face (Safely And Easily)

Grooming your Yorkie costs money.

Sure, you can do it yourself, but that takes a lot of time that most of us simply don’t have.

The good news is that your pup only needs a full grooming session a few times per year.

But it will need some trimming in between. Especially in the face.

You could have a professional do that, but smaller trimming tasks don’t take much time and are something you can easily handle at home.

You might be worried about hurting your pup, or embarrassing it with a hideous haircut.

Don’t be.

We will show you exactly how to cut Yorkie face hair safely and easily. You’ll see that it is much simpler than you think.

 

How To Groom A Yorkie Face

How you groom your Yorkie’s face depends on the style of haircut you decide to give it. For example, you can simply keep its facial hair short and neatly trimmed in the form of a Yorkie puppy cut, or choose to leave it long and tie it into a cute top knot.

The main thing to pay attention to are the eyes. You want to make sure the hair stays out of the eyes. Luckily, it is not difficult to either trim this hair, or tie it up into a topknot. Read on for a step-by-step tutorial on grooming a Yorkie face.

 

Step 1: Gather The Tools You Will Need

Before you set out to groom a Yorkie’s face, go through your dog grooming inventory and ensure that you have the following tools on hand.

• Electric Clippers: These are necessary for keeping the facial hair short. Choose ones with low noise otherwise, your puppy might be scared by the loud vibration. This full set is a good budget choice.
• Fine-Toothed Comb: This comb helps you remove matted hair around the dog’s eyes and also eliminates gunk or tear stains if any. It also smooths the hair before you begin cutting. This one is great and inexpensive.
• Scissors: Choose blunt-tip scissors that are safe to use around your dog’s eyes. This pair is great.
• Curved Scissors: these scissors have a bend or an angle that safely lets you trim the hair around a Yorkie’s eyes and mouth without any injury. This is a great pair.
• Accessories: People will adore those cute bow ties that hold your Yorkie’s top knot! You can also keep an assortment of ribbons and laces with pearls, rhinestones, etc. to always keep your pup looking stylish. This is a great set with tons of cute bows for Yorkies.

There are a lot of grooming kits available on Amazon that include several pairs of scissors and a comb. Getting one of those can save you some money. This is our favorite for Yorkies:

 

Step 2: Choose How To Cut Yorkie Face Hair

There are several popular basic styles in which you can cut your Yorkie’s facial hair. Here are the most popular options.

 

Shaved

In this style, you simply shave your Yorkie’s facial hair very short. It is ideal for Yorkie owners who groom their Yorkies at home. Some Yorkie parents prefer to keep the dog’s facial hair slightly long around the ears and on the head but shave the dog’s hair close to its body everywhere else.

 

Puppy Cut

The puppy cut is a super popular style that keeps your Yorkie looking neat and tidy. In this style, the hair is short around the face. There is also a square puppy cut where the forehead hairs are left approximately 1-inch long.

You can also have longer facial hair and choose to tie a top knot. The puppy cut is a great style for the summer months, because it keeps your dog’s face cool, neat and tidy.

 

Medium Cut

In this style, the facial hair is kept to medium length. You can choose to tie a top knot, although this is optional and you can simply trim the hair on your dog’s forehead and keep it short.

 

Long Cut

This is a beautiful style that helps show off your Yorkie’s gorgeous coat. You can keep the facial hair at a medium or short length and just the body hair longer.

If you do keep the facial hair longer, make sure it does not cover the eyes. Either trim it or tie a top knot. This style needs a lot of regular brushing to prevent knots and tangles.

 

Show Cut

This style is used for showing your Yorkie in dog shows. You do not trim the facial hair, but keep it long. This style calls for a top knot. It can be difficult to maintain, because it needs a lot of brushing to prevent tangles.

 

Teddy Bear Cut

This is an adorable style that will make your Yorkie look super cute and cuddly, like a teddy bear. It entails keeping the hair the same length everywhere. The paws and facial hair are rounded off as well. The style requires a lot of maintenance to retain its shape.

 

Step 3: Start Trimming And Clipping

Once you know which style is ideal for your Yorkie, you are ready to start the trimming process.

1. Make sure your Yorkie’s face is nicely washed and dried.
2. If you’re grooming your pet for the first time, let it get used to the sounds of the grooming tools. Allow your Yorkie to sniff the tools. Speak to it in a soothing voice and give it treats.
3. Next, use blunt-tip scissors to trim the hair around the face. Trim quickly and keep your pet still by holding its face with your hand under its jaw.
4. Work on one side of the face and then move to the next side. If needed, tilt your dog’s face to one side as you work.
5. Use the fine-toothed comb to comb the hair and then trim the excess length off. Keep the same length all around the mouth, under the eyes, and the jaw.
6. Repeat the procedure on the other side.
7. Do not cut your Yorkie’s whiskers.
8. If you are going for the rounded (teddy bear) cut, use curved scissors to shape the facial hair.
9. If you choose to leave the forehead hair long, tie it into a top knot and use an accessory like a bow ties or band. If you decide against the top-knot, use the electric clippers to shave off the long hair first, then use the fine-toothed comb with the scissors to trim and shape the hair neatly.
10. Next, groom your Yorkie’s ears by shaping them either into the butterfly shape or leaving them long and tying bow ties around them. We cover Yorkie ear grooming in detail in this article.
11. Comb out your Yorkie’s face using the fine-toothed comb and watch out for any uneven lengths and snip them off.
12. After you finish grooming your Yorkie’s face, wipe it down using a damp towel. This will remove the tiny cut hairs that may be left behind.
13. Don’t forget to reward and praise your pet.

Here is a video showing you exactly how to groom a Yorkie face.

 

How To Cut Yorkie Face Hair: Common Questions

Next, we will answer some common questions related to cutting a Yorkie’s face hair. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments below.

 

Should You Trim The Hair Around The Yorkie’s Eyes?

Yes, you can use a fine-toothed comb with blunt-tip scissors to gently trim the excess hair around your Yorkie’s eyes. If the hair is matted, use electric clippers to shave it off. If you plan to leave a top knot, then trim the hair around the eyes but leave the forehead hair long and comb it up and style it in a top knot.

 

What Is The Best Haircut For A Yorkie?

The show-Yorkie cut is the most distinct cut. It entails keeping the hair long all over. It really shows off the Yorkie’s beautiful shiny coat and its classic gold-black/blue-tan colors in style. But this cut also requires the most grooming.

 

What Are Other Popular Yorkie Cuts?

Popular Yorkie haircuts include the just-mentioned show-cut with top-knot, the teddy bear cut, the puppy cut, the Westie cut, the lion cut, the Schnauzer cut, and the three-layered stacked cut.

 

How To Trim A Yorkie Face: Conclusion

Grooming your Yorkies face is easier than you think. And it does not pose any danger to your pup, as long as you take the appropriate precautions. We usually recommend doing small trimming jobs at home, but leaving full grooming sessions to the professionals.

Full grooming usually needs to be done 3 to 4 times a year. If you have a show dog, you’ll probably need to do it once a month. If you do a good job keeping up with regular trimming, you can usually go a bit longer between full grooming sessions.