A few notes here for the person who wants a trick that will make your Irish Terrier Dog attractive and comfortable without putting in the larger amounts of time required to make him competitive for the show ring. If you are on a limited time schedule and would rather take a long walk than spend hours getting every hair the proper length, there is a method for you that will take much less time and still give you an attractive companion. If you are going to trim your own pet, an initial investment of money will be required. You will need to buy a set of clippers. Several brands are now available. Do spend the extra amount to get a set that will use the standard Oster A5 type blades.
I have had a set for over thirty years, and although I periodically replace blades, they are still quite functional after thousands of uses. You will need at least three clipper blades, #7, #10, #30 (I actually recommend four sizes, but a #40 blade is optional), a Belgium Greyhound comb, a gentle slicker brush, a set of curved forceps, a small bottle of ear powder, and a good pair of hair scissors.
The initial steps of Irish Terrier grooming for the show clip can be followed with the exception of using a #30 blade instead of a #40 blade. This will give a neat appearance and will last for quite a few weeks, but is less likely to irritate the skin. This is where the optional blade comes in. I do recommend that you go along the edges of the ear with either a #40 blade or carefully scissor along them instead of using your #30 blade. The teeth of the #30 blade are spaced widely enough that you can do a lot of damage before you realize that you are trimming something other than hair, and it will happen so quickly that your patient dog will just stand there and suffer in silence. If your Irish Terrier Dog does not have particularly sensitive skin, you may not need a #10 blade for his stomach as long as you use care to watch what you are doing and not clip with a blade that has become hot from use.
Bathe and blow-dry in the same manner as recommended for the show clip. It will pay big dividends in the look of the finished product. Once the dog is dry, take your #7 blade, start behind the ear and go with the direction of growth down the sides of the neck and down the shoulder to the elbows. Find the shoulder blades on the top of the back and clipper from this point over the back to the tail. Starting where you left off at the shoulders, clipper the sides to the hip joint. Trim down the front of the neck and cut a path between the front legs and trim the underbody back to where you have clippered the belly. The shaved down body is really quite racy-looking and will be comfortable for your dog in any weather, as there is enough hair left to provide warmth in winter and sun protection in summer. What you are left with after this is a Irish Terrier with a trimmed body and long coat on the head, neck, and legs.
Using the #7 blade I lift the back leg and clipper down the inside of the back legs. I then attach my #40 (or #30) blade, and then use a plastic snap-on comb size 1½ or 2 over the blade. Just ask when purchasing the other equipment and the supplier will show you these combs and how to attach them. Using this I blend in the outsides and back of the legs with the body. I generally go over the legs once, then comb the hair up and go over them again for the second time. You will have to scissor a little bit to blend the legs into the body but it will require minimal effort and yet will give a fuller appearance to the legs.
I am sorry, but there are no shortcuts to an adequate Bedlington head. Since a lot of lamb-look is groomer generated, it just will not look the same if it is done any other way but by hand scissoring. If it's any consolation, you will soon become proficient and will be able to do the head and blend in the neck in very quick order. Just look at the time you have saved by doing all the body and most of the legs by the shortcut method!
If you should happen to forget to rest or spray the clipper with lubricant, and it gets too hot to the touch, it may razor burn the skin. Although you will feel terribly guilty, your Irish Terrier will soon forgive you, and although it can be unsightly, it will clear up in a few days. Meanwhile, you atone for your error with lots of love and TLC. A helpful salve for any kind of skin lesion is Desitin (diaper rash ointment). It's rather messy, but will not harm your Irish Terrier dog if he tries to do his own thing and licks it off. If the Irish Terrier is really irritated your veterinarian may advise you to give him half a buffered aspirin tablet twice a day. This will often help alleviate the worst of the symptoms.
Your Irish Terrier may not look exactly the way you like the first time you try this method of grooming. For future haircuts you can have a longer or shorter look by varying the sizes of the blades or a fluffier look by scissoring in the legs rather than clippering. Remember that none of our first attempts were exactly what we had in mind. With a little practice you can have a neat and comfortable companion for a very minimal expense.
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