How to Groom a Toy Fox Terrier

The Toy Fox Terrier, or alternately, the American Toy Terrier or Amertoy, is a small, vibrant dog. They are smart, full of energy and curious to know all there is about the world around them. Toy Fox Terriers have short, dense hair that is usually white with brown or tan markings. They need a full grooming every 8 to 10 weeks and a general grooming twice a month.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Whitening shampoo
• Rubber brush
• Natural bristle brush
• Scissors

1. Bathe the dog using whitening shampoo. While in the bath, go over the coat with a rubber brush. Follow by brushing through the coat with a natural bristle brush. This gets rid of shed hair that has stuck to the coat. Apply a bit of coat conditioner to the hair to improve the overall look. Toy Fox Terriers are light shedders.

2. Tidy up the coat by trimming stray hairs with scissors. The hair on this dog is so short and lies so close to the body that you don't need to perform any special styling. Just trim the hairs to the point which looks neat and natural to you.

3. Clip the nails regularly. Use your best judgment for this. Don't let them become overgrown, but don't clip them too short, either.

Tips & Warnings

• Toy Fox Terriers have a life expectancy of 13 to 14 years.
• This breed is a descendant of the Smooth Fox Terrier that breeders developed in the United States during the 1930s. They mixed Smooth Fox Terriers with English Toy Terriers, Chihuahuas and Italian Greyhounds. These recent mixes have given this breed a smaller size and calmer disposition than their ancestors.
• People originally used these dogs as rat hunters.
• Some Toy Fox Terriers are susceptible to legg calve perthes and stifle, not uncommon in dogs of the Toy Group. Some Toys are allergic to beet pulp (this is fairly common), corn and wheat.