"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."
Rita Rudner

Thinning The Head
(long hair)

Here's Angel face before and after her routine two week grooming. Hair is removed between the eyes, but not down the bridge of the nose.

The procedure for achieving the head style is basically the same, no matter the length of the hair. Let's follow the process, step by step.

Notice the inverted V along the top of the nose, between the eyes. Also notice how the hair is shorter and thinner than usual above the eyes. 

To achieve this, hair is removed with thinning shears at the base of the hair. Notice how the thinning shear is coming up under the hair and is lying flat against the skull.

This technique removes some hair, yet leaves enough hair to maintain the Apso look. Repeat the same on the top of the head. Continue to thin and shorten hair until the desired look is achieved.

To keep hair out of the eyes, angle the thinning shears toward the center of the head, visualizing an inverted V. Remove the tips of the hair to form the inverted V. Repeat on the other side, again angling the thinning shears toward the center of the skull.

Braiding

Katu and Ponya wear braids to keep the hair out of their eyes.

Start with the dog facing you, completely brushed out.

To help hold those stray hairs in place use a bit of setting gel on the hair prior to braiding.

Part a small section above the eyes, from behind the outside corner of one eye to the outside corner of the other eye. Wrap a small rubber band around this section.

Behind the banded section part of a larger section of hair and divide in two

Use these two sections and the front section for the braid, starting with pulling the front section back between the two sections.

Braids on the Head

Thinning the Head - long hair

Thinning the Head - short hair

Teddy Bear Clip (short)

Teddy Bear Clip (long)

Here's some variations in the length of the Lhasa Apso Teddy Bear clip. The head style, balanced with each dog's haircut, maintaining the "look" of the breed.

Thinning The Head
(short hair)

Molly wears her hair nice and short. See how using the thinning shears helps her maintain the Apso look, accentuating her beautiful eyes. The technique is the same as used on Angel; keep thinning more, along with shortening the hairs like under Angel's eyes.

Molly before having her hair thinned.

And after....

Long Teddy Bear Clip

Here's Aaron before getting some of the length taken off his coat.

A comb blade attached to a #40 blade is being gently guided through his hair, following the lay of his hair.

Here's Aaron's new look!

Short Teddy Bear Clip

Olie demonstrates a look somewhere in between. Here he is before the grooming. Notice the hair in front of his eyes and hanging over his eyes.

Olie has received his bath and is ready for the finishing touches. Comb the hair forward over the eyes.

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Take the thinning shears across the front of the eyes and shorten all the hair. Thinning shears give a more natural appearance than using scissors. You can also lay the thinning shears flat against the head, as demonstrated with Angel, to remove bulk.

Be sure to do the inverted V!

Here's Olie from the side...

And from the front...