The Kerry Blue Terrier needs considerable trimming to keep it looking smart. The coat is quite a feature of this breed, being thick, soft and silky, and it does not shed. The coat, as well as being soft and silky, is plentiful and wavy. Puppies are born black and can take up to 18 months to clear to blue, of which there are many shades.Equipment needed: Slicker brush, wide-toothed comb, scissors or clippers.

Preparing for the show ring, the Kerry Blue Terrier is washed and left to dry in warm air. The dog is then brushed, combed and scissored all over.

The pet Kerry is more often clipped, rather than scissored, to save time and money. A coarse blade should be used for this, with a finer one on the head.

• Brush the entire coat, including the beard, with a slicker.
• Comb through with a wide- or medium‑
toothed comb to remove all tangles.
• Bathe in a suitable shampoo for the blue coat, and then apply conditioner. Use a purifying shampoo and conditioning mask when required, up to three times a year.
• Dry in a cage or in warm air.
• Check the dog’s nails, ears and teeth.
• The head is clipped. Using a No. 10 blade, clip the head — working away from the eye and leaving the eyebrows intact, clip or scissor back across the skull, leaving hair from the top eye level to form the shape of the face. Make sure you work with the direction of the hair growth.
• Next clip the ears, preferably using a slightly smaller blade. Going against the hair growth will produce shorter results. Neaten the edges with scissors.
• Clip from the outer corner of the eye, backwards to the point of the neck. Trim down from this same marker to the edge of the mouth and under the chin to where you can feel a definite lump under the chin. Clip down the throat to taper at the base of the neck or the Adam’s apple to a V-shape.
• Clip the body with the Oster No. 7/5/4, depending on the length required. Alternatively, scissor with the growth of the hair to the shoulders, down and back across the rib cage, down the back to the tail, and up the tail. Clip the body to leave a rise over the hip joint or the bone where the back leg begins . All the leg hair is neatly blended
 into the shorter body hair.
• Clip under the tail upward, and then down the anal area.
• Blend in the legs with scissors to complement the dog’s angulations, giving shape.
• The front legs are blended in from the elbow down, to incorporate the feet.
• Scissor the hair out from underneath each foot.
• Trim the edge of the ears to neaten their appearance.
• Comb the Kerry Blue’s eyebrows and beard forward. Next, trim the eyebrows and beard with the scissors pointing forward toward the nose. The hair between the eyes is shaped in a graduated fashion, so that face hair is prevented from falling sideways and impairing the dog’s vision, particularly when on the move.
• Spray lightly with a coat gloss conditioner, if required.
• The hair on the head is taken shorter with clippers or scissors. With the show dog, the coat is scissored throughout as previously stated.
• Note: show dogs are clipped on the head as for pets, although many owners prefer scissoring, and it is always a good idea to check first with the breed standard recommendation.