Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi, am doing a cake and customer wants her Jack russell on it. Never done a jack russell before, Just want some tips on the best thing to use to texture the coat. thank you Sharon

Hi Sharon

There are different types of Jack Russell dogs, some are wiry with little curls and some smooth with longer hair. The smooth ones are usually groomed so their coats are tight against the body. This type is the easiest to texture. All you do is use the thinner part of the veining tool and gradually make feint lines some short, some long, all over the body. Don’t use the point, just the smooth part. You’ll see the texture build up. Once done you can use a little colour to highlight and shade the little grooves made by the tool and dab on any other markings the dog has. When using the powder colours start with very little on your brush as they can be quite intense, darken any areas by adding layers of colour. The wiry sort can be textured by using a very small open star piping nozzle. Just spike the coat with the nozzle so it lifts the paste. You can see in the golf scene tutorial how Paul uses the nozzle to texturise the board. Again you can colour and shade. In the latest tutorial of the little boy and his dog you can see how markings like spots are made.

That’s great thank you so much- hadn’t thought of using the nozzle end. Sometimes i think, i think about it to much when the answer is really quite simple

Hi Sharon, I think we all do the same, that’s why it’s so good to run it by Q&A. Sometimes the obvious just doesn’t click in our brains. I hope it turns out ok for you.