Hi. I'm both a previous and new MS owner. My new one (Pippa) is a black and silver girl (8w 5d). I'm hoping that someone can give me some advice on clipping. I've always preferred for the clip to be short (less than 0.5in/1.25cm) all over, except for the face and tail, as the type of walks I do are often pretty muddy. Not being able to remember the route I took to get such a clip on my previous MS causes me to ask whether Pippa is too young to be given the short clip now? If you think she is too young then what lengths of clips over what period would you suggest?
@alanb Actually, I don't recommend clipping wire-coated breeds at all - with the exception of the ears, throat and hygiene areas. The wire coat grows to a predictable length and will then begin to fall out, (moult), to be replaced by a tight new jacket. The majority of wire-coated breeds should be hand-stripped at this stage to keep the gloss, texture, and typical look of the breed. A little scraping with the direction of growth, using a blunt stripping knife, will help to maintain the smart outline until the next strip. Cutting through the wire guard hairs will allow the soft undercoat to grow through and the coat becomes thick and fluffy. I understand that groomers that hand strip are hard to find, but if you wanted your puppy to have that show ring outline, don't let anyone use clippers on her. Alternatively, some people just want their dog to have short clipped hair and are not worried about the colour or texture of the coat. In that case there really is no right or wrong answer, just book the clip whenever the hair is looking longer than you prefer it. It should be possible to book a light baby clip to accustom her to the process, but I would leave it until she has had time to develop full immunity from her puppy shots.
