HI can anyone tell me at what age should be the first "proper" cut of a westies coat          thanks in advance!

well i was told by a parlour 6 months for a yorkie so should be about the same for westies

Big difference, a Westie is a hand strip breed, a Yorkie isn't a breed that should be handstripped OR clipped........

5-6 months BUT before this the dog should be put up on a rubber mat and brushed daily so that it is used to being handled.  It is worth taking a puppy to the groomers at 4 months for a top and tail. Start them off on their training.

PS whatever you do make sure it is a decent expereinced groomer.

Shouldn't they be hand stripped and not clipped to have the correct coat?

Yep!  I wouldn't consider clipping a Westie until it's adult coat was through (and even a poor coat can be improved if it doesn't have clippers whacked on it!) but I would have a puppy in as soon as it was fully vaccinated to train and tidy if the owner wasn't prepared / couldn't train the dog to stand on the table and be handled.

Yip which is what any decent groomer should do for the first year at least.

Sorry, I should have used the word Strip myself in my reply but when the poster used the word " proper" I may have presumed they know the breed is hand stripped and this is what they meant.

My westie got her first clip at 6 months. But we did get her used to being brushed and blow dried long before this though.

We get her clipped not stripped as she is just a pet and not a show dog.

Stripping isn't just for show dogs.  It helps to keep the coat course, which in turn doesn't know and get dirty as easily as a soft coat, which is what happens when the coat is clipped.  Also when clipping, the top and undercoat grow through together, making the coat appear thicker and more prone to matting.  Clipping off the top coat removes the dog's weather proof coat, just like us going out in a wool sweater and without a raincoat in the rain!

Correct handling of the coat is therefore beneficial to the dog and the owner.  Unfortunately most groomers don't explain this to the owner before whacking clippers on their dog.  To clip a 6 month old puppy shows no knowledge of trimming.

I'm sure that half the problems with Westie's skin is due to the lets clip it all off every few weeks attitude. 

YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A SHOW DOG FOR THE JOB TO BE DONE PROPERLY, YOU SHOUILD BE PROUD OF THE BREED THAT YOU DECIDED TO HAVE AND MAKE SURE THAT IT LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO!

Ditto ditto ditto.

The dog i own who is handstripped is......... A MONGREL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clipping his coat would make it AWFUL, left long it opens up and lets in the weather, stripped it becomes dense and tight and weather proof.

There is NO EXCUSE, stripping is NOT quantum mechanics, i do a decent job, it takes me mebbes 20/30 minutes, and i have NEVER been shown how except via reading mags and books.

Clipping a westies coat, or any breed bar the odd few like poodles, spanish/portugese waterdogs (do they BOTh have the bare bum thing??), etc, will RUIN the coat, will do the dog NO favours AT ALL and quite probably cause harm, will make the dog look bloody stupid, and the ONLY person who benefits from it is the 'groomer'.

Wotta waste of money!

Em

No the Spanish don't have bare bums, it's clipped off the same length all over, head, legs, ears body with no fancy clipping :d  That's why Poodle clippers hate my breed as there are no pom poms, no special sculpture just a plain and simple total clip :d 

OH AND THE SPANISH SHOULD NEVER EVER BE BRUSHED OR COMBED!!

Never brushed........ sounds like my kinda dawg!

Awww, you know id get one just to annoy poodle clippers with it.... my nearest groomer likes to clip EVERYTHING like a poodle, and ive seen nowt so stupid as an OES clipped as if its a poodle...

Em

I Agree, my parents have two westies and they have their coats stripped professionally, i think it s every 6 -8 weeks but not sure, their coats are lovely, no matting ect and no problems with skin either

Tanya

hi to everyone

You should start getting your westie accustomed to all kinds of grooming from the
day you bring him home.

With puppies you need to keep your grooming times to 2-3 minutes until he gets
relaxed about grooming sessions.

You need alot of patience and must give alot of praise while being firm.

(Being firm does not mean shouting at your dog when things go wrong)

He should be combed out daily.

Stripping/ clipping is strictly up to the owner to decide, i would avoid it on a very young dog as it makes the coat harder and coarser. Clipping would tend to make the coat softer and sometimes wavy.

I have a shitzu, in the winter i leave her coat to grow longer than in the summer time. I then tend to clip her coat a little.

Bye
Alley

Sorry that I seem to have offended some of you
My Kerrie has always been clipped and has never had a skin problem or mats! We brush her regually.
Doesnt seem to have caused her any harm and havnt had anyone tell me she looks stupid!
Am aware that westies are customerly stripped but thought it was pesonal choice!

I've got cairns and they need to be stripped and not clipped. keeps the coat in nice coarse condition. never brush mine, don't have skin problems or mats! I strip them about twice yearly, depends on the weather, if its warm more often. clipping ruins the coat, makes it soft and takes away any weather proofing.

Hi
I have 2 Westies and they have always been clipped, yes I would prefer to have them hand stripped, but I have never been given the choice. I have been told in the past (by a groomer) that it is "time consuming", that I would have to put in a considerable amount of time every week, ie hours??? I would love to be able to do them myself, I have bought books and videos, but I'm scared of having a go, example, how do you know when to strip them, does the hair come out easily? these may sound stupid questions to all of you who hand strip, but I want to be able to do it right. I know my dogs would be fine they stand as good as gold for either being clipped or me grooming them. I never bath them unless I'm absolutely forced to, I use chalk. I would appreciate any tips you all could give.
Many thanks
Wendy

hi wendy, yes stripping IS time consuming but also quality time with your dogs. I sit with them every evening and instead of brushing, I just strip a bit! you know when the time has come to strip when the coat parts on top of their back. the hair comes out really easy and does not hurt the dogs. sometimes, before they are completley stripped, look very funny. like a cairn/poodle/lion cross?? my dogs only get a couple of bath's a year unless they have rolled in something disgusting. just give it a go, the worst that you can do is make your dogs look stupid..........err

Hi
Thanks for your reply. I know I'm going to have to have a go sometime, but yes thats what I'm scared of making them look stupid!!!! don't forget I have to walk them, also, don't want the dogs to loose their "street cred" Ha Ha
Wendy

.whose street cred????:rolleyes: don't worry too much, it always grows back:rolleyes:

Sounds like a groomer who cant be bothered there tbh!

It really depends what you consider time consuming - i can do a pretty decent job on Rocky who is a good twice teh size of a westie, in 20 - 30 minutes and thats from scratch, starting wtih a coat resembling an exploded cushion.

Once the dog IS stripped, keeping on top of it is very easy, i sit adn watch telly and just strip a bit at a time out - see if you can get someone to show you, you will be amazed at exactly HOW easy it is, adn then you can do it yourself at home and save £££!

Em

wow em, would you like to do mine???? takes me loads longer

Lol... must admit rockys coat is not as dense as a westie, or a cairn.... id expect it to take longer starting from scratch on either of those breeds, but after that, the maintenance is easy.

I suspect sorting out a soft clipped coat is going to be quite hard though, have never tried that!

Em

You're right Em.  It takes around 12 months to correct a clipped coat!  Shame really as it only takes an unskilled groomer 12 minutes to clip it all off! :(
Once a coat is stripped it's as quick if not quicker to just take out the dead coat and roll it every 8 weeks.  Just such a shame that most owners aren't given the choice.

Id love to BE a groomer.... proper coat care seems to have become my 'thing' lol, despite the fact that the one pedigree dog i own doesnt really need much in the way of coat care (greyhound lol, norra lot you can do with that)... only one of mine needs stripping, and one needs combing out a lot or he matts up (soft woolly coat)... the others just need a stiff body brush over them a few times a week.... id love to own a coated breed wot i can faff with!

Em

Hi Val
You say it takes around 12 months to correct a coat I didn't realise it would be that long. how long would you say after a coat has been clipped I would be able to start stripping? Thanks in advance
Wendy

It really depends when it starts to loosen because you only pull the dead coat - which is why it doesn't hurt as many people think.  I would see Westies every 8 weeks and take out about 20% maybe of the coat at any one time as it's ready, that's what rolling the coat means, so that the dog never looks long and tatty and never looks short - just tidy all the time.  A stripped coat stays cleaner and doesn't knot so easily as a clipped coat.
If you were going to do it yourself it would really be better to get an experienced groomer to correct it and then show you how to take a few dead hairs out each evening!  Unfortunately it appears that even Westie breeders who strip their own dogs run clippers over pet dogs.  I really don't see why they clip off the dog's weatherproof coat!  To me it's like removing your child's jumper and sending them into the garden to play in their vest??!!:rolleyes:
Some coats if they weren't too course in the first place can be permanently ruined with clipping, but most can be improved with hand stripping.  It takes that long because you have to wait for the top, course coat (which has been completely removed by clipping) to grow through and then be ready to loosen, whilst working hard to removie the soft undercoat  (which is left by clipping) to allow the skin to breath.

Hi Val
Thanks for your reply. Yes you're so right about some of the Westie breeders, in my case anyway!!!! Just annoyes me when I'm prepared to put the time in as well. Never mind, hopefully that will soon be put to rights as someone is coming to show me how to learn to hand strip, someone who is experienced and hand strips her own. I will let you know how I get on, thanks for your tips.
Wendy

Hi Em
Thanks for your reply. I would dearly love to be able to hand strip my 2, but there is nobody around me what does it, so no-one to show me. As I said I have bought books and videos but there's nothing like being shown how to do it properly is there? For instance, how long would I have to wait after they have been clipped before I could start to strip them? I am prepared to put the time in every week, that wouldn't be a problem, but I really need someone to show me, no matter how many times I watch the video, It's not the same as being shown. So, I'm at a standstill at the moment. But any tips or info is much appreciated. Thanks
Wendy

Dunno about how soon you can start to handstrip, but ill ask my friend who has cockers who have been clipped who are now stripped when shes online next.

Is there anyone near you with your breed, or a similar breed who can show you how - if you are near manchester you are welcome to visit the mad house and ill use rocky as a demonstration, but finding someone with a westie would be better (rockys a staffy x with a very unstaffy like wire coat!).

Im sure there will be a champdogger, or even a non champdog westie show person/breeder who could show you how its done.

Em

Just giving the trainee groomer's viewpoint - if the customer asked me to handstrip I would certainly do so - I would probably even tell Westie owners their breed is stripped for the ring and would they like it stripped or clipped. I suspect most pet owners might think it hurts to pull the hair out, so I would have to explain it's only dead hair that goes! I strip my Yankee, but so far most of the dogs we've been getting in have been clippped. I hate seeing a Cavalier clipped though - I can see the pet owners wouldn't want the sort of long coat my show boy has and might want the feathering thinned, but there's no need to clip the back, it's naturally short enough!!