Hi everyone,

I stumbled across this great forum while searching for information on hand stripping westies.  I've been reading through the old posts and there is a lot of good information here but I have a question that maybe some of you can help me out with.  I'll be getting a male westie puppy (from a reputable breeder) in a few weeks time and plan on hand stripping him as I prefer this over the "pet clip" look.  I met both parents at the kennel and his father has a very nice harsh, thick, full coat(hand stripped) while the mother was clippered and as a result, has a softer coat.  I will be neutering my puppy as he will just be a pet and not shown in the ring but I do want to hand strip and keep the coarse rough natural looking coat on him.

I have two questions:

1.Will neutering affect the harshness of the adult dog's coat?  I've read that neutering/spaying westies will result in a soft coat, does anyone have an opinion on this?
2.With hand stripping, is it alright to trim the outer fringes of the coat to tidy up edges such as on the head/feet?  Will this in any way result in loss of coarseness or does that only occur when the hair is cut down near the root?

By the way, this will be my first westie, even though I've been reading up on them for over a year I haven't actually owned one yet.
I'd appreciate whatever insight any of you can provide!

Are there any Westie forums you can join to get breed specific info.

I know when wire haired dachshunds are stripped they do use scissors to tidy up the face etc.

Neutering can affect any breeds coat, male or female.

Neutering is likely to change the coat for the worse, why not wait and see how he gets on with regards to behaviour? There's usually no need to neuter a dog because you don't intend to show him, a little training will stop most attempts at humping or marking. When I've handstripped (pet) Westies, I wouldn't dare try to prepare one for show, I strip along the lines that are usually clipped on a pet (most of the body), and thin or scissor the rest, ie head, legs, skirt, tail, and it doesn't seem to cause any problems. I'm sure more expert Westie people will be on soon though. :-)

Rhodach: Thanks, I'm looking for some westie specific forums at the moment also.

LucyDogs: I appreciate your input, the breeder is selling her dogs on non breeding terms meaning she requires customers to spay/neuter their dogs.  Are the westies you hand strip usually neutered or intact?

I think they were entire, but I haven't got any on my books at the moment (because I moved, not because they left!). I have a handstrip Border and 3 Norfolks, I think the Border is neutered and the Norfolks are entire.