Westies - hair cut

[Eleanor]

Nicola

this could be a question for you as you are a westie owner (open to all though)

at approx what age does a westie normally have his first hair cut?

and how regular after that?

cheers


Eleanor

[Nicola]

Eleanor,

Is the dog planning to be handstrippied or clipped? I assume it's being clipped therefore i'll answer accordingly!

I wouldn't have a Westies hair clipped too early because they are double coated - harsh outer coat (also known as the guard coat) which protects the undercoat and skin and keeps the dog warm, and is also self cleaning, and a soft undercoat which keeps the warmth. Westies coats need a chance to grow in properly, in my opinion.

A Westies head hair, as you probably know, traditionally is full and round - from my experience, it takes around a year for the head hair to grow in and become quite full to give the Westie their adorable expression which they are known for. I would suggest, if the owner is planning on taking the dog to the groomers well before it's a year old, that they tell the groomer not to cut the heard hair - in fact, I would strongly recommend this as short hair on a Westies head is not nice and does not suit the breed, in my opinion, and if trimmed to early, doesn't seem to grow in full.

However, they should ask for the ears to be "tipped", groomers will know what that means. it means cutting (with straight scissors) the hair from the tips of the ears, which will eventually pop out from under the head hair when it has had a chance to grow in. Again, this gives the Westie their typical expression and also makes them look tidy in appearance.

Also, skirts on Westies can take quite a while to grow in, I would recommend keeping the skirt as it's part of the typical Westie appearance. I would personally only trim the skirt when the dog is, again, at least a year old to give it a chance to grow. Although it does depend (obviously) on the owner whether or not they want to keep the skirt.

How long does the owner wish to keep the overall length of the coat? Clipping right into the wood doesn't look nice on a Westie, neither does no furnishings on Westies legs - it makes them look very unappealing, in my opinion.

If the Westie is not for show, I would suggest keeping the overall length on the body about an inch long, keeping the furnishing on the legs but have them trimmed occasionally to keep them tidy (by trimmed I mean a tiny bit off the length).

So, to summarise, at around 8 months of age, I woud recommend the ears being tipped, the bum being clipped, the pads being shaved and the feet rounded - this will also give the dog a chance to get used to the clippers and being handled and groomed by a groomer. Then, depending on what the dog is like at a year old, would I suggest trimming anything else.

As you may know, Westies are notorious for skin complaints therefore I would not recommend bathing too often. No less than every 3 months. In between clips, I would suggest the owner gets some powdered chalk. Slicker the dogs coat all over, apply the powdered chalk, slicker all over again and then comb out. This keeps them looking good and also prevents the need of a full bath too often. You can get the powdered chalk from most pet shops or online. Well worth it, I think.

My Westie never has a full bath. She has her bum, belly and legs washed every so often, but that's it. Most of the time I use the chalk to keep her looking clean.

I also use Thornit Ear Clear to stop a build up of wax on the hair around the ears and ear canals. You only use a tiny bit. This can be got from Ebay. I highly recommend it.

All in all, it depends on what the owner wants.

Hope this helps.