How short do you go?

[Patp]

Jinley is a woolly mammoth since being spayed earlier this year and she is at the groomers on Tuesday.

She is a lover of water and mud seems to get filthy on the cleanest of walks (particularly under her belly) 

She is always scissor cut (not yet been brave enough to ask for her to be clipped) and wondered with winter coming and the impending drying problems, wondered how short you go on the body and legs whilst still keeping a spaniel look?  Is there anything such as a long clip rather than a close clip??  Does a scissor cut look more natural?

Do you still ask for the tail and skirt feathers to be kept even if it is short?  How does it blend into the body? 

Sorry for the questions, I just want to get it right when I drop her off at the groomers.

[elaine.e]

This is a fairly recent one of William (his 10th birthday photo earlier this year). His coat was still fairly OK for about 2 years after he was castrated with a mix of handstripping and coat king and scissoring, but I eventually resorted to clipping. This is him in a fairly short clip but still with feathering. I do a bit of scissoring with thinners to blend some of the edges between clipped and unclipped areas. In this photo he's about half way between clipping sessions. I do him every 6 to 8 weeks, so this is about 3 or 4 weeks after clipping.

What you can't see is the "air conditioning" strip I clip along his undercarriage. It helps keep him cool in summer and helps him to dry out more quickly in winter. Because I leave feathering all round it you can't see it unless he's laying down on his back in that well known Cocker sleeping position

[6thSense]

As an ex professional groomer you can have the feather as long or short as you like on pets. Just make sure the groomer knows your exact wishes. I also clip the strip underneath as above on my pets as it keeps them cool, dry and matt free under there. The look like as above I call a 'show style' clip as the lines are similar to that of a show dog as in tight on top & leaving feather etc, but using clippers instead of handstripping and trimming.