Does clipping make the coat more fluffy?

[Astridx]

rather then speying?

Lottie, my rather black blue roan, was speyed last October after two seasons (aged 3).  I have tried to continue to strip (finger and thumb rather then Spratts) her but struggling now and don't want to cause her discomfort.  She is on Oil of Evening Primrose.

The groomer I take her to in York does a lovely job on her feathers, head etc but is desperate to clip her back (which is mainly black).  Having read many posts here, I gather there is not much going back from clipping once you start, and hence I am reluctant to go down that route just yet.  Lottie's top knot is very curley and I think that might be as a result of the clippers, but her back hair is still flat and shiny - having not been clipped?

Does clipping make the coat go curley or is it just speying?  My groomer struggles with my clipping reluctance and maybe I've got it wrong.  Having seen the thread on how to clip it does look as though you can get a natural look. My groomer is convinced that it is neutered dogs that look like little lambs and not necessarily clippered dogs.  Or is it too hard to tell as they so often go hand in hand?

Many Thanks, Astrid.

Ps I love little lambs!! 

[6thSense]

I do think it's a bit of both really. Morgana has always been clipped, but it's since she was spayed that her hair has gone mad. My other two girls I hand stripped at the beginning, but after they were spayed it became harder and harder to do, so I decided to clip them. I do them in what I call a show style leaving all feathering and only taking the first third off the ear. Basically doing the same pattern as I do when handstripping my show dog, but using clippers, although I will say because of this their coats are not as lovely as my show dogs who is entire and handstripped. Have you thought of a coat king or similar, which will take out the dead hair or/and using thinners to take the coat down. Another option is what someone else suggested on here the other day of using a Comb attachment on the clippers to give a more natural look. I am thinking I may well try this on my lot once there hair has grown enough. To be honest it is entirely up to you what you do with your own dog and don't let the groomer pressure you into anything. If the coat on the back is lovely and silky and smooth and you keep the dog well groomed and it seems you prefer it this way, then keep it that way. I have a show Cocker that comes into my Salon that has a mop of hair on her head, which I thin with thinners and I trim up her feathering to tidy, but I leave her back as it is silky and smooth and looks so lovely and there seems little need to clip it and ruin this. She was clipped right off at another groomer and they really didn't like it, but I don't really understand why as she is always well groomed. I do think some groomers are a bit clipper happy. On the other hand if it's getting out of control you may need to do something, but as I said before that is entirely your choice. Sorry I've gone on a bit.  I hope that is at least of some help. 

[Top Barks]

where do you take her astrid? I wouldn't let anyone near bayley with clippers.
I do doug and Oliver with clippers and they have gone wooly.
biggest mistake I ever made was letting someone clipper ollie in the first place.
I can reccomend Bayley's groomer if you are interested.

[Nicola]

I got Tilly when she was 2 years old and she was already spayed and had been clipped by then and her coat was well past the point of no return so continuing clipping was really my only option. She's a working Cocker so doesn't have nearly as much coat as a show type but her body coat is still terrible when it grows out, it's not curly but it's a fluffy, fuzzy, dull mess. Her ears and feathering are of normal texture thankfully so she now gets clipped 'show style' as 5scompany describes and it looks really good, she goes back to being sleek and shiny again but obviously I need to keep having it done. I don't know how much of her fuzziness is down to her being clipped and how much to her being spayed but I think with the double whammy of neutering and clipping unless you're lucky you're going to end up with a fuzzy/wooly/curly coat so if Lottie's body coat is still shiny and smooth I wouldn't clip it and would keep her au naturale as long as possible!