Michele groomed Paddy for the first time (solid black) and he's got the "valance effect" (great description, Sarah!). Paddy was on the grooming table and I stood behind him and lifted his front paws up so that he was standing on his hindlegs with his belly facing Michele and she just ran the clippers over his tummy. There's a central strip of almost-bald skin, with hair fringing it then his thinned out skirt. You can't tell at all - not even immediately obvious when he lies on his back either. This was a bit of a half-way house attempt with Pads as it was his first time having clippers near him and he wouldn't tolerate them anywhere else - so it was a gentle but fast commando raid on his tum! Next time, I'd keep that area near bald and the fringes to it (now about 1.5cm long) even shorter, then the fringing.
Michele CoatKing'ed his back (is that now a verb??? I CoatKing, You CoatKing, - decline at will!) and took out a load of stuff from his coat - looks shinier and feels lighter. He definitely coped better with the heat this weekend, even with long woodland romps!
Denise
