Trimming a puppy.

[Colin]

Misty is now about 5 months old and so far I have shaped around her paws, trimmed across the pads underneath and attempted to remove some of the hair by the ear canal ( she's still a bit squeamish about scissors near her ears, so it's not easy). I also plan to  trim the curly twizzle on the end of her tail.

Is this about all I need to do at the moment ? For example, can I trim the top knot  a little or is this best left until she is ready for stripping ? Can I tidy up the ears, or again is this best left for now ?

I don't intend going overboard, just a snip here and there to get her used to trimming, but am worried that this may adversely affect the way her coat grows back in some way.  Some guidance please grooming experts !                    

[Jane S]

You're doing fine Colin I would get your Marigolds on & start stripping Misty's top knot now & also the tops of her ears, just a little at a time - its much easier to start now when she's not too hairy than wait until she's got a big quiff going on You will also get her used to the sensation of being "plucked at" so it won't come as such a shock later on                    

[Colin]

Thanks for that Jane, I didn't realise you could start tugging away at the head and ear tops yet...........I thought I'd have to wait until her puppy coat was ready to pull . She is starting to look a bit scraggy, so it'll be nice to tidy her up.

I've just had a few exploratory tugs and she doesn't seem to mind too much, but I'm sure a longer stint would provoke a less tolerant response. It felt quite strange having tiny little clumps of black hair in my hand, being used to Jimmy's blondey bits !                    

[Anonymous]

Oh my!!!  I am so sqeamish about this stripping business  Over the past two weeks Indie has been transformed into a hairy, fluffy, mammoth  She is almost 6 months now, I haven't attempted anything on her at the moment, except the normal grooming, to be honest she has really only just become fluffy.  I am quite lucky in the way of there is a local(ish) grooming parlour who do handstrip and its quite handy as they breed and show cockers and field spaniels.  So I guess they know what they are doing  

My problem is knowing exactly the right time to start the stripping?  I am sooo scared of them hurting her  Do I just gently pluck and see if it comes out easy?

I was given a tip recently too by a a gentlemen from our local cocker rescue, not sure how good a tip it is though as I have yet to try it.  He said to get her used to rubber bands, as you can pop them around your hands when stripping the legs, has anyone heard/used this method before??

Thanx

Emma and Mrs Snufulufacus                    

[Surfing Spaniel]

Ooo I guess Ive got to be brave & try stripping Dylan, Hes 5 1/2 months old & looks so shaggy! Is the head the best place to start then? Should it just come out if I gently pull, I dont want to be tugging away only to find hes not ready yet  :-                    

[Luvlylady]

haha oo er i tried triming bellas feet/legs like the roan dog in the pic i guess she must have small frame and looks like shes got sticks for legs , everyone keeps laughing cant wait for the fur to grow back again. the black foot seems to have left more fur on the leg . hope it dosent take too long for it to grow again                    

[Luvlylady]

Ops howd my post get in this section   ah well  :-