TO THE PERSON WHO ASKED ABOUT WIRE HAIR TERRIER GROOMING...
Susan Smallwood
I could not respond via e-mail because our system is not set up to mail
'outside` yet...Soon,they tell me....
But,in answer to your questions...
There is a specialcomb for grooming the wirey dogs,
called a stripping or a plucking comb. From my experience
most opeople know of it as a stripping comb. [That may be
regional, I don't know...] They are usually all metal or metal
adn wood with a handle. The actual grooming portion consists of
a section about 1.5 inches long with metal teeth and a semi-sharp
blade at the base. This comb is run through the dog`s coat at an
angle, to pull the longer hairs off. The combs come with the teeth
at different distances, for different portions of the dog.
For example, the finer combs are used for the head area, where the
hair is finer, adn the combs with the broader teeth are used for the
body. It is not considered `cheating` to clip the ears with an
electric clipper. Getting the fine hair off the ears is difficult, adn
hurts them a little bit, so the clipper saves some effort.
I use the stripping comb all over the dog's body, head, neck, chest,
and tail on a regular basis. I use it on the legs only occassionally
when the hair appears to be getting too thick, and is prone to matting.
I am trying to remember back, but it seems to me my female became
wirey at about 5 or 6 months. Up until that point she was poodle-like.
There are some wire-hairs that don't get real wirey, which is a genetic
defect. In general, the more a coat is groomed, the more wirey it
becomes.
I spend about 10 minutes a day grooming Ashley`s coat with the stripping
comb. From the time you initially begin, to the time the dogs look
the way they are portrayed indog books is approximately 3 months. At
first, massive quantities of hair were coming off off her...[about a
brown paper lunch bag full.] My husband and I would joke that we would
just build another dog with the piles of hair! With daily maintenance,
small quantities of hair comes off now. Maybe a cup full.
I really love our wire hairs. They are wonderfully fun because they
seldom just want to lay around. They are entertaining, and join in
as part of the family. They love children and are quite effective
watch dogs.