Grooming

TIPS ON HOW TO GROOM YOUR WIRE

The difference between a clipped and a stripped coat is pretty dramatic. When you strip the coat of a wire, you save the beautiful colors and maintain a nice wiry texture. If you clip the coat, the colors will fade and only the soft undercoat will remain. Should you decide to change your mind and start stripping the dog's coat the colors and texture will come back. However, it will be harder to pull and more painful for the dog. Eventually, if you continue to strip your dog, the coat will be back in good condition.

Pictured here is Ch. Wyrelee First Noel in a stripped coat and her mother (Ch. Wyrelee Banned In Boston ROM) who was 10 at the time, in a clipped coat. You can really see the difference in the two coats here.

Many people who get a wire don't know how to take care of the coat. They either don't want to learn, or don't have the time so they take their dog to a groomer. There is nothing wrong with that, just make sure they know how to make to wire look like a wire! Ask the breeder of your puppy for someone close to you that knows how to groom properly. If at all possible, attend a grooming seminar. Perhaps the breeder will teach you.

The background on this page shows a friend, Don Vic, who lives in the Monterey Bay area of California grooming his wire. You can see how he brushes the wire coat with a horse hair mitt.

Places To Get More Grooming Information

Pictured here is Ch. Wyrelee Defiance of Relany, litter brother to SKC Ch. Wyrelee Time Traveler who was the sire of Ch. Wyrelee Ladybug. Note the split color of tan and white on his head. This marking is perfectly acceptable according to the standard of the breed.

There are publications and videos that can help the beginner learn how to strip the wire coat. Enrolling in a grooming seminar where you can get hands on experience is probably the best way to learn. If that is impossible, you can purchase the booklet, GROOMING THE BROKEN-COATED TERRIER by Mrs. Arden Ross. The price is $10.00 and can be ordered from the American Fox Terrier Club.

A video that is very good is called STRIPPING THE BROKEN -COATED BREEDS. Although the breed filmed in the video is an airedale, the technique is the same as a wire. The groomer is Michael Kemp. The tape is on one video cassette that lasts 2 hours and costs about $40.00. You may have to look around to find it as it was filmed several years ago.

At the show site...

Ch. Wyrelee Cameo shows that getting groomed at the show site before going into the ring can be pretty boring. Here she takes a little snooze before it is time to be judged. Note that she has an all white body. In this day that is pretty rare as most wires have much more color on them. Once more I must repeat that COLOR AND MARKINGS ARE OF LITTLE OR NO CONSEQUENCE when it comes to judging which wire is the best on that day. The conformation and how closely it matches what the standard of the breed says it must be is what is important.

My email address

wyrelee1@itexas.net