Clipping a Westie is Heresy
There are three cuts available for West Highland Terriers. They range from the normal shaved back and long sides look to a total shave. But did you know that the traditional way of caring for a Westie’s coat is not to clip it at all?
The ideal West Highland Terrier has two types of fur, a long hard shell coat on top and soft warm fur underneath. The shell coat is supposed to be very hard and straight. This helps to shed water and keep the little Westie dry in the rain. Clipping compromises the shell coat and the hair that grows back is soft like the undercoat. In order to maintain the shell coat, a Westie purist will have the coat stripped to maintain it. Stripping means pulling the hair out from the root.
This procedure will be familiar to you if you’ve been around show horses. There they pull the mane to thin it instead of cutting it. If you’ve ever been involved in this you know that some horses don’t mind having their mane pulled at all and some of them hate the process with a deep, purple passion. Its the same with Westies when it comes to stripping. Personally, I wouldn’t like it at all. I’ve always felt sympathy for women who have to wax. It just doesn’t seem like a fun process to me.
We’ve decided to go with clipping for our dog. Once you know how to clip a Westie, it isn’t that hard. You can easily learn to do it yourself and save the grooming fees, except on special occasions. If you just want to keep your white terrier looking good, buy a good set of clippers and do it yourself.
Hand stripping is really just for the ultra-purist. Plus its very hard to find a groomer who knows how to do it, and they charge you an arm and a leg if you do find one. For all practical purposes you have to clip, at least in North America.
So don’t let the Westie snobs get you going. The main thing is to keep your dog comfortable and looking good. If he isn’t waterproof like a real Westie, well, that’s what dog coats are for.
Category: Assorted Kibble
Thank you for the great information. It’s always nice when others will share their knowledge and expertise. I especially enjoyed reading your article about the Westie grooming.
Keep up the good work. DC