Hi All,
Each day brings us closer to adopting Nugget a senior Wheaton wirehair mini. But; I just realised that we've never had a wirehair!
What care do they need? After having 1 longhair (lots of work) we've pretty much stayed with smoothies as easy care, wash & go doxies!
Any help would be appreciated.
regards,
Dianne
They do require some grooming. In some ways, not as much work as a longhairs, in others more work than longhairs. Ideally, they should be stripped, rather than done with clippers. Clippers makes their hair soft and white. Ron and I do use clippers, in spots, on Ilsa. We try to strip as much as our patients will let us. If she'll let you strip her while watching TV (I understand many do), it should be easy to keep her groomed. Ilsa HATES to be groomed, so it takes 2 of us about an hour about every 6 months. Now the good news...when she gets into water and a little mud, she can shake and it all goes flying. That harsh coat doesn't let much stick to it or get down close to the skin. Also, stuff like grass clippings, and such, you can run your hand over and it comes right off. I've never owned a smoothie but I imagine they are easy to keep clean. My other doxie is a longhair that likes to roll in just about anything. She doesn't require the hair cutting that my wire does, but she does require more baths.
I had a wheaton wire named Hasen. He was an absolute doll. I also had a wild boar wire named Harry, who was just as adorable. To me, wires seemed like little stuffed animals come-to-life. They had the sweetest temperaments. Hasen had a coarse coat and Harry a soft coat. I would have them groomed twice a year, once in the spring to make them cooler for the summer, and once in the fall. The groomer would shear them down leaving only their "fringe" -- the eyebrows, the beard and feathering on the legs and tail. They'd get a bath from time to time when their hair grew out and were blown dry, this always made them nice and fluffy. Best of luck with your adoption of Nugget, please let us know the details!
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/9/13576504_3d0da432ff.jpg)
This is Hasen after a trip to the groomers.
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1419/802074124_e84c29fc7a.jpg)
And this is Harry after a grooming.
When I got eLlIe the breeder told me that she had only her soft undercoat ... not a true WIRE coat. If we let her hair grow ... it grows and grows and grows as if she were a long hair with a perm. I have her clipped about 4 times a year.
eLlIe in her FUZZY winter coat.
.... and a spring trim .....
eLlIe and her Shadow
All I know is you have a Wirehaired dog of any kind and use clippers on it the coat will become soft Bouvier's are suppose to be hand stripped i never could find anyone to show me how to hand strip so I used clippers since they were not show dogs just pets.
Papbouv