Looking for info on grooming a JRT

misty073 · 10-17-2009, 01:09 PM

We have a one year old rough coat JRT and I am wondering what should be done in terms of grooming her coat? I have taken her many times to the groomer to get her nails done and asked once about a groom and she said she could bath her if we wanted...but we do that at home. I have read with her coat you have to remove the old stuff. We dont do much other than brush her and bath her (only when she rolls in something yucky LOL or is really dirty)

Should she be stripped or does it matter if she is not a show dog. Can she be clipped to clean her up a bit? or would this be really bad for her coat?

Graco22 · 10-17-2009, 02:35 PM

if you clip her, the coarse coat will turn soft, and the bright colors will mute. Red will turn buff, black will turn grey. Ideally, you will hand strip her, and yes, that is pulling the dead coat out. New growth will not come in until the old dead is pulled out. If you clip, only the undercoat grows back, hence the dulled colors.

Its very easy to do on a Jack, cause they are small.

You just grasp the coat between your thumb and forefinger..a few of the longest hairs. Pull the skin tight with your other hand, and just pluck the coat out. That long, dead coat will come out very easily.

The body has no pattern, so should all be one length. You can leave short eyebrows and "beard". Ears should be VERY short. If you do a search for stripping you will find many articles about it. I would recommend if you want a groomer to do it, that you find one that knows how..cause it sounds like the one you have no doesn't have a clue about it.

Just because she is a pet and not a show dog does not mean that you can't keep her nice coat. A clippered/soft coat will not repel water, burrs or mud like a coarse coat does..and soft coats get matted.

MoosMom · 10-17-2009, 09:36 PM

I second that opinion.

misty073 · 10-17-2009, 11:02 PM

Thank you

and is this done any time or better left to certain times of the year? Burr repeling coat is good LOL when we first moved to this house our little yorkie (RIP) came out of the bush covered in burrs, his face looked almost deformed...maggie really hasnt had any (other than the one the vet had to remove from between her toes

)

Should be fun to do...she doesnt even like to be brushed, she always tries to eat the brush.

Graco22 · 10-18-2009, 10:12 PM

You do it when the coat is dead..whatever time of year that is. Generally, the longest areas of coat don't live more than 3 months. You should ideally be working on pulling the dead coat out every month. Once a month, sit down and work on her till all the loose dead coat is out. If it pulls out when you tug it, its dead. If you do that, her coat will always be with new growth, and she will stay "neat" and not messy looking.

Chances are, (if she is eating the brush) she will need to be taught how to behave. Pulling the dead coat DOES NOT hurt..but it feels "funny" and she will probably squirm and try to "eat" you until you teach her what acceptable behavior is.

misty073 · 10-23-2009, 09:57 AM

I went into another groomer who said they dont strip dogs but clipping her is fine??? So we left and last night she was sitting on my lap while watching tv and I started to just pull at her hair...she actually sat still and liked it. I ended up with a pile and was only at it for a short while LOL I think I will just continue doing it myself while sitting. One question though the hair on her ears and face didnt seem like it would come out as easy?? Should it be harder to pull (I dont want to hurt her and then she wont let me do any of it)

Kathyy · 10-23-2009, 07:48 PM

I was able to pull hair on the face just fine. Try only pulling out the very longest hairs and only a couple at a time. I did not dare to pull hairs on my JRT's tummy but anywhere else was fine by him. I even pull the mohawk from the top of my spaniel mix's head that spoil his gleaming black velvet head.

Graco22 · 10-23-2009, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misty073

I went into another groomer who said they dont strip dogs but clipping her is fine??? So we left and last night she was sitting on my lap while watching tv and I started to just pull at her hair...she actually sat still and liked it. I ended up with a pile and was only at it for a short while LOL I think I will just continue doing it myself while sitting. One question though the hair on her ears and face didnt seem like it would come out as easy?? Should it be harder to pull (I dont want to hurt her and then she wont let me do any of it)

You may need to purchase a stripping knife for those shorter hairs on the ears. If they are dead, they will pull out, but they may pull just a tad harder than that long body coat. Its unlikely it will bother her..ears aren't usually very sensitive, believe it or not..but like someone stated above..bellies, throats, and hineys are usually the spots where you will have sensitivity, and using a thinning shear on those small areas is not going to spoil the look and overall coat.