Coat Texture and Grooming

[Milopup]

Sorry for a naive question, but what is the appropriate texture for a cairn pup's coat? My pup is just about 1 years old, and he still has a very fine and soft texture for his coat on his head, legs, and near his belly. On his back, though, the texture is rougher and the color is darker - he has silvery blonde hair on his head, face, legs and belly, but is a darker blonde color on his back.

I have only clipped his coat, and have not stripped it (since he is a pet and not show dog). I am waiting for his coat to grow out from his last summer clipping before I start using the new Mars Coat King.

Also, I try to brush him with a slicker brush, but he hates it. Not sure if it hurts him, but he runs away.

Finally, any suggestions on nail clipping - sorry, I know this has been asked many times before, but how does one figure out how much to cut on a pup with black nails?

[wags]

About the slicker brush- we use one with little balls at the top- the breeder recommended it when he was a puppy. I think it's a cat-slicker brush though. But Wes really loves it.

[Milopup]

Thanks. Is it normal (if there is such a thing as "normal" in the cairn terrier world) that the coat on his back is thicker/rougher than the coat on his legs, head, and belly?

I am just worried I have ruined his coat by having him clipped. I will do the stripping in the future, but he has to grow the current clip out first.

[bradl]

Sounds fairly typical. A lot of dogs struggle to get nice harsh coat on their legs and head. After stripping it seems the first, best coat comes in on the back, near the tail.

[Milopup]

Thanks bradl - that is exactly where his harsher coat has come in.