Terriers Turned Teenage

Yes, I know the title of this post has probably got you completely baffled. Don't worry, it'll all come clear in time!

Right. I'm sure the majority of you can tell the difference between Earl and Ethel by now. And I have no doubt that when you first discovered their online existence, or if you've only recently discovered them, you used their coat types to do just that. There's no point in pretending you knew the difference from the start; I know you've all done it! Well, they've both been reduced to their naked state. Sorry, unfamiliar readers. You'll have to find a new way of telling the difference, I'm afraid.

Ethel (top) and Earl before and after being hand stripped

Now before I continue, you're all probably wondering why on earth hand stripping Earl has converted him from a normal brown dog into a bright orange creature who looks as though he's just been bathed in fake tan. Well, as this was only my second time hand stripping Earl myself, and I started late in the evening, I started in the light and finished just as the sun was setting, therefore, the orange effect was created by the artificial garden light we have in the background, along with the fact that his naturally red grizzle coloured undercoat is brought out by the riddance of those light coloured wispy bits on the top!

As I said, I hand stripped Earl myself. At this point in my hand stripping career, I didn't feel as though I had enough experience to try to tackle Ethel's crazily long and wild coat, therefore, we took her into a nearby groomers and had her done professionally. Earl doesn't look overly different, just a little tidier and without all the tufty bits here and there. However, Ethel looks like a completely different dog! All in all, they're now well and truly both baldies.

In order to apologise for the inconvenience this may cause to some readers who struggle to tell the difference between my little hounds, I will give you a new method of recognising their differences. Remember, Ethel's the one with the big eyebrows and Earl's the one with the fake tan. It seems hand stripping my dogs has turned them into a pair of typical current-day teenage girls. This wasn't intentional, I swear!