Ticking: Shoshi
Saturday, July 27, 2013 at 8:30AM 
As Shoshi is cut short you can see her ticking. If I went a half of an inch all over her coat, which I did as she was a huge practice haircutting dog for me at one time, it would be even more obvious.
This is Shoshi with longer hair but not as long as she has now. As the white is more abundant you lose the appearance of the black until they are bathed.
This is Shoshi in full coat. You can no longer see the ticking. What it does do is give you an optical illusion that the hair is not a brilliant white as another dog without ticking but if you were to match up the whites next to each without the ticking playing a part you may be surprised that the whites are pretty brilliant. They have to be next to the black ticking otherwise it would give a grey appearance. Shoshi does not look grey as you can see. It's just a trick of the eye.
Ticking can be quite stunning.
Reader Comments (13)
She looks fantastic in full coat and I see what you mean about the underlying colour giving a misty look to the hair. I love the patterns in her short cut coat.
(She has such a lot of hair, I am impressed).
Thank you for the explanation and the photos.
I really like the look of the ticking. Very interesting. Shoshi looks like she's still a puppy in these pics. It must of taken a lot of work to achieve the fantastic look of her coat in the last pic!
I love Shoshi. I like ticking too, but I'm biased. Shadow had a couple really short cuts and people asked if he was a Dalmation, lol. One time a little girl called him the "polka dot dog"! Another time there was a woman in Quebec city who, upon seeing Shadow, announced, rather loudly, "What an oddly coloured dog."
Irma: It took years of how to figure out how to manage her coat as she has a cottony coat that looks like her paw was in an electrical socket and she just got shocked. I have learned to thin hers out and it rarely gets knots these days. Her coat taught me a lot and its not so bad now but I do know how to handle it. The last one is my usual these days after her bath and whitening up. One day I am going to trim up the ears etc just to neaten them up. I do line comb her so it lasts a couple to 3 weeks. But of course she doesn't have a Lily chewing on her. I spent many years shaving her down to almost the skin and letting it grow back in only to start again. Now she has a full coat always that is manageable but as I said it was a learning process. Hers is the worst coat I have ever encountered - well almost but its no longer a chore. She taught me techniques and she was my test dog for cutting, shaving, cottony, whitening - hehehe Sometimes it helps to have a dog to try things on so you can perfect your skills.
It is going to take me years to learn how to handle Timmy's coat too! I had no problem handling his coat but then along came Lilly! LOL Sometimes I can't believe what they do to each others coats. Timmy is going in to be shaved short today. Lilly for a trim next week and then we'll see about her coat from there. When I retire eventually and have more time and energy (and experience) we can always grow it out then.
Shoshi looks absolutely beautiful in her full coat. You learned how to handle it just wonderfully! Perhaps there is hope for me with Timmy too.
It's so interesting how the ticking seems to disappear in the longer coat, even though she has so much of it throughout the white.
Even with her cottony coat, she looks stunning when you have her groomed up nicely with the longer hair. You wouldn't even think it was cottony.
She's got a super cute face and personality too. I love her exuberance and how she jumps straight up high for treats :)
Shoshi's trim looks looks good she does have a very thick coat.
Irma: Cut them both short - seriously. Let them run, chase, bite on each other and be all they are meant to be -fun pups. Then if you want long hair wait till they are adults and are past the chewing stage. You may find by then that you like the short hair and really isn't the play more important than the rest? Obviously I think so as I had had top knots chewed off etc. Think about the lack of stress with less grooming. :-)
Think of it this way. It's sort of like highlights. When the coat lays down it isn't as exposed. If its short it is.
Lori: I love the Shoshi too - special personality indeed especially for an old lady to jump like she does.
Wow, I love her coat any which way! Beautiful!
Darlah: After some thought, I am going to do exactly as you suggested. The play IS the most important and that's what makes them happy pups! You're right again......as usual! LOL Thank you!
It makes sense to me and then when biting and chewing slows down you entertain a different longer do but by them you may have adjusted. :-)