What is Hand-Stripping?

Hand stripping is a process of ridding a dog’s coat of dead hairs. This can be accomplished in two ways. Either by using a serrated edge stripping knife or the good old fashioned way, by plucking with fingers. Hand-stripping involves pulling out every single dead hair from the dog’s root so there is room for the new coat to grow in rather than simply trimming them down.

Each time you clip a dog’s coat instead of hand stripping, you are just taking off the top layer of dead fur rather than removing it from the roots – as a result, the coat may become duller in texture and colour with each clipping.

At Canine Clips Academy Ltd our hand-stripping specialists understand your dog’s needs and will be happy to discuss your requirements at your initial consultation.

What Breeds Require Hand-Stripping?

When it comes to hand stripping, it is more about the type of coat than the breed of dog. Of course, certain dog breeds have certain types of coats, so you can identify some breeds that require hand-stripping based on this fact alone. The type of coat that requires hand-stripping produces two types of hair – the undercoat is soft and dense while the top coat is longer and wiry in texture. Dogs with wiry coats go through a specific growing cycle in which the hair becomes thicker and darker as it grows – if you do not remove the dead hair from the top coat it will have a negative impact on the overall appearance of the coat.

Some of the breeds that have a coat that requires hand-stripping include:

• Airedale Terrier
• Bouvier de Flanders
• Affenpinscher
• Cairn Terrier
• Wire Fox Terrier
• Jack Russel Terrier
• German Wirehaired Pointer
• Schnauzer
• Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
• Wirehaired Dachshund

Grooming is an essential part of being a dog owner and it is a task that can be challenging with certain breeds. Hand-stripping a dog’s coat can be tricky if you don’t know how to do it so we recommend that you book an appointment with our professional groomers who specialise in all types of coat.