HANDSTRIPPING THE PET WIRE FOX TERRIER

THE STORY OF MAX

This is Max. Although he is short of show quality (actually too tall and leggy), his folks want the benefits of hand stripping for the color, texture, and skin health that this grooming procedure provides.

I do what I call "modified" hand stripping on Max, where I hand strip the jacket, use clippers on the head and ears, and scissor the legs. Max is a terrible handful, not in the least complacent about the whole plucking process. So we compromise. Our work was further compromised last summer when Max was placed in a boarding/grooming kennel and they clipped him short all over. Oh no! We have all heard that once you clip these coats, they are ruined. I had to decide whether to throw in the towel on this coat and just keep on clipping, or try to restore the harsh proper coat. You know me by now, what do you think I did? Do you think I did the practical easy thing? Nooooo. I chose to try to use stripping techniques to see if I could restore the coat.

The first time Max returned after the clipping, it was an easy groom. He was just beginning to regrow. Yes, it was coming in very diluted in color and fuzzy in texture. I "mucked out" the jacket as best I could. "Muck out" is a terrier term sometimes referred to by pro groomers as "carding." I used the Furminator and a Mat Breaker to rake out and remove as much undercoat as I could in order to start to promote new, healthier, growth.

The second time was much worse. The coat texture was awful, fuzzy and matted and not at all what you want to deal with. I bit the bullet, blessed my hands, and had at it, again working mostly from within the coat, stripping out undercoat and using the Furminator to pull out undesirable fuzz. At the skin, I saw some new colored coat beginning to appear. I was exhausted but encouraged.

This was the third groom after the clipping. Here is the before picture. You can see that there is some color there but the overall look is quite faded.
MAX BEFORE


I could see that there was great stuff growing in. It was there and ready to be revealed. What I did this time was to strip or pull from the top going in, removing as much colorless coat as I could, to reveal the new growth. This is what his back looked like after about 30 minutes of this.


What you are seeing is the results of my efforts the previous two grooms. You can see that I was more successful in more forward part of the jacket. There's more color there. I worked a little harder today on the rear of the back and the sides, hoping to clarify the color of the pattern. That's what I call "stripping for color."

This is the pile of hair that I removed in stripping the jacket.


When I am partially handstripping these pets, I prioritize each time and pick an area for my predominant focus. This amount of hair is pretty good for a single session. If we were totally stripping, there would be three times this hair. Part of what determines my expectation of how much I can handstrip is the dog's tolerance. Max has nearly zero. He dances around, he hates even brushing, he's just a handful. So I can't do as much by hand as I do some of my others.

To finish I clipped the head with a #7F, ears with a #15, and used a #4 and #5 blade to clip the front rear and shoulders where there was no color (one shoulder has caramel color which I pull). Here is the end result.

MAX AFTER


I think this is a pretty decent pet groom. I make a few adjustments to the ideal breed trim to compensate for some of Max's less than ideal anatomy (faults). I leave the underchest a little long and the legs a little full to make up for how leggy he is. I clip or strip closer at the croup (in front of tail, over hips) because he is higher there and should have a straight back. There is little I can do about his lack of rear angulation. See how straight he is? Oh well. I leave the head a little fuller than ideal because I think he would look like a pin head if I did a true show head. I'm still working on that head. It is an area where I think I could improve. I may just take some risks next time.

Time & Price. I spent about 2 hours on this groom, a good part of which was the combout. I asked for $65. The client was so happy to see Max's color back, she tipped me $20.

Most of all I think this shows that terrier coat is not necessarily permanently ruined by clipping. This coming week I have another, new, Wire Fox coming for hand stripping that has been clipped several times. The vet has recommended hand stripping to hopefully help with skin problems. This will be another interesting case. Stay tuned!!