HAND STRIPPING THE PET AIREDALE

We've seen Coco before. She is now 13 months old and this is her third grooming. It has been about four months since her last groom. Too long, if you ask me. One obstacle that needs to be overcome with owners is that they have sometimes been "sold" on the idea of handstripping by breeders who will say, "It may cost more, but you don't have to do it as often." That puts a greater burden on the groomer.

COCO "BEFORE" - A very bushy girl!


STEP ONE: Muck out coat. This refers to removing excess undergrowth. Other groomers may refer to this as "carding". I use an old Mat Breaker tool that is no longer sharp. It works great for thick coats such as this. A metal comb also removes some, and a Furminator is great on shorter coats. This step took about 10 minutes.

COCO AFTER "MUCK OUT"


STEP TWO: SET GOALS AND PRIORITIZE
It is very difficult in the parameters of the professional salon, where I have to do 6-8 dogs a day to make a living, to do EVERYTHING to a hand strip terrier EVERY TIME. After I muck out the excess and comb out the furnishings, I look the dog over and set some priorities and goals for this session. I look for bushy areas, areas of poor coloration, or things that were obviously overlooked last time. In looking at Coco on this day, I prioritized tail and rear, elbows and hocks, and the back of the neck. Last time I had prioritized the jacket.

TAIL & REAR - BEFORE

A FEW MINUTES LATER....

If I were grooming this dog for show or grooming competition, I would take off more here. But for purposes of the pet salon, this is sufficient to maintain color and texture. The area under the rectum, the width of the cowlicks, called "the butterfly", was clipped.

ELBOWS - You can see both by the extra length and the lighter color, that the elbow area needs some attention.

THREE MINUTES LATER...


HOCKS - This is a great example of how the coat color can tell you what needs to be done.


The pile of hair is not just off of the hock! Although I started with the hock, I proceeded up the leg to meet where I had worked on the tail and rear.

BACK OF NECK - The shot of the neck before I worked on it did not turn out. Sorry. But this after shot clearly shows the faded color at the top of the neck right below the occiput for about two inches. I probably missed that area last time when the puppy's neck was in the grooming loop. This time I spotted the problem and removed the loop. This small area clearly shows how the black color can fade to a more "blue" color if you don't hand strip. If I had been clipping this dog, the whole jacket would now be that color.


DISCOVERY OF ANOTHER PRIORITY - THE UNDERCHEST
As I continued working, tackling the jacket, I realized that her underline was way too droopy and needed to be worked. I focussed there and in the remaining time, I quickly tidied up the jacket, pulling about 1/3 of the overall coat, just enough so that it would not get bushy before the next groom (hopefully). I left the head to be clippered (hand stripping these short heads is a bit hard on my old hands and clipping doesn't look bad.) I worked on the front just a little, enough to maintain color. I will prioritize that area next time. All told, I spent about an hour on the stripping, maybe an hour and ten minutes. This is what she looked like before the bath.


FINISHED COCO

After the bath and dry, I went over the pattern with a #4F blade. This is a "cheater" step that I incorporate into working with pet terriers that you would never do for the ring. But it is what saves my hands so that I have something left in them for the next dog. The #4 blade tightens up your work and helps to add a little more definition to the finish. The head was done with a #7F blade against the grain and blending shears. Ears were done with a #10 and could be a little closer.

I think she looks quite good! This is one of the breeds for which I have a "good eye." Although I am moderately satisfied with job, I recognize that I am not "there" yet. There is still a distance to go.... as I say, we are "seeking perfection". My goal is to get that show dog look, and this is the dog that could get me there. Maybe next time?