Can someone please tell me - is handstripping a terrier really necessary?

[NoSuchThingAsTooMuchCoffee]

Our dog is a year old and due to his wiry coat, we've had people tell us he needs to be hand stripped.

He has just come back from the groomers and he's looking a little pinkish

Is this process really necessary? I've had advice about how it's supposed to be a 'must' for weatherproofing his coat, good for his skin etc - but I don't really see how clipping is any worse. I just want him to be happy, and I'm not sure how his coat will be 'ruined' other than by according to breed standards.

I'd just like some unbiased advice about what the advantages really are, please. Am open to hearing them - it's just so far, I don't really understand them.

And what do other terrier owners/parents/servants do?

I would say so. But then I never had mine clipped. I was told it was bad for the coat, would look bad over time, poor condition and lack of oils and waterproofing.

I had stripped my dog myself. Easy enough to do but time consuming which is why it costs more. I'd settle in front of the tv and spend a couple of hours doing it.

Thanks Possum. Do you think it's of any concern that he looked a bit pinkish afterward, or is that 'normal'? (In the way that your eyebrow can, after plucking.)

My dog never looked pink afterwards but he had a really thick, brown coat so couldn't really see his skin to inspect it. I used to wait until he was looking scruffy and then some of his coat would be loose and come out easily.

I have a Border Terrier. I hand strip him myself using a variety of combs. If you clip hair that should be stripped it doesn't grow back properly.

I also do a bit at a time over a few evenings so it's not so sore. There are videos on YouTube that you can watch to see how it's done.

If he was pink afterwards he might not have been ready. We've always had borders, and their hair comes out so easily when they're ready to be stripped.

Okay thanks everyone. I have tried to have a look at some videos to look into doing it myself, but I couldn't seem to differentiate between old and new hair!

If anyone has any good links, that would be really helpful.

Agree, if his skin is pink the groomer has taken hair that is not ready to be stripped. I guess this is probably an occupational hazard of a dog visiting a groomer occasionally for stripping, rather than the regular 'rolling' of a coat by just taking the hair that is ready on a regular basis, little and often.

He will definitely look smarter for being stripped, and his coat will be more weatherproof. Personally, I couldn't clip a coat that should be stripped, but you will be in the minority if you continue to pay for stripping, no doubt, and if you're not bothered about his coat then perhaps that is the way forward. There's certainly no benefit to the dog to being stripped harshly when the coat is not ready to go.

Perhaps look at some websites and videos, maybe try a stripping knife to assist and give it a few months to see if you can get on top of it before giving in?

Mikki not usually the best brand of grooming tools, but for this probably not much difference, plus the page had instructions.

Oh okay thanks Whitney. It had been 4 months since he'd last been stripped, and the groomer then (a different one) had said three times a year for handstripping. Does that sound excessive (if you do it all in one go)?

I did it maybe once a year....I could tell when the coat needed doing as it would start to look tufty.