Hand stripping

[mintbiscuit]

Our border terrier is approaching a year and is ready for his first strip.

trying to find a groomer that does it but no luck as not taking on any new clients where we are!

I’ve not hand stripped a dog before but we are spending every evening with me ‘plucking ‘ the dead hairs. He’s tolerating it well.

can I do this myself and if so can anyone recommend the right tools? It’s a minefield online!

I've done it. It's not difficult.

Maybe the breed club could put you in touch with someone locally who could give you a lesson?

You can absolutely do this yourself, I’m a first time BT owner and have learnt on the job so to speak. There a Facebook group which is very helpful, lots of first timers and there a lots of how to do it videos. It’s called Border Terriers Hand strippers U.K., they also have a list of reputable groomers who had strip not that I’ve ever needed one as it really is that easy.

A stripping comb might help.
I used to strip our JRT over the course of a couple of evenings. It's really not difficult provided the dog doesn't mind.

Remember is does not matter if it takes a week of short sessions to get there. You and he are both learning the process.

A rubber glove or one of those finger thingies along with the stripping knife helps. Plus dried sprats.

What’s a stripping comb? When I google I get so many choices - what am I looking for exactly? Not convinced google is tagging them right!

This sounds great! Thanks so much. Off to stalk page now.

Wire hair - such a different ball game to our lab!

Rubber glove. Genius!

when you say a stripping knife what one do you recommend?

I have a lot of sprats… and liver treats!

@mintbiscuit
Wire hair - such a different ball game to our lab!

Yep - we had a lab before!

I’ve done my BT for about 10 years. I bath him and it fluffs up his fur then strip him using a rubber glove 🙂

I use a stripping knife on his more delicate parts 🙂

You want a little blade that has teeth at the tip. It looks a bit like a cross between a small table knife and a comb. You use it to grip the hair and then pull it in the direction of growth, the hair will come away easily if it is loose.
It is quite early in the year for a strip though ? Late Spring is better, the coat is looser then and they don’t get so cold afterwards.
Ears and cheeks are harder, particularly the ears , they can hurt so you need to do tiny amounts and try and work quickly.

@mintbiscuit I got ours in a small local pet shop. It was a comb with a blade at the base of the teeth, though TBH I did almost all of the strip by hand. And, obviously, adjusted the eyebrows with cautious use of the scissors.