Confusion regarding stripping

[Renee]

I've read over some of the threads on here about stripping, but am more confused than ever! My dog Kipper is about 1 year old and has never been groomed. I've had him a couple of months and haven't bathed him yet. Despite brushing/combing every other day, he's a bit smelly, so I wanted to strip him to see if that would help. (I also just purchased some shampoo for harsh coats, but haven't used it yet.)

He gets carsick, so I contacted a reputable mobile groomer for a quote, including stripping. They don't do hand stripping, but they use a Furminator. I said he needed a bath, nail clipping, maybe a bit of a trim around the face, and stripping. They said it would be around $60, plus $20 to come to my house. I had it set up and then they called to tell me the quote didn't include using the Furminator and that it would be another $15-20. She said they use the Furminator for stripping. So, including a tip on top of everything else, I'm looking at $115+! So I canceled, esp. because I was unsure about the use of a Furminator. First of all, does that seem a fair price?

I'm thinking now of just trying to do the stripping myself, but I don't think Kipper or I have the patience for doing it by hand. I'm a complete novice. Should I try the Furminator, a stripping knife, or a pumice stone? Am I supposed to be thinning the top coat or under coat? It's so confusing. If I could locate a good, yet reasonably-priced groomer, I would probably just take Kipper there and deal with cleaning the throw up out of my car!

Here are a couple of pics so you can see the coat. And yeah, I know, he's not all Cairn! I think he may have some corgi or dachshund in him. Or maybe he's mostly Australian terrier, but the shelter said he was a Cairn.

Thanks for any advice!

Edited March 31, 2010 by Renee

[BetsyNoodle]

Kipper is an absolute doll, and I can definitely see the Cairn in him! You have a lot of grooming options to choose from. I had a Cairn mix named Betsy Noodle who was the color of Kipper. I had her clipped and scissor trimmed and she looked precious. She would have never tolerated handstripping and her coat was not really coarse like a Cairn's anyway. Our Cairn, Murphy, is a rescued purebred pup who was clipped by his former owners. I handstrip his jacket myself with either my fingers or a stripping knife, and let my groomer hand strip his face and ears and scissor trim his belly, legs, tail, and rear end. There is a lot of information about stripping on this site if you want to do a search. There are others on this site who are more familiar than me with the Furminator and Mars Coat King and I am sure they will weigh in on those tools. My groomer does not like the Mars Coat King (she says it tends to cut the hair) but will sometimes "lightly" go over the dog's coat with a Furminator only if you request it. She charges $35 to give Murphy a bath, do his nails, and lightly scissors those areas I mentioned. And, yes, I DO realize she is an incredible bargain. Good luck and welcome!!

[kintra]

A Furminator is a tool that only takes out undercoat. If used properly, it shouldn't be taking off top coat like you'd want if you were stripping. I love my Furminator, but I only use it in areas where undercoat tends to build up and make the dogs "fluffy".

I use a stripping knife for a majority of the actual stripping, and sometimes pick with my fingers. If you can find somebody in your area to show you, thats always a great option.

I'd say thats an outrageous price for grooming. I really don't understand how they could charge $20 to go through the dog with a Furminator.

[Zekey's Mom]

Kipper's a sweety pie! He reminds me of Zekey, whom I have not yet groomed either. I just rely on brushing, so far. The smellieness might go away with a bath. I also noticed that Zekey is more pungent when he is nervous (like when I first picked him up from the shelter).

[Tracy A.]

Hey 115.00 bucks buys you a grooming table! and another 50.00 will get you grooming tools!

I am a big fan of grooming your own dog, it gives you an opportunity to know your dogs body and it isn't that hard. As for if you can hand strip or not depends on the coat and in a mixed breed it's hard to tell what kind of coat you might have. A mars coat king it great for a lot of breeds, it's wonderful on german shepherds for getting out that undercoat too! So starting with a Mars Coat king if you dog has a double coat might be a good starter tool.

Edited March 31, 2010 by Tracy A.

[Renee]

Thanks for the replies. I've been doing some more reading and I think I can handle much of the grooming myself. I'm thinking about getting the Mars Coat King or a Furminator or both. From what I've gathered, these both remove dead undercoat hair, correct? Does that mean they basically do the same thing? I've also read that the Mars Coat King will actually cut the hair, so I'm guessing I don't want that.

Is there dead hair in the under coat AND top coat that needs to come out? If so, is a stripping knife the only way to remove the dead top coat hair (other than pulling it out by hand)? I don't know if I'm ready to try a stripping knife. Would it be okay to just remove the dead under coat hair and leave the top alone?

[Nena]

I know that stripping can be confusing but just try it and you will see that it is not that hard to do. Mine is 3 now and have hand stripped her since I got her. From your picture I would say try hand stripping the tail and the mane, mine the first time i stripped her I just pulled hair out of her "lions mane" it came out so easy and made a huge difference. I also use a pumice stone it make pulling go so much faster. Do a search on this site and you will find instructions on how to hand strip that are really easy to follow. Basically you are holding skin back with one hand and pulling with the other so as not to hurt your dog by yanking hair and not supporting the skin under it.

You will notice that they will not smell if groomed.

That said Nena's hair has gotten so thick that hand stripping is not enough so I just go a mars coat king (size 16) and it works great! I love it. I just brushed it thru a few times all over and it really got out that wild look on her back and chest. I did not use it too much as I don't want her completely stripped of hair. The furminator is for the under coat only. It will not help the top coat. Use that on the belly or thighs or anywhere the undercoat needs thinned.

Don't be worried you will do fine, every coat is different and you can't do any harm. Usually groomer will say they can do cairns and hand strip but they probably clip.

[kintra]

I sincerely dislike Mars Coat Kings and will only use them if I am desperate (to be honest, I think the only breed I've ever used them with is a Clumber Spaniel in a last minute fix type situation). They cut the hair all too easy and that defeats the purpose of stripping. Some people swear by them and have found they really enjoy using them.

The outer coat is really the part that needs to be stripped. There are several different tools to help. I know it can be really scary at first, but don't worry - its just hair and hair always grows back!

[jimnconnie]

The Mars Coat King will cut the top coat. It's a good tool for a fast touch up, to make the coat look neater, but not something that should be used regularly for grooming.If used too much, it will result in a softer, lighter colored coat. A "stripping-knife" sounds like something to cut with, but if used correctly it pulls the dead hair out, and doesn't cut it. Lots of discussion on hand-stripping on the Forum if you use the Search function. In the pictures, Kipper looks to have a Cairn coat, he's a good looking boy. Good Luck!

Jim

[Renee]

Well, I've ordered a Furminator off Amazon, so I'll start with that and see how it goes. Also got my special shampoo, so I'm set! Well, the nail trimming is a challenge, but I'll get through it somehow. Thanks again!

[Nena]

I agree with the others that the mars coat king does cut as well as pull, I only used it lightly over the coat to get rid of the fly away hair. I still plan to hand strip but that tool helps with a finished look I would be hand stripping for an hour and still not have her cleaned up. I also ordered the furminator for her belly so am anxious to see how that goes.

For Nena's nails I use a coarse nail file which works great. She does not mind and i am not afraid to hurt her.

[sanford]

Kipper is wonderfully cute! I can see why you want to do your best for him. The stripping info can be somewhat daunting at first, but it will sort itself out as you proceed. I've been told that when you use the Mars Coat King, use long strokes in order to pull the hair, (even though some hair will be cut as well). Short, fast strokes will cut the hair!

If you strip by hand, you'll develop an ability to feel the hairs that are ready to be released and not to yank the hairs that are not ready to come out. Above all, don't worry about the result...Hair always grows back!

[NASAcrew]

On 4/5/2010 at 7:00 PM, sanford said:

Kipper is wonderfully cute! I can see why you want to do your best for him. The stripping info can be somewhat daunting at first, but it will sort itself out as you proceed. I've been told that when you use the Mars Coat King, use long strokes in order to pull the hair, (even though some hair will be cut as well). Short, fast strokes will cut the hair!

If you strip by hand, you'll develop an ability to feel the hairs that are ready to be released and not to yank the hairs that are not ready to come out. Above all, don't worry about the result...Hair always grows back!

What is a slipper cut!  I have a Bouvier that we are going to show.  I was told that Slipper cuts are not allowed.  I just wanted to know what it is?  

[bradl]

You might have to ask a Bouvier person that — I sure don't know. I used to know some Bouv folks but it has been decades since I've seen them around  

I sometimes refer to the overgrown hair on our Cairns' feet as slippers and it's probably the only place on a (show) Cairn that scissors would be accepted — but most use thinning shears so that the sharp-lined cuts of shears are not visible and the trimming blends into a more organic tidy shape. But I'm pretty sure this has nothing to do with allowable grooming on Bouvs!