Stripping Scout

[Eliz222]

I don't have a great "before" picture of Scout, but this will give you an idea of what her coat was like.

I have been brushing Scout and Finch almost every day because I kept picking up wads of hair around the house, but when I brushed them, not much hair came out. I decided to try to strip Scout and her hair is just falling out! It was sooo easy to pull. I'm not sure how she will do when I get to her face, but I like how she looks so far.

When Scout was a tiny puppy, she was all black. About a year later she was a grey brindle. Last year she started developing red hair, and now (at 4 years old) she is a red brindle. Her coat is almost the same color as Finch (2), who has been a red brindle since birth.

Here is an "after" picture. I still have to do her face and her legs...that should be fun....not!

You can tell where she has been stripped and where I still need to work on.

Are some dogs easier to strip? I have tried to strip Finch, who REALLY needs it, but her hair is really hard to pull and I always feel like I'm taking it out by the roots!

[Sarah]

Good luck with the face and legs! Those are the only areas that I have trouble with. Henry HATES it when I work on those areas, but tolerates the rest just fine. I dread it every time. Unfortunately, it seems like his fur grows at warp speed.

Scout is adorable!

[Barney's Mom]

Here's what I discovered when I stripped Barney. Granted he is younger and doesn't have quite the full coat that Scout has, but here's the trick. When I look at his fur, some hairs seem to clump together and stick out above the rest of the hair. These were always the ones that came out easiest and in big hunks. So going by that, I was able to grab and yank the hair that was dead. Also, the hair that seemed to need stripping would curl up and not lay flat on his back. Those hairs came out very easily too. Since Scout has a full coat, it may take quite a long time to get it all out. It took me over an hour just to do Barney's face and neck. I have a Cairn Terrier owner's book that showed a dog being stripped and there was a HUGE mound of hair next to the dog that the groomer had removed! From what I can tell, they look a little bald for a while, but then their coat comes in all nice and full down the road. Several people including myself have purchased the grooming booklet available through the CTAA. I have not received it yet, but I think it will be a good reference. You might want to pick it up. It only costs $8.00.

Good Luck and have a Merry Christmas!