PetSmart Hand Stripping

[Guest Lemmiwinks]

I think I hit the jackpot....our local PetSmart has an ex-Terrier handler working in their grooming department and she agreed to hand-strip my Cairn pup, for $38 per visit.

He's been stripped twice so far, he's going for his third visit tomorrow, and he just reached his nine month birthday.

I will link some pics up after his visit.

She really does a nice job and does everything for that price (glands, nails, teeth) - I couldn't believe my luck, I'd thought I would have to learn the process.

I recommend checking with your local PetSmart -- you never know what luck you'll have.

[Guest Andy]

Are u in Houston? I just talked to one of the groomer at our local Petsmart, she said she can hand strip our Cairn for about 38 bucks too...

[Guest Lemmiwinks]

Nope, I'm in the Poconos, Pennsylvania.

[Rob D.]

Any hand strippers in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada area?

My little guy is two years old any has never been hand stripped. The groomer

we take him to doesn't hand strip and makes him look good any way. We bought

him for our pet not to show. Does it make any difference? Any body know? Thanks.

[Fenagh]

Rob D, as for the hand stripping, it sure isn't necessary if you are not showing your dog. Depending on the type of coat a cairn has, stripping can be quite

uncomfortable for your dog and if so, they begin to hate the trips to the groomer and become quite a handful. Hand stripping of a show dog is done on a continuous basis, small areas at a time to keep the dog "in coat".

Many groomers do an excellent job with a special attachment that they can put on their clippers which gives the look of hand stripping but a lot easier on the dog.

There is also a great grooming tool now available called the Mars Coat King, which does a really good job at home. A word of caution though, the blade in the Coat King is very, very sharp and must be used carefully. I have heard of a couple of first time users cutting their dogs with it, which is unfortunate.

Fenagh

[Courtbro]

I also found a groomer near my home that will do stripping. Her brother has a Cairn male, like me, and she strips his. She told me that she will strip him, clip his nails, and groom the rest of him for $20!!! I want to keep the natural look of a Cairn, but I will never show Scotch, he is just my little boy, and I do not want to hurt him. Do you think I should just have her clip him??? I made him an appointment for tommorrow morning so any advice would be appreciated. I don't know if this helps, but Scotch is only 5 months old.

Court