Working with Wire Coated Breeds

Let's Talk Stripping!

Hand stripping that is! But before we tackle wire coated breeds, start out by revisiting episode 73, back to basics grooming.  This will give you a good foundation to move forward with working on your wire coated breed.

All coat types need specific grooming in order to keep the dog in top condition. Show dog or couch dog, they all need to be clean, brushed and maintained so they stay happy and healthy.

Show dogs with wire coats are hand stripped (either with bare fingers or using a stripping knife) in order to remove dead coat, create a shape and tidiness to the dog’s outline and maintain the proper coat texture for each breed.

Breed Specific Considerations

With few exceptions, the terrier breeds and their owners and handlers are the stars of the strippers. Each breed has a very specific pattern to be applied to the dog and within each breed there are *superstars* who have elevated the trim to a work of art. Names like Gabriel Rangel, Maripi Wooldridge, Bill McFadden, Tracey Szaras, Leonardo Garcini and more in terms of the current handlers, in addition to legends like George Ward, Ric Chashoudian, Clay Coady, Birgette Coady and so many more first rate dog people spring to mind when we think of the great terrier people and their stunning charges.

Toy dogs including the Brussels Griffon and Affenpinscher, as well as standard and giant schnauzers in the working group, are also very specifically patterned and detailed.

In the Sporting group wire coated breeds including GWP, WPG, Spinone and WireVizsla require maintenance with a more natural finished look than is required for the terrier breeds.

Irish Wolfhounds, Scottish Deerhounds, PBGV, and Wire coated Ibizan hounds call for minimal grooming, while Wire Dachshunds are a bit more stylized.

The new Herding breed, the Berger Picard is also a very low maintenance wire coat, but does need hand stripping of ear fringe and raking of the body coat.

Hand stripping basics apply to all of these breeds, but knowing your specific breed’s requirements, norms, shape, standard and coat type is essential to turning out a beautiful finished product. For example, a Spinone trimmed like a giant schnauzer is going to be seriously faulted for applying a “pattern” to the dog…

Hand Stripping

Pulling a dog’s hair, always in the direction it grows. Wire coated dogs have what’s called a “releasing hair follicle.” In nature, the dog’s work would cause it to catch the coat in weeds and sticks, and the hair would simply pull out relatively painlessly rather than get tangled as a longer, silkier hair type would.

Proper technique for hand stripping is to be sure each hair is firmly grasped either between thumb and the side of the forefinger or thumb and blade and pulled *straight* back in the direction of the growth. This can get tricky around the bum and at the sides of the neck where the hair grows in different directions. Do NOT pull *up,* away from the dog or against the grain of the hair. Your hand should follow the line of the dog’s body, with your wrist kept straight in order to avoid breaking the coat. If using a stripping knife, be sure the blade is used only for a better grip. If you cut or break the coat, you’ve accomplished the same thing as shaving the dog.

Be sure, as you are pulling coat, to hold the skin in front of where you are pulling to keep it taut and minimize any discomfort for the dog.

Well, then what is Raking?

In certain instances, you may want to rake out undercoat to help create the desired shape (remove bulk at the shoulders, over the loin or the base of the tail for example). In this instance, you can use a *dull* stripping knife laid essentially flat against the dog and...