Terrier Grooming
Here we deal with hand stripping Terriers, using the Airedale Terrier as an example. As hand stripping Terriers is fast becoming a dying art, it is my aim to share this specialised expertise with future generations of dog enthusiasts. This whole process is demonstrated while it is happening in the DVD below which serves as an adjunt to the pages which follow.
References and Further Reading
[1] Jane Harvey, DVD "How to Groom an Airedale" Rangeaire Vision, Victoria 1985, 2004 ISBN 978-0-9804296-0-2
Grooming a young terrier puppy
Puppies as young as six weeks can be taught to stand on the table to be groomed. If their grooming lasts only a few minutes and rewarded with a treat, they soon yet the idea. A dog which will stand on a table to be groomed is always pleasure to work on.
Clipping versus hand stripping
A terrier's coat was originally its natural defence against predators which lived underground. So terriers were bred to work prickly hedgerows chasing these predators which had large claws to dig underground. So, the terrier who hunted them had to have a specialized protective coat. Should the dog be attacked, this coat had hair that would come out easily, leaving the dog unharmed. So huntsmen selected a special non-moulting coat that became the terrier's defence against the pickles and the predators it was bred to hunt.
Rolling the coat is the alternative to stripping the dog bald. It is possible to 'roll' a terrier's coat for months, even years by this continual process of vigilantly pulling out just the long individual hairs. Although tedious and time consuming, this eliminates the process of ever having to strip the terrier bald to the skin. By maintaining hair at different lengths, there should always be sufficient new coat coming through to keep the terrier's outline neat.
To hand strip your terrier, you grip a SMALL amount of hair between your thumb and forefinger as demonstrated above, and pull sharply as shown on the DVD below[1]. Many people simply pluck the hair with their thumb and fingers like plucking a chicken! However, a serrated edged knife does assist in gripping the hair. It is important that the knife is dull and not sharp or it will cut the hair, rather than just assisting you just to grip it by holding your thumb on the flat of the blade.
Trimming and shaping your Terrier
Learning to trim and shape your Terrier is demonstrated in detail on the DVD below[1]. It is a skill that is not only extremely satisfying to learn, it rewards you in that your chosen breed is easily recognized and distinguished from all the other breeds trimmed to a terrier outline. This section relates not only to those being trimmed to compete in dog shows, but also those who like to see their pets correctly trimmed and shaped.