Stripping A Dog’s Coat
Posted by Knowledge Guy in Pets and Animals, tags: Coats, Dachshunds, Dead Hair, dog, Dog Breeds, dog gromming stripping, Dog Grooming, Dogs, Downy, Existence, Finger Cot, Groomers, Guard Hair, Healthy Hair, High Maintenance, Impressive Appearance, Intensive Task, Latex, Life Span, Pet, Root Hair, Soft Undercoat, Struggle, TerriersGrooming is vital in the existence of each and every dog. The grooming requirements differ from breed to breed. While some dogs have high maintenance needs, other dogs can maintain their health and impressive appearance with the least with fussy grooming routine. Dogs form a strong attachment with their owners but this does not mean that the pet would not put up a good struggle when groomed. Grooming the pet would be a lot more easier if it was introduced to the procedure at a young age.
The usual procedures in grooming a dog’s coat is brushing, stripping and trimming. Wiry coated breeds like Dachshunds, Schnauzers and most terriers breeds require a twice a year coat grooming procedure known as stripping. Dog breeds with wiry coats have two types of hair – a downy under coat and a coarse top coat. At the start of the hair’s growth, the dog will have a healthy, thick and well pigmented hair. This healthy hair follicle will soon become weaker, become thinner and weakly rooted at the end of its life span.
Dead root hair has to be removed with stripping. The coat’s condition and the appearance will be marred if instead of removing dead hair by stripping, the coat is trimmed. This condition will lighten the natural color of the coat and mar its silky appearance. Moreover, trimming this kind of coat can be very uncomfortable for the dog as the soft undercoat that takes over the guard hair will cause the dog to itch and to overheat.
The dog’s coat can be stripped by using a stripping knife or a latex finger cot. This coat grooming procedure is also done by hand or by processes known as rolling or carding. Stripping the dog’s coat is a labor intensive task. Stripping a small dog cannot be done in one session. To speed up the stripping process, groomers would use a stripping knife that will pluck out more hair. Scraping the coat to remove dead hair is another procedure of stripping known as carding. Stripping can also be done by rolling the dog’s skin with one hand and removing dead skin with the other.
Stripping is usually started when dogs are 6 months of age. Stripping the coat would be a lot easier if the dog’s coat is thoroughly brushed to remove tangles. Contrary to common belief, dogs are not hurt when stripped.
Learn more about dog grooming and stripping at Sarah’s Dogs.