Wiry hair/hand stripping

[JacksonsMom]

I really love Border Terriers. They are one of the breeds I've been contemplating, but unsure if I could ever get used to the wiry hair and having to handstrip a coat.

I feel like it'd be lower maintenance than Jackson but to be honest? He's really low maintenance for the most part since I keep him short and get him professionally groomed every 8-10 weeks. And I admit, I loooveee his soft to touch silky hair.

I cannot stand when he starts looking straggly, but my question is - I see a lot of BT sites say to hand strip 2x a year, but does the dog just like a shaggy mess in between? And how common is it for a groomer to offer hand stripping, and I guess I'm just confused by it. lol.

[JacksonsMom]

Also would would happen if a BT was clipped down?

[MandyPug]

Look through the pictures of Zack, he's a BT that i know. She only strips him a couple times a year and just kinda plucks stray hairs in between.

http://wigglyzack.blogspot.ca/

[Dekka]

I hand strip and clip my dogs. Depends on how lazy I feel. So far clipping hasn't changed a coat. And in Kaiden's case he has been clipped on and off for 8 years now..

If your dog has a good coat hand stripping is easy and the dog tolerates it well. Dekka has been known to fall asleep during stripping. But Kaiden is often clipped because his coat is 'bad' ie too soft, and so he finds hand stripping unpleasant.

No the dog doesn't look like a shaggy mess. Most even unstripped don't look like a mess. You only have to strip when the new coat comes in. I personally leave as much coat as possible for the winter, so only strip/clip in the summer. Dekka gets clipped these days more often. Her coat is soooo dense and she is such a water monster its the only way to make sure she dries thoroughly.

[JacksonsMom]

Originally Posted by MandyPug

Look through the pictures of Zack, he's a BT that i know. She only strips him a couple times a year and just kinda plucks stray hairs in between.

http://wigglyzack.blogspot.ca/

Good to know! Zack is a great looking Border! Very cute.

[JacksonsMom]

Originally Posted by Dekka

I hand strip and clip my dogs. Depends on how lazy I feel. So far clipping hasn't changed a coat. And in Kaiden's case he has been clipped on and off for 8 years now..

If your dog has a good coat hand stripping is easy and the dog tolerates it well. Dekka has been known to fall asleep during stripping. But Kaiden is often clipped because his coat is 'bad' ie too soft, and so he finds hand stripping unpleasant.

No the dog doesn't look like a shaggy mess. Most even unstripped don't look like a mess. You only have to strip when the new coat comes in. I personally leave as much coat as possible for the winter, so only strip/clip in the summer. Dekka gets clipped these days more often. Her coat is soooo dense and she is such a water monster its the only way to make sure she dries thoroughly.

I'm glad you clip your dogs sometimes... most stuff I've been reading it's like all hell to shave a terrier coat, but it doesn't seem like it's ruined yours at all. Nice to have the option. I prefer the look of a Westie clipped actually vs. stripped.

[Dekka]

I got told by a few JRT breeders who show confo.. that they clip, they just don't often admit it.

[Grab]

I've tried stripping Nog's coat. I think I just suck at it or I'm impatient. Not sure which. I feel like it grew back way too fast for me to have done it properly, so not sure what happened there, lol. He has been clipped once since I have had him (right after I adopted him). And he'd been clipped a lot with his first owners. His coat still seems to be the proper texture.

(Brussels Griffons aren't really terriers, but they have a kind of terrier-like coat. So not sure if my experience helps at all, lol)

For what it's worth, he doesn't mind stripping any more than he minds any other procedure.

[spiffy]

BT needs stripping. If the coat is clipped, the roots of the dead hair that were left behind will affect growth of new hair. Your dog will have one messy tangled coat. If you opt to have this breed you need to learn how to hand strip. Not many professional groomers know hot to strip a BT and those that offer this kind of service usually ask for high fees.

[milos_mommy]

I know one lady who gets her border terrier clipped down probably every 3 months or so, and the dog really never looks messy.

I also know a few dogs who get hand stripped 2-3x a year. They do look like a big shaggy mess but ONLY if it goes too long between strippings. It's on the pricier side but if you're bathing at home and only getting the dog stripped a few times a year it's less/the same as the dog you get groomed every 2 months. You can also learn to do it yourself, but it's not super easy.

I used to strip Milo's coat when he was younger, but then just kind of stopped. Now he is a shaggy mess.

ETA: As far as clipping ruins the coat....well, if you want your dog to grow their full show coat back, obviously don't clip them, but if you're maintaining it or don't care about not having a perfect coat, it's not going to make the dog look horrible and the hair isn't never going to grow back or anything.