What is hand stripping?

A wire coat grows to a set length, and then its outer hairs die and loosen. Stripping pulls those dead hairs out, with the fingers or a stripping knife, so new harsh hair can come through; Wikipedia's account describes the process as coordinating the shedding to make room for a new coat. Done regularly, it keeps the dense, hard jacket and strong color that wire-coated breed standards describe.

Clipping is a different tool. Clippers cut every hair to the same length, dead or alive, rather than removing the dead coat. The AKC's article on hand stripping says clipping a wire coat will eventually soften it and can affect its color, sheen and texture, and that clippers may disrupt the hair's natural growth cycle. Plenty of pet owners accept that trade for a quicker, simpler groom; owners who show their dogs generally cannot.

The AKC's article calls hand stripping a pain-free process and quotes a groomer saying most pets do not mind it on the body, while warning that an untrained attempt can be painful and may not give the result the owner wanted. The AKC's guide to wire-coat care says the same in its own words: done correctly, stripping should not bother a healthy dog. Sensitive areas such as the face and the underbelly are usually clipped instead, which that guide calls just fine.

Doing it correctly is mostly about skill and patience. The groomer works on hair that is ready to come out and takes it a little at a time, and many owners of show dogs keep the coat rolling, stripping small areas often so new hair is always coming through. It is slow work, which the AKC's guide calls time-consuming and tedious, and that time on the table is the main reason most pet families choose clipping instead.

Dogtown's full service includes a breed-specific or custom haircut, which for a wire-coated dog means a clipped trim in the breed's pattern: $75 up to 25 pounds, $85 from 26 to 50, $110 from 51 to 90 and $120 over 90. Stripping is not listed among our services, so this page does not offer it. If you want it, say so when you book, and the groomer confirms at check-in what can be done for your dog's coat.

Between grooms a wire coat is easy to keep: brush it weekly, and on a schnauzer or terrier comb the beard and leg furnishings, where sand and burrs collect after a Wingaersheek morning or a trail at Ravenswood. A $10 face trim tidies eyebrows and beard between full grooms, and rebooking at pick-up takes $5 off the next visit. Grooming needs no evaluation, so you can book online or in the Dogtown app.