# Handstripping Advice?



## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

Hello everyone! 

I am new to this forum, I love it, btw! Lots of great information...

I have a 6 month old Black Standard Schnauzer that I am hoping to keep handstripped instead of clippered. I bought two Chris Christensen stripping knives (fine and medium) and they work great. 

However, my question is this: How do keep your hands from hurting with all that pulling? also, how long does it take to strip the entire "saddle"? I've only been able to do about 10 minutes at a time before my hands start to hurt and my dog has had enough, too. I am not getting all that much hair out in 10 minutes, lol!

I have been a professional pet groomer for over 15 years and own my own salon, but I have never hand stripped. I groom many schnauzers, but they are all pets and I just give them a clippered schnauzer cut. I hesitate to clipper my pup because I don't want to ruin the coarseness of her coat. 

I think my hands hurt because I have been grooming for so many years and at the end of the day I just don't have the "oomph" to groom my own dog for very long, lol!

Everyday, her coat is getting longer and she has "cow-licks" all over her back and I'm standing there with the clippers in my hand just itching to give her a haircut!!! Help!!


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

I know your pain. I have an airedale I keep stripped...well, he looks like a buffalo right now..lol He is in dire need, but I am using him for a grooming contest in July, so I can't pull him out now. It is tempting to clipper, but don't do it unless you are really sure you want to ruin the texture. My hands hurt when stripping to, but I put bandaids on the pressure spots on my index finger, and that helps tremendously. Technique is everything when stripping. Make sure you are not pulling with your wrist AT ALL. Your wrist should stay completely straight. Pull from the elbow. Make sure your knives are dull. Most come sharp from the factory (LOVE the CC knives btw) But dull them up. Rub them thru sand, dirt, saw some blocks of wood with them, etc. To know if they are cutting hair, when you pull, leave your thumb on the knife and make sure that there is the same amount of hair above and below your thumb. Make sense? You can also tell if the hairs are being broken, or pulled from the follicle. 

As for the cowlicks, make sure that you are pulling the coat in the direction you want it to grow, and keep your knife and hand as close to the skin as possible. Don't pull up, pull close to the skin. I have my dale lay on the table for body pulling, and ear power is your friend. Dales pull really hard, and I use alot of ear powder to help grab the hair. Makes it much faster, and easier on my arms and hands. Lots of breaks too. It takes me 4 hours to strip my dale's body coat out to bald. That is with a few 5 minute breaks. If you keep the coat rolled, it will only take an hour or so a week maybe. Also card before and after stripping, that will help the coat lay flat as well. Keep in mind you can only pull whats ready to pull. If you are pulling live coat, the pup is going to not like it, and its going to be harder on you. Try back combing the coat, and pulling the longest hairs, that way you will be able to keep her coat rolled, and won't have to go down to the skin. I love the correct look and feel of a stripped coat, but it is alot of work.


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## HersheyPup (May 22, 2008)

Hi Graco22,

Thanks for the reply and advice! Your Airedale sounds like he's going to be dramatically different after the grooming contest...turning a wooly mammoth into a sleek and sporty terrier! That's magic 

I haven't really tried to use much ear powder..only a little on one or two spots. I think I was afraid to dry out her coat and skin, I suppose if I bathe her directly after I powder and do some stripping, she shouldn't get dried out.

I know that I am not cutting the hairs, because I look at the hairs after I pull them and they are long on both sides of the knife and sometimes I even see the bulb at the base of the hairs. I think I need to hold the knife closer to the skin, as you mentioned, but it is hard when the coat is so long and laying flat. Her coat is flat and curly, it goes every which way and makes it hard to grasp in the right way, grrr. 

Next time I will card the coat first and back comb and powder (in that order?) ...Your techniques sound good, and I will give them a try! Still a lot of frigging work, lol!


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## Motebi (Apr 8, 2008)

Hi there,

I don't have a Schnauzer, but I do handstrip my wirehair dachshunds. I guess the technique should be pretty much the same. Roll the dogs skin between your thumb and index finger and you'll see the dead hair sticking up. I use a stripping knife to get the dead hair out and when I'm done with that I use a lava stone to catch the reminder of dead hair. Works like a charm.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Your'e welcome Hershey. I hope it helps. I had to learn myself, as there really are limited resources out there for hand stripping, and its of course easier to show someone than read how. I just kept trying different things until I got it. It took at least a year of stripping my dale to feel like I was figuring it out. If you can, try to get to some local breed shows, and look at the standard and giants there. Their back coat is much longer than most of us do on pet grooms. Probably about an inch. Keep in mind when you are covering/accentuating body structure, you will leave more hair in certain spots, less hair in another, i.e. tailset. Nothing like those #10 on schn though. Just go slow, find a technique that works best for you, and keep trying. Yes, its alot of work..lol Thats my mine is a mammoth right now. I usually just strip him out bald though. Since I use him in grooming contests, I have to clipper his body there, cause 2 1/2 hours to hand strip him just aint happeining..lol So I clipper abotu 2-3 times a year, and then strip him out bald the rest of the time to get the coat back. Has worked well for him, but I don't go shorter than a 1 1/2 SS attachement on him either. There are ways to help keep some of the coat texture and color while still clipping, but there is a difference in the coat to some degree. Keep trying, it will come to you.


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## loratliff (Feb 7, 2008)

I have a Brussels Griffon who gets handstripped and I grew up with wirehaired Dachshunds . It's taxing work but so worth it in the long run!


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

You can help 'cheat' some of the process, by using a Furminator, and a Coat King rake...Or just using two coat kings; one fine, and one coarse. These will help get alot of the dead top coat out. 

Have you gotten some sort of 'stripping powder'? This will help your fingers from slipping when you try to strip her out. I actually just use regular ear powder...it works great. Someone else on here uses those finger caps that secretaries use to keep their fingers from being too slippery while sorting through papers. 

Take your time on her too, especially if she is not used to the process; seeing as you have the ability to, there is no need to 'rush' the process. 
Just keep her brushed out so she can't matt up, otherwise you will have to shave her out. 


A good strip job will take a couple of hours, so definitely take your time and let your fingers get used to the 'work' that stripping involves. Perhaps working on her in the morning before you really get your day started, may help. Bathing should also be done after the majority of stripping is done; the extra 'dirt and grease' enable you to grip the coat even better...when it's clean, even if coarse, it is more slippery to deal with.


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## Karen Thompson (Dec 12, 2013)

I love the information on here as living in a community where I have the only Standard Schnauzer and have decided to do the grooming myself, all of this is very helpful. I have the stripping knife, table etc as well as a clipper. I was shown briefly when she was 4 months old a little of the stripping and clipper but has been 3 months and the breeder is not close so now as she is getting a little Bouvier looking needs a little touch up and thought I would like to handstrip first and see how that goes before attempting the clippers. When handstripping where from the head back do you start when going down the back. She is now almost 7 months old and not sure where to stop when going towards her legs? She is a jet black beauty so don't want to mess up too much, good thing we live in the mtns and she can wear a coat to hide any oops...lol


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Karen Thompson said:


> I love the information on here as living in a community where I have the only Standard Schnauzer and have decided to do the grooming myself, all of this is very helpful. I have the stripping knife, table etc as well as a clipper. I was shown briefly when she was 4 months old a little of the stripping and clipper but has been 3 months and the breeder is not close so now as she is getting a little Bouvier looking needs a little touch up and thought I would like to handstrip first and see how that goes before attempting the clippers. When handstripping where from the head back do you start when going down the back. She is now almost 7 months old and not sure where to stop when going towards her legs? She is a jet black beauty so don't want to mess up too much, good thing we live in the mtns and she can wear a coat to hide any oops...lol


well we have a jet black giant gal.... and have clipped the whole time. Just saying. give the handstripping a try and if you decide its not for you, know that clipping really isnt that bad and the dog looks great. and you have to plenty of hand scizzoring on the head, ears and legs to satisfy the need for detail work...
Sorry cant give you hand stripping advice, I mean I have plucked some white hairs outa her eyebrows but I feel that hardly counts...


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## Karen Thompson (Dec 12, 2013)

I was hoping to use the clippers for the main part as less stress on her and me I'm sure. Thought I would try to handstrip some of the dead hair first as the breeder briefly showed me before clipping. My main concern and question is the head in regards to how to do even with clippers as she just had a quick go over when 4 months old so now on my own and have watched some vids etc but well still unsure exactly especially for the brows and eye area. She needs her eyes cleaned up for sure along with the brows and I just want to make sure I cut and clip properly for that area. As with the Standards the brows are different from the minis for sure but want to see her beautiful eyes...any tips.


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

Karen Thompson said:


> I was hoping to use the clippers for the main part as less stress on her and me I'm sure. Thought I would try to handstrip some of the dead hair first as the breeder briefly showed me before clipping. My main concern and question is the head in regards to how to do even with clippers as she just had a quick go over when 4 months old so now on my own and have watched some vids etc but well still unsure exactly especially for the brows and eye area. She needs her eyes cleaned up for sure along with the brows and I just want to make sure I cut and clip properly for that area. As with the Standards the brows are different from the minis for sure but want to see her beautiful eyes...any tips.



With the head I do between her ears down to her eyebrows and her neck and the main part of her ears (you have to make sure you clipper blades dont catch her ears, so for the edges and brows you use sharp scizzors)... also her cheeks and into her beard you clip-- to suit your taste.... I am really bad with the brows-- the first time I put a Utube video on while I clipped (really nicely done just google it, and its to music as well)...I need to look at it again she is due for some spritzing up but its been very cold and snowy and I thought, she needs her furcoat at this time....


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I know some standard schnauzer show people and they spend at least an hour a week hand stripping, and sometimes more. So it's a lot of work! Starting on a dog who hasn't been groomed in a while, it could take you 5 hours or so and the idea is pretty much to strip her naked, then do a little bit a week to "roll" the coat. The first time will be a lot of work though. Generally you want to stick with the top of the head, the neck, and the jacket on the body, leaving the leg feathers alone or trimming with scissors.

Whether you want to try clipping or stripping, if you can't find someone to show you in person I would look online for a breed specific tutorial that shows you approximately where you should be removing hair and what blades you should use on the clipper. YouTube has lots of videos like this. Remember that hair always grows back, so even if you don't do a fantastic job the first time, you'll get the hang of it. Unless you are grooming for show (in which case you really need a mentor in person) it's all about what looks good to you. I grew up with mini schnauzers and we clipped them about once a month in a pet clip and it wasn't too hard.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

When we were showing our Scottish Terriers, we always hand stripped them and it was a lot of work even though they are smaller. We did clip them once they were finished showing but it sure makes their coats so soft. Even with the Shih Tzu x Maltese, once you clip them they never really have the same texture to their coats but a lot of work to keep their coats long.


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

I have a Norfolk Terrier that I try to keep stripped as I don't want to ruin the colour or texture of his coat. I've never clippered him, but honestly 90% of the time he's just super shaggy because I'm not convinced that I know how to properly strip him and although there are 2 groomers near me that do hand stripping, i know them both (or know people who know them) and they are not people i'd be comfortable leaving Levi alone with. if you know what i'm saying.
i strip his jacket little bits periodically with a knife and tend to use thinning shears on his legs and around his butt hole. brushing with a pumice stone helps a little too. I've tried furminating him and it really hurt him. probably because it was pulling the new and old hairs.
he's almost 2 now and has only been properly stripped down once when i took him back to visit the breeder last year. she's a purist and only uses rubber gloves to pull and spent 3 hours pulling him almost bald (which i hated the look of). but as it started to grow back in, he looked great.

heres what he looks like all shaggy (full blown coat)

















heres what he looks like freshly stripped (blah! he looks like a guinea pig!)









and heres what he looked like about 2-3 weeks after being stripped. (my fave)









also, for what its worth, my breeder says that the dog shouldn't be bathed for about a week before or after stripping because the pores are open and shampoo can make them itchy.


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## Rescued (Jan 8, 2012)

okay i just googled it and this article came up:

http://britmorschnauzers.com/handstrip.html

the pictures near the middle.... you actually pull all the dogs hair out until their skin shows??? I am so confused.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

The Britmor site is stripping a staged coat, in preparation for a show. Basically, getting the coat started, with a timeframe for the perfect coat to be in all over. This is why its done in stages. Unnecessary for a pet. You either want to handstrip, or you don't. If you handstrip, then you pull the coat out with your fingers, using a "knife" to grip the hair or not. Certain areas are always clipped on Schn regardless of clipping or stripping. That would be cheeks and throat. You set the line on the eyebrows by clipping off all the hair on the cheek from the outside corner of the eye and back. Take out the hair between the brows, and then laying your shear from the inside or outside edge of the nose (depending on the angle of the brows you want) and the pointed tip of the shears at the corner of the eye, you cut that angle into the brows. Clip off the eyelashes with a 40 blade, holding the brows up out of the way. Look at show dogs to see the pattern lines, on both the heads, and the body. Google images of SHOW dogs...the images of pets will show you many horrendously WRONG patterns. There is no skirt...there is no bib except on giants. The faces are all pretty much the same on all varieties.


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## BernerMax (Mar 15, 2013)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> I have a Norfolk Terrier that I try to keep stripped as I don't want to ruin the colour or texture of his coat. I've never clippered him, but honestly 90% of the time he's just super shaggy because I'm not convinced that I know how to properly strip him and although there are 2 groomers near me that do hand stripping, i know them both (or know people who know them) and they are not people i'd be comfortable leaving Levi alone with. if you know what i'm saying.
> i strip his jacket little bits periodically with a knife and tend to use thinning shears on his legs and around his butt hole. brushing with a pumice stone helps a little too. I've tried furminating him and it really hurt him. probably because it was pulling the new and old hairs.
> he's almost 2 now and has only been properly stripped down once when i took him back to visit the breeder last year. she's a purist and only uses rubber gloves to pull and spent 3 hours pulling him almost bald (which i hated the look of). but as it started to grow back in, he looked great.
> 
> ...



So cute (whats wrong with guinea pigs, LOL).... hey can you post like a side body shot of the fully stripped I wana get a better look (pls)...


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

I don't have a side pic but he will be getting stripped next week and i will post one at that point.


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