I was wondering what tool you find best for getting undercoat out ?

I use a stripping knife in the main and a furminator at the end to take loose bits off. However around his neck and shoulders there's still loads in there, so that you can see fluffy bits poking up.

I've heard of people carding when the coat is wet, but I hardly ever wash his jacket and don't want to start. I know some people use a stripping stone. Are they better than stripping knife ? Any suggestions / recommendations welcome

I just card really regularly. Not when wet though. I get the same on my WTs neck, the best knife I find to use for carding has very short teeth.

A stripping knife is going to be your best bet. The McClellan stripping knives are my favourite for getting undercoat out. Personally wouldn't use a furminator at all, and would be very hesitant to rake the coat when wet as that probably wouldn't be a pleasant experience for the dog. A stripping stone can be used but that's more for fine-tuning small areas once you generally have the undercoat right. Still being able to see a bit of undercoat sounds like it has as much to do with the quality and density of the jacket as it does the amount of undercoat. How often do you work on removing the undercoat?

I use a fine Mikki stripping knife (red one) to remove the undercoat, and a lava stone to blend in the clipped and stripped bits (the prominent line from clipping the chest and stripping side).

I've never used a Furminator before, so can't comment on them.

Yeah the furminator wouldn't be that effective Im sure on a regularly stripped coat. And you see them a lot in pet shops as they work well in handling a long coat. I think I started out with the same Mikki knife as you. I find it's teeth are too long for carding but now use a Lonsdale fine with short teeth that seems to pull out a nice amount of undercoat.

I use a blue Mikki stripping knife on Borders and Norfolks, not done a schnauzer handstrip but presume it would be pretty similar.

What is the best for getting the undercoat out of a aussie as mine  is growing his winter coat and it is so thick.

Thanks everyone I think I need to invest in a finer knife.

I haven't worked on the coat wet. I agree I think it would pull a lot and be uncomfortable for the dog knowing how wet hair sticks to everything. I tend to card once a week and strip once a week trying to stick to the same day. Do you think I should be carding more often ?

I'm rolling the coat on mine so tend to strip in 20 min blocks 3 times a week and card at the same time to try and keep on top of it all. Her coat grows fast so have to do it often to keep on top of it - but you can card more often without having a full stripping session, so doing it 2/3times a week. :)

When I'm getting a dog in coat I tend to do a little bit every day until I have the coat where I want it then do every 4-5 days to maintain it. It's easier when I'm actively showing the dog because I work the coat a bit every weekend as I'm getting the dog ready to go in the ring. If you're stripping the dog without getting the undercoat out first, the excess undercoat is going to choke the growth of a good top coat which may be part of the problem as well.

Carding is when you just comb through with the stripping knife isn't it? I haven't got any experience of rolling a coat, my handstrip dogs aren't shown so just come in with a fully blown coat every 5-6 months for a complete strip. :-)

Yep! That's pretty much it :D Because I'm showing most fortnights I roll the coat to keep up - when she retires though I'll do a whole coat every couple of months.

Thanks :-)

please what is "carding." how is it done?

Well I am new to all this,  having an 8 month old wire fox terrier and trying to get to grips with the coat.  I have just about mastered (sort of) hand stripping but don't understand what using a stone does.  Can someone help please? 

Oh and what is rolling a coat, too?

Thanks for help!

Welshie carding is just putting a knife though the coat and it tends to pull out any loose hair and undercoat. You just use a stripping knife almost like a brush and it catches loose hair. Can only be done of certain coats thought.

Can't help with the stone Snowflake, I don't use them. I get better results with the knife. But rolling the coat basically means doing little and often to keep the coat at top condition for long periods of time. So show season for example. If you not rolling the coat you are basically stripping right down and allowing everything I grow for 6-8 weeks before stripping it all down again.

There are two different uses for a stripping stone. The main one is that it helps you grip the hair when you're stripping the dog. Especially on coats that break easily, I find that I get a better quality coat using the stone over a knife because you eliminate the risk of the knife breaking the coat. The second use is for removing undercoat. In this case, you lift up the top coat and use the stone to very gently remove the excess undercoat. As opposed to stripping though, you use almost a gentle digging motion with the stone to get the undercoat out. This tends to be for when you're starting a new coat and want to pull the dog right down to the skin though, it doesn't tend to be used on dogs that are already in coat.