Hi there

I have an 11 month old Westie who has been clipped twice before. Both times he was clipped he came back looking nothing like a Westie and I just didn't like the look at all. So, even though I'm not going to show him, I have decided to hand strip him myself. I have just purchased a Coat King (10 blade - Hope that's ok?!) and basically I'm just looking for any tips you could offer me.
I have done lots of research and I'm pretty confident I know what I'm doing, but tips for getting round the tricky bits would be great.

Thanks!

You will do fine :)

Just be aware that inside the curves is a blade and it's very sharp - keep it away from 'armpits' and other sensitive areas - you can scissor these carefully ;)  use it in the same way as you'd use a comb - going with the direction of the coat :)

Don't try to do it all at once, a little bit at a time is best and you will find that it gives you time to study your dog to make the best of him :)

You will also need
a rubber glove or rubber fingers (they help to grip the coat making it easier to strip out the longer hairs)
A scissors - I have a really good one from our local haberdasher (@£14) use the main part of the scissors - not just the tips ;)

which part of the country are you?  there may be someone local to you who could help you get started ;)

Thanks for your reply :)
I have some scissors, but no rubber gloves. I've heard you can use chalk also?

I'm in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire :)

Where about are you as the English club is running a trimming seminar soon? ( need to go check details)

Coat kings don't strip the coat BTW they cut the coat.  Never used it but probably will have similar affect as a pair of thinning scissors. 

You would definately need a chalk block or a tub of chalk to hand strip the dog.

The facts he has bene clip twice already will means you will need to let the coat "blow" and get quite a bit longer or you will just be pulling under coat.

Used properly the Coat King will cut minimal amounts of coat, manily removing excess undercoat, it mainly removes dead coat on a harsh coated dog leaving the harsher coat behind :) 

Like I said before, my Westie isn't a show dog so he doesn't have to be perfect. I'm definitely going to use the CK.

Yip I understood that but after being clipped twice I think the coat king is the last thing to put to the coat. 

To revive a coat after clipping I think hand stripping only is the way to bring it back, THEN a bit of stripping, thinning using thinning scissors  ( or the coat king if you want to use it) :-)

If you are going to use the coat king why do you want to learn to strip then?  I am confused?  They are not two in the same at all honestly.

Obviously not everyone can be as experienced as you!

As far as I was aware the coat king did exactly the same as stripping by hand - I was told this by a grooming friend of mine.
I asked for tips on how to do the tricky bits.

Excuse me but my reply was to Dill not you.  My reply to DILL was as an explaination as to why it is best to hand strip after clipping to revive the coat and not use the coat king.

I never claimed to be any expert VERY VERY far from it. I understand though the process of stripping.

JUST to point out your post actually said and not that you only asked for the tricky bits ( which to each person is a different thing)

I have just purchased a Coat King (10 blade - Hope that's ok?!)  I amswered and said no , it is best to strip only to revive the coat

and basically I'm just looking for any tips you could offer me. I have offered you advise.

I have done lots of research and I'm pretty confident I know what I'm doing, but tips for getting round the tricky bits would be great.  Your set then.

Love the gratitude from new posters :-( :-(

I learned by getting books out and practising. Not a terrier person around me for miles and miles.

I was replying to your latter post.
If you are going to use the coat king why do you want to learn to strip then?  I am confused?  They are not two in the same at all honestly

I understand you have given me advice, and I thank you for that, but your advice just contradicts everything everyone else has said!
Like I said in my previous post, I asked for tips, not a lecture on what I'm doing wrong! You know, there are ways of saying things?

I don't think I have given you any lecture on doing anything wrong at all.    You were insisting you were using the coat king after asking advice and being told that the coat must be stripped to revive it first. 

Jez , I even offered to find the seminar and dates for you.

I'll leave you to it you seem to know best. Good luck to you. :-)

there are ways of saying things? and there is certainly ways of asking for advice, receiving it and being grateful for it.   YOU have asked for advice then claimed you have had all the advice form elsewhere.

I certainly am wasting no more time , I offered what I thought was some helpful advice.

I'll leave you to it you seem to know best. Good luck to you. :-)

Ok, fine.

Blue, if you've never used a Coat King how do you know it will cut the coat?   In my experience it depends on how it is used and which size, that's why I wrote that the OP must follow the direction of the coat.  It's effect is not the same as thinning scissors.

If the coat has been clipped twice there will be an abundance of undercoat which will be removed by the CK leaving plenty of top coat to work with - which is why I also recommended Rubber Gloves or Rubber Fingers :D

Blue, if you've never used a Coat King how do you know it will cut the coat? 

Hi Dill, Walking away from this thread but out of courtesy I thought I better reply to your direct question :-)

I personally know about 10 people who have tried it on this particular breed :-) and I have seen the affect of using it when they first arrived and people started to use them :-)  Being honest IMHO  hand stripping finger and thumb is so easy I would advise against using any tool including a stripping knife personally.  IMHO of course :-)   The best way to learn to to learn the correct way. Then after you learn you can do the short cuts etc through experience.

I disagree with your comments about the abundance of undercoat etc having re-stripped many a westie after clipping.  You tend to end up with a " single" coat appearance.

Off now Dill though was just offering my own experience of recovering a coat.  BTW some coats are so soft you can't get them the going anyway.  A huge % of the pet bred stuff is very soft and fluffy.  :-)

i agree with blue....hand stripping is easy so why complicate it with a gadget??? TBH I would have thought that a coat that had been clpped twice :( should be left well alone for 9 months....thats what i would do any way.

Hi,
Sorry to step in but Blue is right.
PS I,ve used one, and own two of differnt blades.

I hand strip to show Mini's and also hand strip giants. In my breed, saying the word King combs is like swearing.:-(
To stip you use a stripping Knife.

Hi Goldfish,
Just come on line after striiping my 8  month mini.
King combs can take out the under coat, but used incorrectly they cut the top coat. Most large pet shops sell Mikki knives. Among other wooden knives I have, I like using the RED mikki for HEADS and the BLUE mikki for the BODY. Hold the knife firmly at a 45 angle and work from the head to the tail.
I had to teach myself
Good Luck :-)

I have a coat king and DO not like it at all, it takes away all the undercoat !!!! Better to stick to either your fingers for stripping or, buy in some stripping knives, it will take quite a while to get the coat back as Blue said, but with a lot of work it will come.  I use thinning scissors a lot on mine instead of clippers.

Forgot to say, it will also depend on how far down the coat has been clippered, some grooming parlours made a westie look like a skinned rabbit with no coat at all, if your westie has been clippered like that, you will need to let the coat grown quite long to even start stripping it out as the coat will have gone "soft".  Did your westie as a younger pup before you first got it clipped have a  smooth harsh coat, or, was it like a "Fluffy cute westie", if the latter the coat should have been taken out while the pup was really young to help the harsh coat come in.

Please take Blues advice, and mine although I dont show now and my dogs are pets I still like to see them looking nice, If you want to see Blues dogs go to her website and other websites of westie exhibitors.

I would also go (if you live near enough) to the hand stripping seminar, I have been to a lot of them here in scotland when they have them as they are really good. you take your own dog with you and will be shown and advised how to strip the coat to suit your own dog.

Hi all, thanks for the replies.
Just reminding you that my dog is definitely no show dog - so I don't really mind if he doesn't look perfect.

Forgot to say, it will also depend on how far down the coat has been clippered, some grooming parlours made a westie look like a skinned rabbit with no coat at all, if your westie has been clippered like that, you will need to let the coat grown quite long to even start stripping it out as the coat will have gone "soft".  Did your westie as a younger pup before you first got it clipped have a  smooth harsh coat, or, was it like a "Fluffy cute westie", if the latter the coat should have been taken out while the pup was really young to help the harsh coat come in.

Please take Blues advice, and mine although I dont show now and my dogs are pets I still like to see them looking nice, If you want to see Blues dogs go to her website and other websites of westie exhibitors.

I would also go (if you live near enough) to the hand stripping seminar, I have been to a lot of them here in scotland when they have them as they are really good. you take your own dog with you and will be shown and advised how to strip the coat to suit your own dog

Thank you for your advice. Sorry if I came across harsh in earlier posts, but the way things were said I felt as though Blue was above me and I was sort of inferior..If that makes sence?

This picture should give you an idea of how his coat was before his was clipped. http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x146/charliewestie/Charlie0604079Weeks028.jpg
Quite soft but not overly fluffy.

Thank you for the PM containing Blue's website link - they are fabulous dogs. It's unbelievable how much my Westie (charlie) doesn't fit the breed standard!!

I also have a stripping knife and thinning scissors - would it be better to use those??

Also, where abouts in the country is the stripping seminar?

Thanks!

The website of the of England club is

www.westhighlandwhiteterrierclubofengland.co.uk       sorry dont know how to do links LOL.

I hand strip my terrier x and I have in the past used a Coat King (though not on him, on someone elses wire haired terrier).

When I do my dog i just use fingers and thumb, no gloves no rubber thimble things, nothing else except a normal comb.

I comb the coat through first getting rid of excess  undercoat and loose hair. Then I usually have the dog lying on his side and i start at the top of his neck and work my way round and down plucking out a few hairs at a time, i will stroke down the coat, then push my fingers in and back against the way the fur lies to seperate out the longer hairs, then pluck them out in hte direction the coat grows in (so if you see me doing it fast its a sort of forwards back forwards movement).

When I tried the coat king i found it did cut the coat and the effect was not nearly so nice and it allowed the coat to 'open' as it grew far faster than it naturally would with a properly stripped coat.

It may seem pedantic, but stripping properly leaves the dog with a thinned out but tight, water proof coat. Cutting in any way will open the coat up which stops it being so waterproof, and can also soften the coat meaning it holds on to dirt, wet, and mats more easily. The dog benefits from having a properly stripped coat, as well as the owner. Having the coat clipped off doesnt really benefit anyone unless you ahve an old dog wh ostruggles with the weight of the coat (and even then id argue that stripping would thin it better, clipping just shortens it, its still just as dense as before).

One neat trick i did find is that you can wrap a rubber band around the teeth of a comb and that will help pull out long hair, this is great if like I do, you get cramp in your hands stripping.

Thanks for the tip about the rubber band round the comb, I will try that, as I have arthritis in my hands and they go all pins and needles and numb if I handstrip, thats one of the reasons I now just try and keep the coats down using thinning scissors.  I do agree there is nothing nicer than a handstripped coat on a westie.