Grooming is vital in the existence of each and every dog. All dogs need grooming but different breeds have different grooming requirements. While some dogs have high maintenance needs, other dogs can maintain their health and impressive appearance with the least with fussy grooming routine. Dogs are so affectionate they always want to be cuddled and petted but try grooming the ears or the feet and the dog would try to scamper instantly. It is therefore necessary to accustom the dog to grooming routines early on.
The usual procedures in grooming a dogs coat is brushing, stripping and trimming. Stripping is a coat grooming method done about twice a year on wiry coated breeds like most breeds of terriers, Dachshunds and Schnauzers. Wiry coated dogs usually have a soft under coat and a harsh guard hair. At the first stage of hair growth, the healthy hair would be well pigmented, thick and deeply rooted. This healthy hair follicle though will become thinner and weaker at the end of its life span.
Stripping is necessary to remove the dead hair root. Trimming the hair at this stage will ruin the coat as the dying root was allowed to remain. This condition will lighten the natural color of the coat and mar its silky appearance. The wrong grooming procedure will cause discomfort to the pet given that roots of the dying hair that were not stripped will prevent the growth of new hair so that the undercoat will take over the guard hair and cause itching.
The dogs coat can be stripped by using a stripping knife or a latex finger cot. This coat grooming procedure is also done by hand or by processes known as rolling or carding. Hand stripping is a tedious and time consuming job. Stripping a small dog cannot be done in one session. To speed up the stripping process, groomers would use a stripping knife that will pluck out more hair. Carding is done by scraping the coat to remove dead hair. In the rolling method, the skin of the dog is rolled with one hand while the other hand removes the dead hair.
Stripping is usually started when dogs are 6 months of age. The coat is thoroughly brushed before starting the grooming session to remove mats and tangles that would make the process difficult. Contrary to common belief, dogs are not hurt when stripped.
Learn more about dog grooming and stripping at Sarahs Dogs.
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