The you did him 2 favours! His coat and exposing his weight! Super job.

Great pics, and what transformations, must say they look a lot happier stripped, thanks for the share x

Sorry i didnt find the pics but looks like you did a great job

great thread have learnt something

Handstripping is a mystery to me too. How do you know when the coat is ready, and how may times a year is it done?

You know the coat is ready as it pulls out with no effort, the coat parts doen the middle too, a good indication. Its done dependant on the dog, some dogs hold a coat longer than others, on average though, 2 or 3 times a year.

Speaking for Airedales, the coat is ready if it comes out with a gentle tug and will look "blown" and scruffy. For pet Airedales, if they are stripped (many are clippered), they are usually done a few times a year, and left to get pretty hairy in between as they don't shed coat.

I show my younger Airedale, and I work on her coat every 3 days at least!! The tan areas (head, neck, shoulders, bottom) I keep really short with just a covering of hair, the black jacket is longer and more dense. I comb it through with a really fine tooth comb to remove a lot of the fluffy undercoat and keep it laying tight and flat, and strip the longest hairs. With this method the coat is constantly rotating or rolling and there is always new growth to replace the older longer hair that you are stripping. Not all coats can be rolled though, some you have to strip right down, let grow, strip right down again and so on.

The disadvantage with this method is that you do have to keep working it every few days with this method or you lose it and have to start from scratch and take it al right down.

The main advantage is that she's pretty much always looking tidy and ready to go!

Thanks for the picts. They are very helpful. I am stripping my BT this week for the first time ... he is 10 months old. This is my first BT ... previously had Welshies. I was unsure of the neck, chest and tail so the pictures were useful.

Really interesting thread. Hand stipping is something i haven't a clue about.

I am starting a 6 months grooming course tomorrow, but feel like i've learnt quite a bit here. The dogs are gorgeous and look so much better after.

Maybe in a few months i will add a picture of my first "hand stripping"

I've got my first hand strip BT in on Friday. I did a few when I was training and I've done a couple of x-breeds as well since.
Dreading it and I've underquoted by a fiver.
Going to print the pics and put them on the wall.