views on handstripping

Just wanted to know what people think of handstripping as i have a cairn terrier who needs groomed and i don't know whether to get him handstripped or not?

Handstripping ensures a much more natural appearance but the coat really needs to be ready to be stripped. If you can pluck a few hairs from him easily without much force then he's ready.
However, not many groomers know how to hand strip properly and can overstrip some dogs. Find out how experienced your groomer is or find a cairn breeder that strips other peoples dogs.
Becky

hi i have a ruff coat prt and i hand strip him it much nicer and he loves it i was lucky as a friend of mine showed me how to do it, i am not showing him but dont want to take to much off. if you can find someone who does hand strip ask them to show you the best way, trigger can be laid on the floor and i can strip him with no problems good luck

Personally I love the apperence of a well stripped dog, as Mahooli says, i'd either look out a really good groomer who will do your dog justice, or a breeder who shows, as they usually do it better than a lot of groomers.

Handstripping will give a much better appearance, and in my experience a nice harsh coat keeps much cleaner and manageable than a soft one, which is what will normally happen if the coat is clipped. Has your cairn been done before or is this a first? I a coat has been clipped it can be very difficult but not impossible to get it back into condition.

This will be the very first time he has been done and i have found a groomer who will handstrip him but theres a waiting list, so i thought if the groomers is busy they must be quite good. So many groomers i phoned don't believe in handstripping, i was quite surprised. I would like to learn this myself but for the first time i thought i would go professional. I tested and his hair does come out easy but he nibbles my hand to stop so its a bit of a battle. I'll see how it goes when he eventually gets done hopefully by the summer and i'll let you all know.

Its not that hard to learn - if you ask the groomer if you can watch.
Ask especially to see how they do the elasticy skin round the part where the back legs meet the body as I fidn that the hardest part!

The reason some groomers don't 'believe' in handstripping is because they would rather have dogs they can clip off quickly and go through them like a production line rather than actually taking time with each dog and doing it properly rather than quickly.
Becky

I don't think thats always the case mahooli, some may not strip if they are not experienced in hand stripping or they could have a physical reason not to, I know I get a sore hand/wrist after a lengthy hand stripping session and I only do a handful of borders, a westie and a couple of schnauzers. If someone wouldn't strip for profit reasons then they would need to reconsider, as handstripping carries a noticably higher price tag than clipping for the extra time and phsical effort, as you say its much easier to breeze the clippers over a dog. As far as the thigh area goes, I always find it the most difficult area, just make sure to have a firm hold on the skin with one hand on the area above where you are stripping otherwise you could end up causing the dog discomfort. Hope this helps, Nickyx

My own personal opinion, is that a dog that traditionally requires handstripping, should be handstripped!

I dont understand why on earth people get a dog they know will require handstripping, or some dedicated grooming, and then go and have it clipped out/off.

(that by the way is not directed at the thread originator, but is one of my bugbears!)

if you are unsure of doing it yourself, find a groomer that is happy to do so.