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I've always been a sucker for schnauzers, had them since I was young because of my allergies, and well, I totally fell in love with the breed and have had one or two ever since.
With my 1st two schnauzers as an adult, I brought them to the groomer and they were clippered. We lost our girl in 2020 at almost 15YO, but I was grooming her myself for the last few years. While I was waiting on a list for a schnauzer puppy, I learned or re-learned everything schnauzer. I read about hand stripping, how it's the traditional grooming method for schnauzers, how the coat is healthier with replenished hairs instead of cutting them off leaving the stump in place and how the jacket is weatherproof. Sounds great, what is hand stripping?
It's the removal of hairs via pulling them out instead of clippering. Schnauzer hairs are made to come out easily as they were bred to be farm ratters and running through the thickets or if a prey animal gets ahold. You cannot hand strip an already previously clippered dog as the coat turns soft like the undercoat after so many clipperings. So I decided to try my hand at hand stripping with our new pup since I already knew the pattern and how to trim with scissors. I discovered that hardly any groomer is hand stripping anymore, most likely because it's easier for them just to clipper and the home pet doesn't really need weatherproofing but I really wanted him to have a traditional coat. So I did my best to self learn how to do it.
Anybody out there still hand stripping their pets?
With my 1st two schnauzers as an adult, I brought them to the groomer and they were clippered. We lost our girl in 2020 at almost 15YO, but I was grooming her myself for the last few years. While I was waiting on a list for a schnauzer puppy, I learned or re-learned everything schnauzer. I read about hand stripping, how it's the traditional grooming method for schnauzers, how the coat is healthier with replenished hairs instead of cutting them off leaving the stump in place and how the jacket is weatherproof. Sounds great, what is hand stripping?
It's the removal of hairs via pulling them out instead of clippering. Schnauzer hairs are made to come out easily as they were bred to be farm ratters and running through the thickets or if a prey animal gets ahold. You cannot hand strip an already previously clippered dog as the coat turns soft like the undercoat after so many clipperings. So I decided to try my hand at hand stripping with our new pup since I already knew the pattern and how to trim with scissors. I discovered that hardly any groomer is hand stripping anymore, most likely because it's easier for them just to clipper and the home pet doesn't really need weatherproofing but I really wanted him to have a traditional coat. So I did my best to self learn how to do it.
Anybody out there still hand stripping their pets?