Mars Coat King Vs Stripping Knife

[perla]

What I'm going to ask is probably a very naive question. The only grooming tools that I know are brushes and combs so I pretty much have zero idea about other types of grooming rakes/knives. I read about using Mars Coat King online and how some people use it to strip their dogs' fur. Is this coat king similar to the stripping knife (in terms of the result) or it is more similar to the clipper? I have a westie puppy and I'm learning how to hand strip her hair. The breeder taught me a bit and I also read up some information from the web. The breeder recommended me to start out using a rubber finger and then can get the stripping knife once I'm more familiar with the process but I was wondering if there are tools that I can use other than the stripping knife to would make the hand-stripping easier/less time consuming.

Also, my puppy is 11-week and is it too early to start hand-stripping her? The breeder already stripped one of her litter-mate hair when he was 9 weeks old but my puppy hair weren't ready to be taken out at that time. Now some of her hairs start to come out easily when gently pulled so I reckon that I can start stripping bits by bits?

[becks]

Some people love the coat kings but I personally won't use anything with a sharp blade on a stripped coat.

When you buy a stripping knife (the Mikki blue and red are good to use and a reasonable price) make sure you blunt up the machined edge, so you don't accidentally cut the coat as you try to pull it.

Loose chalk can also help to give you a good grip on the coat.

Once the pups coat is starting to come out easily (a few hairs at a time) you can start to remove the coat. I tend to work on young pups while they are on my knee in the evening, then when the bulk is done they will get a few sessions on the table to work on the more hard to reach places.

[perla]

Some people love the coat kings but I personally won't use anything with a sharp blade on a stripped coat.

When you buy a stripping knife (the Mikki blue and red are good to use and a reasonable price) make sure you blunt up the machined edge, so you don't accidentally cut the coat as you try to pull it.

Loose chalk can also help to give you a good grip on the coat.

Once the pups coat is starting to come out easily (a few hairs at a time) you can start to remove the coat. I tend to work on young pups while they are on my knee in the evening, then when the bulk is done they will get a few sessions on the table to work on the more hard to reach places.

Thank you for your advice. I will check out the Mikki knife. I'm currently using a nail file with a rubber finger but I would also like to try the knife as well. When removing the coat of the puppy, the hairs that are more difficult to come out mean they are not ready to be pulled out yet, do I understand this correctly? Is there such thing called over-stripping? I'm worried that I will end up ruin the coat.

[Dogsfevr]

Thank you for your advice. I will check out the Mikki knife. I'm currently using a nail file with a rubber finger but I would also like to try the knife as well. When removing the coat of the puppy, the hairs that are more difficult to come out mean they are not ready to be pulled out yet, do I understand this correctly? Is there such thing called over-stripping? I'm worried that I will end up ruin the coat.

Is this pup going to be shown or you are going to hand strip??

Did your breeder give you any charts that help you understand the stripping process & the stages to go through??

Yes you can over strip but it wont ruin the coat but you will stuff up that stage & will have to wait for it to grow.

At present you are just working/rolling the coat ,if your lucky you can do this for awhile otherwise your pup will hit the stage of needing to be stripped back fully & normally in sections as certain areas grow faster so you strip to ensure the length all over works & blends.

If it is a show dog then you need to understand the dogs faults & qualities so you can hide/enhance.

If its a pet the same still applies but the mistakes wont be such a drastic issue.

Not sure how your breeder does the rubber thumb but we cut the end out & use our fingers to pull.

We also use strippers like Mikki & Classic plus the slick n easy stone which is super.

The one thing you will learn quickly is technique,stripping is a killer on your joints/muscles & done wrong it will hurt ,done right it shouldn't but long term it is known to affect many with arthritis

[perla]

Thank you for your advice. I will check out the Mikki knife. I'm currently using a nail file with a rubber finger but I would also like to try the knife as well. When removing the coat of the puppy, the hairs that are more difficult to come out mean they are not ready to be pulled out yet, do I understand this correctly? Is there such thing called over-stripping? I'm worried that I will end up ruin the coat.

Is this pup going to be shown or you are going to hand strip??

Did your breeder give you any charts that help you understand the stripping process & the stages to go through??

Yes you can over strip but it wont ruin the coat but you will stuff up that stage & will have to wait for it to grow.

At present you are just working/rolling the coat ,if your lucky you can do this for awhile otherwise your pup will hit the stage of needing to be stripped back fully & normally in sections as certain areas grow faster so you strip to ensure the length all over works & blends.

If it is a show dog then you need to understand the dogs faults & qualities so you can hide/enhance.

If its a pet the same still applies but the mistakes wont be such a drastic issue.

Not sure how your breeder does the rubber thumb but we cut the end out & use our fingers to pull.

We also use strippers like Mikki & Classic plus the slick n easy stone which is super.

The one thing you will learn quickly is technique,stripping is a killer on your joints/muscles & done wrong it will hurt ,done right it shouldn't but long term it is known to affect many with arthritis

Thank you for your advice! She's not going to be a showdog but I was recommended to hand-strip her for a healthier skin/coat. At the moment I'm doing it in a small bit at a time, working on different section each day. Since she's not going to be showed I don't have to worry much if I overdo (I think!). The breeder gave me a small booklet which contains an but I wonder if there are DVDs out there that teach how to groom a terrier ;)

[becks]

Yes, there will be several DVDs out there on how to groom a Westie - there are a few different series and often breeders in various counries will have done their own too.

Pups, I just use a latex glove as you can feel how much hair you are pulling and have better grip on the hair (you can also buy just the fingers, often knicknamed finger condoms!!)

It is best to work over a larger area then concentrate on one small patch as that can lead to sore skin.

[perla]

Yes, there will be several DVDs out there on how to groom a Westie - there are a few different series and often breeders in various counries will have done their own too.

Pups, I just use a latex glove as you can feel how much hair you are pulling and have better grip on the hair (you can also buy just the fingers, often knicknamed finger condoms!!)

It is best to work over a larger area then concentrate on one small patch as that can lead to sore skin.

Thanks so much Becks! Off to look for the DVDs