greentea Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Hello everyone, I am desperately looking for some advice. My 12 week pup Henry, a Griffon Bruxellois, needs to have his coat hand-stripped. I am unable to do this, and (in my ignorance) had assumed when I bought him, that I would be able to pay someone to do it for me. Turns out, no-one experienced in stripping rough coats is interested. I feel almost like I am making 'indecent proposals' when I talk to other Griffon people about grooming my boy for a rather generous fee. No-one is interested! I have phoned a number of grooming salons but no-one hand-strips the coat. If I have his fur clipped, I will ruin his coat and can never show him. Apparently they have to be done about 3-4 times a year. Each hair has to be plucked out so that the new rough coat comes through and it takes ages to do so I guess that is why I can't seem to find anyone... Someone suggested I try calling breeders of other rough coat dogs, like Schnauzers. Can anyone suggest anyone- or anywhere- I can take him to? Any advice/info whatsoever would be grrrrrrreatly appreciated. Carrie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Hi Carrie, I can sympathise with you. When we got our first Bedlington we lived in Tennant Creek. While Tennant Creek is not at the far edges of the world you can see them from there. We did what the breeder suggested. Obtained the necessary equipment, notes from breeders regarding how to groom our dog, a good book on grooming, some photos and set to work. It has taken a few years but I feel I am slowly developing a cetain competence regarding the grooming of our dogs. Good luck to you, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-time Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Just learn how to do it yourself. Oh, hang on - you said you can't - why is that? I don't know anything about Griffons but if it only has to be stripped 3/4 times a year then why can't you take the dog back to the breeder - surely the breeder knew this issue would come up so will have a contingency especially as you have purchased a show quality pup. Talk to other griffon owners at the shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 The problem with handstripping is the time it takes and the time frame involved. With most wired haired breeds that require to be hand stripped, the entire coat is not done all at the one time. If the dog is going to be shown, different parts of the body may be stripped at different times, so that when the shows come around the dog has his coat at the right length in the right places. You need to talk to your breeder and you may well have to learn to handstrip yourself. The problem with showing breeds that have special grooming requirements is that it is so very much a BREED thing, there is not one technique etc that fits all. You need a Groomer who knows how to present your breed for show and is willing to take on a show client, very few and far between. With these Breeds that require specialised presentation methods I strongly believe that only way is to learn to do it yourself. I had a lady on the phone last week spitting chips because she had bought a puppy and wanted to show it and no one in her area could groom it for show, she is not interested in learning to do this herself, she just expected to find a groomer who would take it on. Me as a breeder, would not sell a show puppy to someone not prepared to do it themselves, because of this problem. It is the in the best interests of your kennel to have show puppies presented well by their new owners. I just think that forward planning in this situation saves frustration and dissapointment later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mersonmalinois Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 (edited) Are there professional handlers in Oz that specialize in terriers/coated breeds? Hire one of them to put your dog's coat into proper show pattern/texture. Can your puppy's breeder suggest anyone? Edited May 21, 2005 by mersonmalinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 That'd be like searching for fly poo in a sand pit...LOL Sorry They are few and far between here in OZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentea Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 I have a health issue that prevents me from being able to do it. Unfortunately our breeder is a 4 hour plane ride away! I had assumed that for a large enough sum of money, someone would be interested! I guess it is a bit like those Mastercard ads- $$you can't buy everything$$ I think I will keep trying. I have contacted pretty much every breeder in NSW I am even willing to fly to Melbourne but no further. Will try other rough coat breeds, there must be someone somewhere that knows how to hand-strip and does it professionally right? Failing that, I will have to clip him and forget about shows, it is my fault I was wrong to assume a grooming salon could handle it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 Hand stripping is quite time consuming and specialist technique that not even many professional groomers take the time to learn unless they have a handstripped breed themselves. It is also very hard onthe hands! I have only ventured into stripping a little myself and not for a dog that is to be shown. I will post your request on a groomers list I belong to though and see if there are any takers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentea Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 Thank you so much, that would be great if you could do that. I feel pretty stupid right now. I should have done my research better. I thought it would be like having a poodle- just a drive to the parlour and then your puppy comes out lovely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 Even finding someone to groom a Poodle for show is difficult Greentea, don't feel too bad. Chalk it up to experience. If you find someone to do it, make sure you have detailed intsructions from your Breeder, you don't want your Griff looking like a Schauzer or a Wire Foxie Good Luck! Baby Griffon photos are always appreciated here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decisiontime Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 THis post is really about possible training opening, with a relevant support detour Hey greentea, its a pity that you have a health issue which prevents you lernign the techniques yourself, as grooming is a real bonding thing. For all sorts of pets/livestock. Sad. but can't be helped. We had a young friend whose family had a cattery. She was a promising young rider and trainee instructor, developing some stables/riding school. Nearly finished as a Vet. Nurse. Guess what? At 27 she developed the most serious allergy to all animal hair. After months it was thought this had been incubating for years. The vets were great and held her job whilst de-sensitization medications and immune boosters undertaken. etc., She can now ride again but has to groom with a mask and all pupils have to do their own preparation(not such a bad thing) :D HOWEVER....given the difficulty you have had and from the posts THIS COULD BE A TRAINING/JOB opening in an exclusive market for anyone healthy, fit and strong, who loves animals and is prepared to learn what is required. Yes there are Pet Parlours, and other groomers, obviously. BUT if this particular item is even more demanding and there is no-one doing it....as you say you would pay and pay well....guess most Showies would too..... THEN come on someone who needs a careeer change or even a newstart. Think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 I can't see anyone making a living out of hand stripping wire coats. Good try decisiontime, but I can't see it. Show preparation for each breed is so breed specific, I reckon you really have to be in the breed to keep up. Pet people would also be put off by the price and the running back wards and forwards and simply take them for clipping. So much easier and quicker to clip pets than the hours need to properly strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 I thought I'd reply because I have a breed with a coat that requires a lot of work, but unfortunately they're the wrong breed......and I could do with the money LOL. I can't really come up with a solution other than learning to do it yourself. It will be a great pity if you have to give up showing because of the presentation issue. Really you should have done a little more research before you got the pup, didn't your breeder explain that the stripping required is a specialist thing? Most, if not all grooming parlours will have no idea how to present a dog for show, especially a minority breed. Plus it's not something that can be done all at one time, it's an ongoing thing. Do you have anyone living with you or close to you who has an interest in the breed and would be prepared to learn to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 We have a hand stripped breed & run a grooming salon but we wont hand strip breeds like this ,no amount of money can pay for the time & the biggest thing to remember is once stripped the coat still has to be maintained weekly,you still have to work on getting the coat to last & look good for the shows,to be honest you would be broke paying out. Stripping is done over 3-4 weeks unless you can roll the coat on the odd occasions,depending on how quick the coat lasts to when it blows determines how long you can show it,we had a dog thats coat didnt last long at all so we had to pick the show season with him for maxium showing. There are plenty of people that can do it but its so time consuming that those who could it for you are busy doing there own dogs. Plus its not just the stripping you still have to trim the feet,eras,clip bottom etc etc which is weekly too. Unfortunately a stripped breed is alot of work & if the stripping isnt done correctly or too much gap is left between stripping sections you can still end up with a crap coat or one that wont last as the head,kneck & tail area grow quicker than the back,sides so when you strip you strip slowest growing first & fastest last some when in full coat it looks well blended & even & then each week you wrok on the dea hairs you carefully maintence pluck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentea Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 Oh gees! Yes yes I realise I am at fault for not researching properly... The little gremlim eats so much, maybe he will grow too tall and won't make a showie after all and then I'll have him clipped ha ha! We are hoping to get him a brother or sister in the next few months, have been discussing the different breed options etc. My partner wants a British Bulldog while I'd like another toy breed. Either way... It is sure to be a smooth coat!! I keep trying to post photos on here to show you our sweet little guy but it isn't working. I will try and shrink the pictures down a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 should have got a smooth coat griffon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toohey Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 Would a coat king be useful here? I know you don't get the same great results as with handstripping but they are a great and easy way to strip a coat. http://www.groomersmall.com/ck_results.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentea Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 One day we might get a smooth coat Grif they are adorable too aren't they! Thanks Toohey those photos are amazing. I will look into the CK. Hopefully in a couple of months I will be in a better position to start having a go at hand stripping his coat myself. I was hoping that the first puppy strip would be done by a pro so I could see how great it 'could' look- nevermind the funny job I'm sure I'd do on the poor little fellow! Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 The coat king wouldnt be totally useful in this case, a stripped coat for the show ring needs special maintance & pet maintained the coat king would be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SALTWOOD Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 Just a suggestion, how about advertising for someone in the RNSW Monthly Dog Journal for someone to do it for you. Perhaps there is someone out there who needs some handstripping "therapy" and would like to be paid for it???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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