Handstripping

I'm a true lover of handstripping — we have a wirehaired dachshund, Winston, at home.

Hand stripping is removing the dead hair from the top coat. At Spruced Up we use the finger-plucking technique. When you remove the top coat this way, new hair emerges from the follicle in its place, and it comes in thicker and with more vibrant colour.

Why not just clip the dog down?

Clipping removes colour and leaves the soft undercoat. Repeated clipping makes the coat progressively softer, so it needs maintaining every 6–8 weeks, compared with every 4–6 months for a handstripped coat.

The benefits of a handstripped coat

• A thick coat repels dirt and water, so less frequent bathing
• It resists matting better than a soft coat
• Slower hair growth

Handstripping is highly labour intensive and many groomers don't offer it, so it's charged at an hourly rate.