How To Hand Strip A Wire

The Wire Fox Terrier Club of the UK has a series of articles on its website that can be read. These articles are considered to be the standard in the Terrier world. For those of you who have puppies, you'll find specific information on pulling hair on pups in Book 3. 

Click on Groomers By State to see a
list of places to get your Wire groomed in your area.

Diagram from
Grooming The Wire Fox Terrier
By Arden Ross
 Pearson Products

Wires that are going to be shown are "hand stripped" to keep their hard wire coat and brilliant color. Pet owners sometimes strip the colored parts of their dog and clip the white. If you are paying a professional groomer to strip the dog, be prepared to pay at least  $40 or more per hour. Depending on how long it has been since the coat was "pulled," it could take a minimum of three hours and possibly much more.

Most pet owners have their dogs clippered. It is less expensive, easy on the dog and can even be done fairly well by the owner. If the dog is taken to a groomer, clipping will be far more reasonable, but the coat will grow in soft and curly with a soft texture.  The colors will also be diluted, fading to cream, beige and grey in place of the white, tan and black.

• Here is a link to a Q & A page about grooming Terriers: http://www.harborside.com/~laurelt/handstrip.htm  It should answer a lot of your questions about grooming your Wire.

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• The Wire Fox Terrier Club of the UK has a booklet with instructions and diagrams on their website. Check out Booklet 3 for instructions on starting puppies. http://wirefoxterri erassociation. co.uk/grooming. htm 
   

• This link will show how you can clip your own pet Wire! http://www.delayrekennel.com/groomfox.htm . There are lots of photos to help you.
   

• If you are going to have your Wire clipped at a grooming salon, it is a good idea to take a picture of a Wire in show coat for the groomer to use as a guide. Many have not groomed Wires before and may clip them like a Schnauzer! The picture will be a good guide.

• Even if you are not going to have your dog hand stripped, you may want to get some of the correct grooming tools for your dog and have an understanding of how a proper Wire coat is maintained. While methods may vary slightly, the Pearson Products site is a great place to start. It will also have wonderful diagrams that can guide your groomer with either hand stripping or clipping your Wire.

This is a list of suggested grooming tools for hand stripping your Wire from the Pearson site: http://www.strippingknives.com/grooming/groomingtips.htm

Basic Grooming Equipment

These items are our suggested basic grooming equipment and supplies. They can be purchased from pet supply stores. Check our Links page for some Pet supply stores.