Canine Design, LLC    Gallery of
Terriers & Handstripped Dogs
Ginger, Airedale with
Scissored & Clippered Coat
Watson, Airedale with
Handstripped coat
Maggie
All 4 of these Westies are clipper trims
Sophie
Ozzie, handstripped Cairn Terrier
Boomer, handstripped Norfolk Terrier
Sammie, an Irish Terrier, handstripped
Broady, a clippered/scissored Scottish Terrier
Bentley is a standard sized Wire Haired Doxie that is handstripped.  He is
actually a Hound  but is wire coated.

Why should a coat be Handstripped?

Handstripping retains the hard crisp coat of harsh coated breeds.
This kind of coat was developed to protect the dog while out in the woods hunting fox, badger and other vermin.  The harsh coat kept thorns and burrs from getting into the dogs skin when hunting in dense underbrush.  

To retain a harsh coat, it must be 'rolled' or 'handstripped', which is the art of removing the coat (by plucking, or in laymans terms - pulling it out) at the proper time in the proper locations.  If the coat is clippered, the undercoat will overtake the harsh hair
and the coat will become soft, profuse and porous - retaining more odors and no longer sheading water as it was intended.  Colors, as on a Fox Terrier, will fade
away, the black will fade to grey, the tan to white.   This happens because
the color on the harsh hair starts about 1/4" up the hair shaft.  When the hair is
clippered off, it is usually below where the color starts on the
hair shaft.   Stripping will bring the color back, but the coat will have
to be grown out long enough to grab with your fingers - preferably waiting
long enough for the old coat to die - making it much easier on the dogs skin.

Handstripping a dog is an ancient art and a labor of love
and it is expensive unless you can learn to do the process yourself.
It must be done on a continued basis, as the jist of plucking is to build
the layers of coat with each session.  If the coat is left to grow
out, it will die and start to fall out and there will be no coat underneath
if it has not been 'worked' which leaves a naked dog......

So, if you want your dogs coat to remain harsh, you must be ready for the
commitment of grooming every 4 - 6 weeks in order for your dog to look
like what it is suggested in the Standard for the breed.

Not all Terriers are cannidates for handstripping - genetics
and coat type factors in to a huge extent. 

McKenzie, a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier This is a clippered & hand scissored groom. This breed is not handstripped.
This is Miss Ellie, the left photo is before grooming, the right is
after her first handstripping.
This is Mimi, another Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. She is an AKC show Champion, but is too much upkeep for her owner in a full show coat, here she has the same look as she would for the show ring, but it is shorter and more managable.
This is Sadie.  She is a Terrier mix that has a wonderful wirey coat that lends itself well to handstripping.  On the Left is before grooming, middle is after handstrip.  Her headshot is after being handstripped.
Hamlet, handstripped Wire Fox Terrier
Photos of both sides of this smart little fellow.
Australian Terrier - Handstripped
Kallie - Minature Schnauzer
in a clippered trim
Irish Terrier handstripped for show, and being shown at an AKC show in this photo.
Scotties - Sammy & Maggie
Duke - Bedlington Terrier
This breed is not handstripped
Hammer - Sealyham Terrier
(without traditional 'fall' on head
as displayed on Wheaten above)
Dandie Dinmont Terrier
Tori
Wilson
Norwich Terrier, handstripped
Maggie - Wheaten
Headshot showing traditional fall in her head groom
Minature Schnauzer
CairnTerrier, Travis McGee
clipper trim
Asta - Wire Fox Terrier
in clippered trim.  If
handstripped his head
would be tan
Syd, Parson Russell Terrier
in handstripped groom
Bonnie - Westie
clipper trim
Black Russian Terrier
Daisie - Westie
handstripped trim
Dixie - Westie
custom clipper trim
another Asta - Wire Fox Terrier
in handstripped trim
Now, what did I say?

ONLY Dogs!!!!

Shoooo!!!!!