Page 54 - K9 News Digital - Issue 11 May2020
P. 54
Part 2
The ArT
of
hAnd STripping
’This issue is the second part of the show ring rather than sitting in routine work or play periods.
of two articles, dealing with the art on your lap, wire coats range in Having the ability to shed rain,
hand stripping, or as some prefer texture from the supreme pin-wire the undercoat is dense, and soft,
to call it ‘plucking’. type to that which approximates and insulates the dogs’ body
the harshness of the Smooth Fox against both heat and cold. Whilst
COAT (WIRE HARD COATS)
Terrier coat. A ‘woolly’ or soft coat animals such as horses and cows,
Nature abhors nakedness, so
is most definitely a fault and will undercoat primarily for protection
she has finished her fourfooted strongly count against an animal in the winter, the dog grows
friends with suitable clothing. The in the ring. Nature also furnishes undercoat all the year round, the
term ‘hard’ and ‘wire’ are used to the dog with ‘underclothes’, called Summer undercoat serves to
describe the type of harsh outer
undercoat and its purposes are to insulate against extreme heat, it
coat these dogs grow. The most
insulate against adverse weather also protects him against the bites
desirable of these coats is the conditions. This undercoat of insects. On the other hand, it
pin-wire coat, frequently found on should be precisely that - under serves as a marvellous ‘nesting’
Wires, Lakeland’s, Airedales and the harsh or wire outer coat. The ground for fleas and lice. Whereas
Welsh, this coat closely resembles
outer serves as protection against this undercoat may be natures
very fine wire. It has such a wiry
everyday contact with the brush, answer to our thermal blanket, it
texture that the sharp ends will or potentially dangerous skin frequently leads us to the Aspirin
actually prick your finger. The tears when the animal is engaged bottle. The average dog has a
pin-wire coat is more desirable in
heavy coat for the winter, which
he sheds in spring (or when the
weather turns warm enough). On
long coated breeds this shedding
process is fairly dramatic. With the
shedding of the heavy winter coat,
a new finer and much lighter type of
coat is grown. During the summer
months, as the weather grows
warmer, even this light summer
coat will shed, but this time just
a few hairs at a time. Except for
the density of undercoat, there
is little or no difference between
the wire coat, summer or winter.
His hard coat grows in, and after
reaching the certain length; ‘turns
loose’, all over. This is known as
‘blowing the coat’. We therefore
see a different picture from that of
other breeds, the hard coat grows
54 - K9 NEWS DIGITAL
