The Hair of the Terrier: Strip Grooming For Show
By Laura Post
This article, written by our new features editor, first appeared in the June
2006 issue of Just Terriers.
According to Laura, A little over a decade ago, while learning the art of
grooming Airedales, I was curious as to why stripping became the mode of show
grooming and so researched what was known about canine hair growth. Recently, a
newcomer to the ring asked me a grooming question which brought to mind this
research. Here is an article recapping what I learned. Resource material comes
from Small Animal Dermatology, Muller-Kirk-Scott, Fourth Edition.1989. Pgs.
1-48.
An introduction to the Airedale show world is also an introduction to the art of
stripping, a process of plucking the coat to sculpt it in such a way as to
highlight the dog’s conformation. It is often confusing to the novice as to why
a
Canine Hair Biology 101:
Hair is produced by specialized epithelial cells called keratinocytes which
reside at the base of a hair follicle and produce the hair. The pigmentation
comes from melanocytes. The hair itself is comprised of an outermost layer, the
cuticle, and a cortex which is packed with dead keratinized cells. Additionally,
some hair may contain an inner region, the medulla, which has fewer keratinized
cells. The sebaceous gland is associated with the hair follicles and produces an
oily secretion that helps keep the skin soft and pliable, helps retain moisture,
and protects the skin from bacterial infection. The oil film also coats the hair
to give the coat the shiny appearance associated with good health. (FYI: During
illness and malnutrition, the hair coat often develops a dull, dry appearance
associated with reduced sebaceous gland function.)
Variations in Hair:
There are three types of hair on a dog. The undercoat, composed of secondary
hairs, has a soft texture. The shaft of the undercoat hair is not as densely
packed with dead keratinized cells and is shorter than the other types of hair.
The primary (guard) hairs are coarser and often longer. These hairs provide the
outermost layer of protection and are densely packed with the keratinized cells.
The last hair category is whiskers; highly sensitive tactile sensors found
clustered on the face. (With that sensitivity in mind, use care if you decide to
remove these hairs while grooming your dog.)
One key effect of stripping:
Dogs, and other animals with fur coats, have many hairs per follicle. The
diameter of individual hairs has been shown to increase as the number of hairs
per follicle decreases. That is to say, when the hairs are plucked, thereby
reducing the number of hairs per follicle, the remaining hairs become coarser
and more pigmented. (In case you were wondering, humans have one hair per
follicle. Plucking causes the remaining hairs to get thinner and thinner, and
cease to grow altogether when plucked repeatedly.)
Canine Hair Growth - Something to Blow Your Coat Over:
Hair grows to a genetically predetermined length and then it stops growing and
dies. The hair shaft attachment to the follicle weakens and the hair falls out.
While all dogs shed, the pattern and rate of shedding, like hair growth rates,
varies from breed to breed. Some wirehaired breeds like Airedales shed hair in a
relatively short time frame, resulting in loss of tufts of hair or what is also
referred to as “blowing a coat.” And along with the hair growth cycle, other
factors like temperature, hormones (especially estrogen and thyroid), light
cycles (longer days encourage shedding), nutrition, parasites, disease, and
certain drugs can influence shedding. Brushing the coat can also speed up the
breakdown of the hair’s attachment to the follicle along with stimulating
circulation and regrowth and helping train the coat to lie flat (if brushing is
done
in the direction of coat growth).
How Wire-Haired Terrier Coats Differ From Other Breeds:
Coats are divided into groups. Normal coats are those like German Shepherds and
Corgis – and they are composed of guard hairs with a high proportion of
undercoat hairs. Short-coated dogs come in two versions, coarse and fine. Coarse
short-coats, like Rottweiler’s and
some terriers have strong growth of guard hairs and much less undercoat hair.
The longer wire coated breeds, like Airedales, are a variation of this type.
Fine-coated short-haired breeds like Boxers and Dachshunds, have the largest
number of hairs per unit area, have large numbers of well-developed undercoat
hairs and their guard hairs are reduced in size. Long-coated dogs also come in
two versions, fine and woolly. Fine long coated breeds like Cockers and Chows
are similar to normal coats except the guard hair is not as developed and the
weight of hair per unit area is greater.
Woolly long-coated breeds like Poodles, Bedlington Terriers, and Kerry Blue
Terriers have undercoat hair that makes up eighty percent of the total number of
hairs and these undercoat hairs are relatively more developed and coarser
compared to undercoat hairs in other breeds. The higher percentage of undercoat
gives the impression of an overall softer appearance to the coat and is the
reason why these breeds tend to shed less than other breeds.
Clippered Coats – Viva la difference!
When dogs’ coats are shaved, all the hair types are cut which makes the
undercoat as visible as the outer guard hair. Presence of this softer, duller
undercoat significantly changes the appearance of the dog, particularly if the
undercoat is a lighter color than the guard hair. (In Airedales, the undercoat
comes in one of two colors – black or gray.) This appearance can be modified by
raking the undercoat out regularly and especially before clippering. So two
factors change the look and feel of a clippered coat – 1) the softer duller
undercoat remains, and 2) with more hairs per follicle also remaining, the guard
hairs are also thinner and less pigmented than a stripped coat. (This is not to
say that clippering is without merits. Certainly, for non-show purposes, ease,
affordability, and time savings make clippering justifiably worthwhile.)
Skin Care During the Stripping Process:
The skin which supports hair growth is the largest organ of the body and the
body’s first defense against infection. Needless to say then, an article on
grooming would be remiss without a word on skin care. One of the most important
aspects of stripping is to understand how irritating it can be to the skin. A
primary aid in this process is to keep the skin clean. The use of a medicated
shampoo used before and after stripping can reduce the inflammation and
soreness, make the dog more comfortable, and drastically reduce the opportunity
for skin infections. The photo on the left in Figure Three illustrates what
happens when skin is not cared for during and after stripping. As the picture
illustrates, the skin is both inflamed and infected. The photo on the right
shows a picture of healthy, properly cared-for skin after stripping. Whether to
bath the terrier coat is a controversial subject among groomers. Some claim a
bathed coat (especially the jacket) won’t lie flat. Toweling and blow-drying in
the direction of hair growth will train the hair to lie flat, as well as add
luster to the coat appearance. How often to bathe a dog? It’s of course
desirable to strike a balance between “never” bathing your dog and bathing “too
much.” The answer depends on many circumstances, but the goal should be to have
clean skin. If the skin smells, if you see dirt on close inspection, if the skin
is flaky or oily, or if you have just worked on the coat and irritated the skin,
bathe your dog.
From: The American Airedale • No 2, 2010/ 25