Grooming equipment needed for hand stripping

Chalk block
Blunt stripping knife or you can just use your finger and thumb
Curved ended scissors for around the paws and between the pads and the end
of the tail and around the hygiene areas


Basil in a full blown coat ready for stripping (pic 1)

I tend to start at the neck and work my way down the centre of the back. 

 A bit of chalk makes the hair easier to grip.
 The softer undercoat starts to appear.

 I then pull all the long hair from the ears both inside and out. Again a
little bit of chalk make this easier.

 When the long hair is taken off the inside of the ears, I clean the ears
with an ear cleaner, massage it in (the dogs tend to love this) and then
clean out any debris or hard wax with a cotton pad.  If the ears are very
dirty or there is a large build up of wax I will put more cleaner in and
leave for a while to loosen anything that might be left.

When I have the full head done, I clean the teeth and scrape off any tarter
build up. 

I then work under the chin and down the chest and as far as the dog will
allow (the underside tends to be a bit sensitive for most dogs).  If the dog
is uncomfortable with plucking on the belly area, I use a thinning scissors
and the curved edged scissors around the hygiene areas.  
I then join the back area with the underside by plucking out the coat on the
sides.  

I then either strip down the tail and at the end I hold the tail with my
thumb and cut around my thumb with the curved edged scissors.

Next I start on the legs and work down to the paws, always working with the
growth of the hair.

With a nail clippers I clip the nails and then finally using the curved
scissors I tidy up around the paws and cut any long hair between the pads.

I hope this helps any of you who want to try this yourself.  It takes a bit
of practice, but does get easier.

With puppies I find the easiest way to get them used to it is to do it when
they are relaxed and asleep on your knee, it keeps them a lot tidier and
they shed less if you do a bit at a time, rather than leave it till they
have a fully blown coat.