# "Wooly" Wirehaired Grooming



## lord brush

Just wondered what people would advise is the most effective grooming/ stripping tool for our HWV (see attached)

We generally brush him with your standard brush and occasionally strip by-hand, but is there anything else that will work well with his coat? He sometimes looks "unkempt", as my wife puts it. I was toying with trying a Furminator (not sure as to M or L size), but they're pretty £££ so wanted to be sure they would be effective enough. I don't really want to cut his hair with a blade though.


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## einspänner

I love the bottom pic! They're so great with kiddos.

My new favorite tool is a sweater stone. It's a pumice-type stone sold for removing pills from sweaters, but I've also seen similar tools sold specifically for grooming horses and dogs. I broke off a small chunk and gripped the hair between it and my thumb, like you would with a stripping knife. Here's a UK source for something that looks similar http://www.groomers-online.com/groo...ping-c155/stripping-stone-for-dark-coats-p658 
If you have a tack shop nearby, you may want to check out what grooming tools they sell for horses. A lot of them work very well for our guys and they tend to be more affordable.

I'll attach some before and after pics below. You can't tell in the after pic, but even her ears are stripped down. With stripping knives I could never get a good enough grip to pull out that softer hair without causing her a lot of pain. 

I've also used a Mars Coat King, which is great for quickly removing a lot of undercoat, but it does have a tendency to cut the hair more than I prefer.


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## harrigab

I use a 12inch 32tpi hacksaw blade...sounds brutal I know but it's not and both my dogs would stand for hours if need be while I groom them with it


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## lord brush

@einspanner- wow, those before and after pics are incredible! Is all that as a result of the pumice-type tool, or the Coat King? How long did it take you to do that?

I'll definately check those out. There is a very large tack shop not too far from us- I'll check them out. Thanks. Why the difference in stones for dark & light coats by-the-way?

@harringab- yes, I have heard of people using the hacksaw blades. What's the technique with those then?


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## harrigab

Lord said:


> @einspanner- wow, those before and after pics are incredible! Is all that as a result of the pumice-type tool, or the Coat King? How long did it take you to do that?
> 
> I'll definately check those out. There is a very large tack shop not too far from us- I'll check them out. Thanks. Why the difference in stones for dark & light coats by-the-way?
> 
> @harringab- yes, I have heard of people using the hacksaw blades. What's the technique with those then?


I hold it about 45 deg angle and gently glide it over their coats


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## einspänner

Lord said:


> @einspanner- wow, those before and after pics are incredible! Is all that as a result of the pumice-type tool, or the Coat King? How long did it take you to do that?


That was all hand stripping or with the pumice. I did it over a week or so, maybe 6 hours total. It takes a long time! I'm not sure why they have different colors. I wonder if they're the same texture. The one I have is black and it does leave some grit behind sometimes, but I just brush it off.


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## harrigab

here's the thread I mentioned earlier, maybe I should update it as Elvis has a different coat to the ohttp://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,14330.msg91306.html#msg91306ther 3....


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## lord brush

Cheers for the link harrigab.

No, not sure what the difference is in the pumice colours either- one ordered anyway

I gave Riley a try out with the hacksaw method last night too- YIKES! That is a pretty effective method! I was very nervous at first,but he didn't mind at all, and it sure brought a lot of dead undercoat out- he instantly looked tidier, even though i didn't spend toooo long on him...


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