# stripping the coat



## AquaClaraCanines

GOD NO it is against our standard


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## AquaClaraCanines

GR should be a natural breed with a natural outline, the neck ruff should never be altered or cut... or throat hair... EVER... tidy the tail and paws and pasterns IMO... ears... that's IT


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## Pointgold

Lestorm said:


> Should a goldens coat be hand stripped for showing? If so how much undercoat should be removed?
> 
> There are so many different ideas, my head goes into a spin listening to them all. :wavey::bowl::bowl::bowl::bowl::bowl::bowl::bowl::bowl:


Show grooming is highly individualized based upon the needs of the particular dog. the key is that they do not look groomed! What I mean by that is that they do not look "sculpted", or, like the setter breeds. Some dogs need undercoat stripped out only over the loin, or, only the neck, or just the shoulders... So there really is not definitive answer to your question. Send a stacked picture, and I can give you a guide - photoshopping arrows over the areas needing attention, and the direction which to strip.


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## Pointgold

AquaClaraCanines said:


> GR should be a natural breed with a natural outline, the neck ruff should never be altered or cut... or throat hair... EVER... tidy the tail and paws and pasterns IMO... ears... that's IT


And here we disagree. It all depends on the definition of "tidying". A good groomer will in fact take out under coat and trim under the neck. The key is to not make it look like it's been done. Having the right tools and knowing how to properly use them is paramount. I would defy you to recognize where any of my dogs have been trimmed (other than feet, ears, and tail).


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## AquaClaraCanines

Well the UK practice of practically SHAVING the throat like a setter horrifies me...


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## bizzy

True "hand stripping" is what is done on the terrier breeds. But you can 'thin out' 'neaten up' areas. And yes if you do it right you can't tell.


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## Ash

Some do some don't. I'm not sharing.


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## AquaClaraCanines

Yeah to me hand stripping makes me imagine terrier style sculpting or UK style extreme grooming


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## Pointgold

bizzy said:


> True "hand stripping" is what is done on the terrier breeds. But you can 'thin out' 'neaten up' areas. And yes if you do it right you can't tell.


You are correct. I will hand strip the "cape" over the withers if it is so long that it "flops" back and forth when the dog moves, which makes it look as if the dog rolls over the shoulder even if it doesn't. there is certainly an art to this. I will strip, not shave, under the neck to accentuate length, rather than having a dog look like his head sits on his shoulders.
Seriously, like it or not, if you do not know how to groom, and do minimal tidying (feet, tail, ears - which is now pretty much what any pet should have done), you will not be competitive. THAT said, you better be GOOD at it so it is not obviously trimmed.


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## Lestorm

i hope to get some pics of them at the LKA. Should be a great day out.


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## Emma&Tilly

> Well the UK practice of practically SHAVING the throat like a setter horrifies me...


This is interesting (to someone who knows not a lot about showing) but the UK show goldens are the ones that (to me) look more natural than US show goldens...I think they look glorious of course but they look soooo primped and preened...almost like they have had hair straightners all over them, just less natural I guess. The UK show goldens kinda look more like a golden you would see everyday out on a walk in the fields! (minus he mud!) I just wouldnt think that it is normal to shave their necks...weird!


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## AquaClaraCanines

US Goldens USUALLY, but not always, have naturally straight coats... Zander and Keira both do- to get that look all I have to do to Zander is bathe him and dry him. Even filthey he has a soft, straight, fluffy coat


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## Emma&Tilly

Thats not fair...I love the long flowing locks! I spend ages combing Tilly when she is wet to try and stop all the kinks and flicks!

What is the purpose of shaving the neck...do we not like as much coat in the UK or something??


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## AquaClaraCanines

No idea! I LOVE Zander's manly lion's mane!!! 

I am not sure they outright shave it but I went to many a champ show and some looked positively butchered to me... in the US we relish that CHEST hair! lol


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## Emma&Tilly

I just thought they didn't HAVE as much chest hair...not that it was chopped off...crazy!


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## AquaClaraCanines

Nothing as sexy as a man with lots of chest hair...


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## AquaClaraCanines

See how he has hair on his neck... and not even tons by US standards... he was in rough shape when I rescued him under 2 months ago...










And then compare to this UK dog groomed to show:


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## AquaClaraCanines

IMO the shaved neck throws off the balance of the entire dog, is definitely un-natural, and takes away one of the most beautiful aspects of GR type- just my thoughts. And it has nothing to do with his type or structure, it's the grooming job.


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## Emma&Tilly

Is it always cut like that though? Or is it cut into a weird shape do you mean? Tillys dad has his SH CH and her mum was shown lightly too and...well Tilly doesn't have much in the way of chest hair (as you can kind of see on my sig pic) and her coat hasn't seen a pair of scissors in its life (apart from the grinch feet!) do they not just have less hair naturally? 

Tillys boootiful dad...not exactly a flowing mane but I still think he is a hunk!


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## AquaClaraCanines

I can see he was groomed- the neck- in the UK they don't win if they haven't been trimmed that way. Odd how different it is!!!


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## Emma&Tilly

Zander is gorgeous by the way...I just want to hug him!


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## AquaClaraCanines

he'd like that... but he'd be more inclined to want to flirt with Tilly! He loves a natural woman... he wants to know if Tilly is into mud wrestling


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## Pointgold

AquaClaraCanines said:


> IMO the shaved neck throws off the balance of the entire dog, is definitely un-natural, and takes away one of the most beautiful aspects of GR type- just my thoughts. And it has nothing to do with his type or structure, it's the grooming job.


IN the UK and other European countries, the GOldens are groomed this way to accentuate the blend of neck into shoulder, and the angles of the front assembly.


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## Emma&Tilly

Mud wrestling?? Are you kidding...its her hobby...Tilly is READY Zanman!


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## AquaClaraCanines

Give one groomed like Jessie in Vern's siggie any day- JMO


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## AquaClaraCanines

Emma that pic is FAB! That's how we should show Goldens


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## Emma&Tilly

lol, wouldnt that be great!! Id pay to see a show like that!!


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## AquaClaraCanines

We should have a mud contest on this board... LOL!

OK Vern give it up- a pic of Jessie covered in MUD


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## Phoebe

For a minute I thought I'd stumbled onto my cairn terrier rescue list...I didn't know goldens coats were stripped, even a tad. I just got done stripping Seamus down on Monday, poor little guy is wearing sweaters now. I didn't mean to go so far, but I shaped his head and it looked to small for the rest of the body.

So am I understanding this right...it is okay to strip the coat a little as long as it isn't obvious? 

Jan, Seamus, Gracie, Phoebe & Duke


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