There are numerous aids to strip schnauzer blown coat (dead wire coat that has stopped growing and is essentially just a dead hair left in the hair follicle). The basic tools are, of course, strong fingers and our sharp eyes. But we also need other tools that turn out to be necessary too. The majority of schnauzer owners would put stripping knives in the first place. Not me. But I would probably also have said the same a few years back when I didn't know how to strip.
Today I use stripping knives mostly just to pull out the undercoat. I am doing it on a weekly basis, with no exceptions. As to the blown coat, I am removing it mostly using stripping sticks or other similar objects like smaller and already worn pieces of stripping stone. These aids can create miracles but you have to be careful to keep a consistent pressure of the thumb on the tool on certain body parts with the goal being the final dog shape.
I could do it also only with my fingers but this would be too time-consuming so I will do so only pre-show. Anyway, I will always pull some “lost blown hair” by fingers after finishing regular weekly grooming.
Sticks and stripping stone are awesome!
