Raising a West Highland White Terrier requires relatively complex grooming care. It helps a lot if the owner has a fairly complete understanding of the dog's coat growth pattern and hair cycle. A Westie's follicles are more complicated than those of many other breeds. Instead of growing just one hair, each follicle may contain one or two outer hairs and seven to twenty-two undercoat hairs.
The Westie Coat Cycle
The Westie's hair goes through different phases, including the growth phase, transition phase, and resting phase. During the growth phase, hair is actively growing and may continue to do so for days or even much longer. In the transition phase, the root begins to shrink, the hair thickens, and it begins moving out of the follicle. Then comes the resting phase, when the root separates from the follicle and a new hair starts to push against the old one until the old hair finally falls out or, in some cases, is removed manually.
To keep the coat healthy, old hair must be removed so that strong new hair can grow. Terriers have a special coat made of a coarse, hard outer layer over a softer undercoat. Because the outer hairs are so coarse, they may sometimes get trapped in narrow follicles and fail to shed properly. When old hairs remain stuck, new growth can make the follicles irritated, swollen, or painful. In terriers that are only clipped or brushed without proper stripping, oily dead hairs and cell debris may build up and clog the follicles, leading to irritation, bumps, and pustules. If a terrier is clipped, frequent light grooming and follicle-cleansing baths can help reduce clogging and discomfort.
What Hand-Stripping Means for a Westie
Hand-stripping is simply the physical removal of old hair by pulling it out from the follicle rather than cutting or snapping it off. This stimulates a quick cellular response and encourages a new, stronger, brighter hair to grow in. During this process, the new hair often grows in with richer pigment, while white hair appears brighter. Pigment tends to sit more heavily near the tip of the hair, and as the hair grows longer, the tip becomes whiter. When a terrier is clipped instead of stripped, the pigmented tip is cut off and the remaining shaft inside the follicle lacks that rich coloring, which can make the coat look faded.
Hand-stripping can literally be done with the fingers, though stripping knives or grooming stones may also be used. To keep the rough coat texture, healthy skin, rich pigment, and correct structure, the coat needs regular and organized maintenance. The goal is to remove only the dead outer hairs while leaving the best-length undercoat intact.
Coat zoning is also important because different parts of the body have different hair cycles and different growth speeds. Hair on the body may grow faster and live for a shorter time than the shorter coat on the face, ears, or neck.
Useful Hand-Stripping Tips
1. Every Westie has a slightly different coat texture and growth rate, so take time to learn how each dog's back coat feels.
2. Before stripping, brush the coat smoothly in the direction you want it to lie. This avoids accidentally pulling out whole clumps and creating a patchy look.
3. Always remember to hold the skin taut in the opposite direction from the pull.
4. Grip the tips of the hairs you want to remove and pull in the direction of hair growth, toward your own body. Avoid bending the wrist, because that can cause the hair to break instead of coming out cleanly.
5. A little chalk powder or ear powder on the fingers helps absorb oil from the coat and makes it easier to grip the hairs securely.