How to

Start when your pup is very young and still small enough to sit on your lap, just pull out a few hairs to get him used to it and the same with use of the brushes and combs and by the time he really needs stripping then he will come readily to you and just see it as a form of attention which he will enjoy.

Start with a good slicker brush and give your Spinone a good firm grooming removing as much loose hair as possible. Then with your thumb and forefinger starting at the nape of the neck pull any longer loose hair out in the direction it lies, keep going over all the body and down the thighs. Then grrom the legs with a Spratts 73 comb and again pull out any overly long or loose hair, pay good attention to the feet and between the toes as this can matt and may need removing with some round ended scissors, and always check for grass seeds. Strip the head last as this is one of the more sensitive areas, strip it by hand from the corner of the eye right back over the skull and shorten the eyebrows if neccessary.

If you are struggling to keep him tidy by hand stripping there are combs on the market which can help, the Mars coat king is brilliant, avaialble from petcetera etc, avoid the combs with sharp blades as these will cut the coat not pull it. Latex gloves or office finger stools are very useful for helping to grip the coat for pulling and adding a little chalk powder or talcum powder in the coat before starting aids grip.

If you decide you can not cope, then try and attend a grooming seminar for the breed, I cover the south of England and Christine Bennet holds seminars in the North, we have a lot of laughs but also send home some very tidy looking spinoni.

If all else fails then it is off to a local grooming parlour, but do make sure they are stripping not clipping. A coat once clipped is never the same and will go wooly and wavy and trap more dirt and wet than a stripped coat.