New Griff Puppy

Question
QUESTION: My new Brussels Griffon will be coming home with me next week.  I have only been able to find two groomers in town who know how to hand strip dogs.  What is your personal/professional opinion on a companion griff and grooming.  I would love to maintain the original integrity of her coat, however each groomer wants her in every six weeks, and they will strip her every 12 weeks.  Can I learn to do this myself?  Also, is a Furminator a good or bad idea for a griff.  ANY information you can give is greatly appreciated.  I had read that you could have the griff stripped twice a year or have a groomer "roll their coat".  

Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Robin,
Boy do I envy you! You are about to find the love of your life in this pup! They are just about my favorite breed. I do quite a few in my practice- if you look at my website there is a smattering of them in the gallery. All have their owners particularly desired patterns. I hand strip them all except one who is epileptic and very old now although she was stripped most of her life. They all have different schedules but on average it is every 4-12 weeks. Rolling a coat needs to be more frequently as you are always taking a little out and leaving some in so there is constant new growth.
You don't even know what kind of coat the dog will have yet so putting her on that schedule is ok but may need tweaking as she grows. Some have hard coats some have soft ones. You can see the difference in some of the pictures. Some people like Lion heads some prefer the traditional tight pattern. Unless you plan on showing her there is NO absolute except your desire and the expertise of the groomer. Have you seen any of the other BG's they have done? I have to ask where you live because frankly having found 2 groomers that know how to do this is extraordinarily lucky- very few know the correct pattern let alone how to hand strip. I am one of the only people in all of Manhattan that does this and I know for a fact no one else does the heads the way I do, which is the traditional pluck including between the eyes. I don't do it for all of them but if a client requests it at least I know how. If they don't do heads you will lose the color and texture so have a look at the dif on my site so you can understand and make an informed decision.
YES! You can learn to do this yourself - I have taught people to do it but you need to be able to deal with the training aspect  and sometimes it is hard to make your own doggie obey because they wrap you right around their paws.
The furminator is a gimmick and while you can use it to remove some undercoat it will not replace hand-plucking.
feel free to follow up



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What kind of brushes/combs do you recommend that I purchase for daily maintenance?  I did look at the griffs on your website, they are precious!  If you could just point me in the right direction on what I need to be doing at home between trips to the groomer that would be awesome.  Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

Answer
Hard to say on this because there are so many different kinds of BG.  Have you seen both parents? Any siblings or previous litters? What color is she? All these things tell me what kind of BG you will have and what the best tools would be best.
You will most likely need a metal comb, a small slicker and or a natural bristle brush. If you want to bathe her yourself use the  "Crisp Coat" to keep the coat hard. IF she has a hard coat- all linked on my site
good luck and thanks