As with silky-coated breeds, combination-coated breeds need to be hands stripped before bathing.

• A. True
• B. Sometimes
• C. It depends on coat length
• D. False

Answer: (D)

Stripping is a technique used to remove dead outer hairs and maintain a harsh, wiry texture in specific coats. Silkier coats don’t have that texture, so stripping them would remove the desired coat characteristics and can damage the look. With combination-coated breeds, the approach depends on which part of the coat is dominant, but in most cases you don’t strip before bathing; you brush out tangles, bathe, and then trim or scissor as needed to preserve the coat’s natural texture. So this statement isn’t accurate—hand-stripping before bathing isn’t a general requirement for combination-coated breeds.