The Wire Coat Protocol

The FurHQ Method is five steps — Audit, Prep, Wash, Dry, Finish — the grooming protocol your course teaches.

The complete FurHQ Method for wire coats — the one coat type that's really two coats in one. A harsh, weather-resistant jacket sits over soft, dense furnishings on the legs, face, and belly, and each half needs completely different handling. Treat the jacket like the furnishings and you ruin the texture; treat the furnishings like the jacket and you break them off. This Protocol teaches you to care for both correctly, with your demo dog Betsy Bristle showing you every step.

What You'll Learn

• Tell the jacket from the furnishings — and why the two are groomed by different rules
• Protect the harsh jacket — keep the coarse texture that a wire coat is meant to have (never softened with conditioner)
• Care for soft furnishings — keep the legs and face furnishings clean, conditioned, and tangle-free without breakage
• Card the coat — use the carding rake on a dry coat to keep the undercoat clear and the jacket lying right
• Lift loose undercoat — the Coat Release Method for freeing loose coat from the skin during the wash

The FurHQ Method for This Coat

• Audit — a quick head-to-paw health check, and a read of where jacket meets furnishings
• Prep — card the jacket on a dry coat (up to once a week), then brush the furnishings with the Medium-Pinned Slicker and follow with a comb check before the wash
• Wash — clean with Texture-Tastic Shampoo, using the Coat Release Method to lift loose undercoat; condition the furnishings only — never the jacket
• Dry — dry the jacket down flat, and work the Medium-Pinned Slicker over the furnishings with the dryer to brush them out
• Finish — tidy the furnishings and set the jacket; mist the softer furnishings with Pawfect Finish Coat Spray, never the jacket

Never condition or spray a wire jacket — it softens the coarse texture the coat depends on. Furnishings only. And never brush the softer furnishings dry — mist them first.

Who It's For

Wire coats pair a harsh outer jacket with soft furnishings on the legs and face. Some examples are the Miniature Schnauzer, West Highland White Terrier, Giant Schnauzer, Scottish Terrier, Cairn Terrier, and Airedale Terrier. Breed is a starting point, not a rule — groom the coat in front of you, and use the FurHQ Coat Identifier if you're not sure.

How the Protocol Works

Your Protocol lives on FurHQ as five video Missions you can follow at your own pace, on any device — each Mission is a single video covering that stage of the groom. Demo dog Betsy Bristle walks you through every step, so you're never guessing what comes next. Watch them through once, then keep them open beside you on groom day.

Learn the Method. Follow the Protocol. Complete the Mission.

You got this.