ok pebbledash,
I have just spent a month removing harling, pebbledash in england, from the rear of my house.
here are my tips.
1) be prepared for a lot of mess, a 5x4metre wall at average thickness 30mm will yield 0.6m3 of waste, it doesnt sound much but it is when you have to dispose of it.
2) choose the correct tools, large bolster chisel, brick hammer, mortar pick, small lump hammer
3) don't try to ease large sheets from the wall it is just too dangerous, nibble away at it.
4) i was able to cover windows with plywood, if not possible be mindful that the pebbles can scratch glass and they do fly in all directions.
5) observe strict safety. goggles/mask/gloves/hardhat + spare hardhat for her indoors who likes to advise
6) use a staging rather than a ladder, swinging a lump hammer can make you unstable; flying debris can damage ladder rungs ( please don't ask how I found this out). Also staging prevents frequent repositioning compared to a ladder.
7)start from the eaves down to the ground, if you start at the ground you may end up with unsupported material above you.
8) clear all of the dash before tackling the pointing.
in terms of bonding, the render bonds well to brick and concrete, but less well to granite. So as oilman suggests it is often preferable to scratch and fix the boss sections rather than damage the substrate.