Grooming

[Dempsy's Mom]

Happy St. Patty's! I am new to the Cairn world. This will be my first summer with Dempsy. I can hardly wait for the spring ground work to begin - thanks to all of you who shared your stories on digging. So - I have been brushing Demps and he looks great but I was wondering what do you all do when the summer weather hits and we have 90 degrees. Do you take him in to have his coat cut or do most of you continue with the long coat and just keep brushing and stripping?

[bradl]

Hi, and welcome!

I don't believe in cutting a Cairns coat for summer, personally.

It can get into the 90s here too (last year it reached 107) but as far as I am concerned their coat care has nothing to do with temperature. If it's hot, I make sure they are in the shade and well-watered when outside; but most of the time they are in the air-conditioning with us

Insulation works both ways. A proper double coat can keep sun off, preventing sunburn, and may dissipate heat. (I've read conflicting articles on this subject, relative to the the heavily coated Northern breeds - some seem to say they need their full coat for protection FROM heat - others say they can only regulate temperature to a certain point. These are huskies, mals and the like.)

That said, two of our three are completely naked at the moment except for undercoat, as they have been stripped down completely. Not because of summer though - because their coats were totally dead from lack of stripping.

[josie&holly]

I had Holly at groomers last week and she got hand stripped down to undercoat - not because it is Spring or anything but her topcoat was looking messy. She looks so good in her "underwear" as this new groomer has done a very good job - must better than the last one I used!

She also looks a different colour - I thought I was collecting a new dog!

[bradl]

Pajama Party!

Holly's looking good. I think they look a bit like cats in their sleek undercoats.

[josie&holly]

Another of Holly showing off her underwear - it is so soft and silky - yes Bradl - like a cat's fur!

[kintra]

Now that Zach is retired, I do strip his coat a bit shorter for easier maintinence, but he is still stripped noo matter what the season. I personally think a stripped coat is easier to keep - it's weather resistant and easy to clean.

[Oliver's Mom]

Holly is such a cutie in her "underwear".

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to strip their coat down to just undercoat? Do you find that their new top coat comes in much thicker and more "Cairn like" after a full strip? I have been picking away at Oliver's top coat but his seems so fine and soft, always, which is fine but I notice his tail is kind of wiry so I am thinking his previous owner's clipped him and softened his coat. A wiry coat would be wonderful for him to have especially when it rains and is muddy out, and it looks nice

[Tracy A.]

That said, two of our three are completely naked at the moment except for undercoat, as they have been stripped down completely. Not because of summer though - because their coats were totally dead from lack of stripping.

Oooohhh Photo Op

[hheldorfer]

I was wondering the same thing. Last year was our first summer with Buffy and she had been clipped down to practically nothing when we adopted her, so her coat was still growing out during the summer. This year DH says he wants to clip her again but I disagree. I'll strip it but I won't cut it. I think Buffy would be humiliated to show up at the dog park looking like a civilized dog and I certainly don't want her to get a sunburn.

[kintra]

As for how long it takes to get to undercoat, I think it depends on the quality of the coat. Once I was supposed to take one of Mary's bitches down to undercoat after she had a litter (her coat had been rolled on a very consistent basis prior to this) and it took me nearly 6 hours to do one half of her. On the other hand, one of my grooming clients is a Cairn - the first time I saw him, he was about a year old and had never been stripped. It took me less than two hours to get him totally down to undercoat (including nails and feet/ear trimming as well).

If the coat is fine/dead, I prefer to strip it all the way down to undercoat. But if you already have a quality coat, I prefer to just roll it to maintain it instead of stripping it all the way down all the time. Zach will be 7 later this year and hasn't been completely stripped down since he was 2 years old or so.

[josie&holly]

Holly was at the groomers for 3 hrs - she was bathed, stripped and nails done. I went off and had some retail theapy whilst she was was being done!! Hoping now that I can maintain it once the topcoat regrows.

[wallEsmama]

I had wallE taken to a groomer for the first time on saturday. I asked him over and over before I decided on him if they were familiar with cairns and the stripping and all that and he assured me he was. When I went to pick him up, this is what I got back. Should I be pissed off? He looks like a little rat now!! I swear they just cut him right down. He feels sooo soft now so thats a good improvement, but still.

[Nikki]

well I wouldn't go back to that groomer again...like ever! I probably would to said something to them. Because that isn't stripping and it wasn't what you wanted. I probably would of asked for my money back b/c that wasn't what I was paying for.

[wallEsmama]

So yea, now Im basically having to wait for his hair to grow back in. It won't take too long will it? :s

[Autumn & Lola]

I think some groomers confuse "stripping" with "shaving down". Did you explain in detail what stripping is - pulling the dead hair out by hand? If so, I would have demanded my money back.

[Hawkeye]

WallE is still adorable, but I would not go back to them. They do not know how to groom a cairn!

I love the first picture...great shot!

Bailey is 2 yrs and I have never stripped him down to his underwear. My concern has been that he doesn't have much of an undercoat and would really look naked. I have been brushing him regularly and rolling his coat and have started to see a change in that he has more of an undercoat than ever.

[Tracy A.]

I had wallE taken to a groomer for the first time on saturday. I asked him over and over before I decided on him if they were familiar with cairns and the stripping and all that and he assured me he was. When I went to pick him up, this is what I got back. Should I be pissed off? He looks like a little rat now!! I swear they just cut him right down. He feels sooo soft now so thats a good improvement, but still.

A good coat feels like a wire pad... no joke. A soft coat gets dirty really easy. I can't see the photos to see what they did to him... i'll have to wait until i get home.

[josie&holly]

He is a cute looking pup but I don't think he has has been handstripped. The groomer has not done his ears for a start.

[ps how about one of these for washing your Cairn? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8571591.stm

I just feel so sorry for that poor little dog! ]

[Nena]

He is beautiful but they sure did a job on his face. Someone went crazy with the sissors. I don't think they are familar with what a cairn terrier looks like. but I will grow back before you know it.

But what a cutie he is.

[Marci8903]

OMG!Your little puppy looks just like my Cubbie! I have pics but it's in the Cairn Life section! I was told by our groomer also that they knew what they were doing. Cubbie came home with a scottish terrier haircut, skirt and all! Her new vet even thought she was a scotty. Her hair is getting longer now but not growing as fast as I'd like! Also, our new vet commented on how her ears were not plucked and also the hair around her eyes not done right. They are going to touch her up when I take her in to be spayed. I'm still mad about the cut and it's been a month! I agree they look sooo skinny when they are cut this short!

Here's the link to my thread and pics:

http://www.cairnterrier.org/forum/topic/11055-my-poor-cubbie/

[Tracy A.]

I kind of feel like we need to post a sticky in the forum under 'grooming' something to the effect of "When 99% of groomers hear 'strip' they will shave your dog down like a solider's first haircut in basic training" So beware and ask them exactly what tools they are going to use to achieve the stripping.

[Nikki]

maybe you need to print out a photo with a rough description...and ask have you done this before?

[bradl]

Print and give to shop when dropping off your dog

[wallEsmama]

Hehe That's awesome. I want to print that up for next time for sure!

[Nikki]

LOL! nice job Brad!