Grooming products needed?

[KShep]

Hello..... I have a sweet little female Cairn named Ripley about 8 weeks old. Although I had a couple of dogs growing up, she is the first I have owned. I've been doing research and I discovered that her grooming needs will be very different than what I am used to. Here is what I have for her so far...

1. Fine toothed comb
   
2. Brush
   
3. Baby Wipes!
   

• What kind of shampoo should I use when I do bathe her (which I have read is very infrequently), and what are some bathing alternatives/products that are safe to use on her and won't damage her coat or skin?
  
• How often and "how" should I comb/brush her? Are puppy wipes okay to use on a daily basis?
  
• How often should I take her to the groomer? (I plan on learning how to strip her coat, but for now I will have it professionally done. Or do I need to be pulling out dead hair between groomings?)
  

PS- I ordered the grooming book from this website a few minutes ago! Would love to hear from some experienced Cairn owners! I'm scared of making ignorant mistakes that will lead to inflamed skin and mats! I'm already so in love with her.

[Dempsy's Mom]

You made a wonderful choice for your first dog. Ripley sounds sweet - we would love to see a picture of her.

It is winter here so Dempsy has only had one bath in 4 months. I just have a shampoo that is conditioning for dry skin, nothing brand name, but I know that others have some wonderful shampoos - maybe I can catch a few of those names from your responses and try them. Demps has only been stripped twice since I brought him home a year and a half ago. We just use rubber gloves and sit out in the yard - we pull a little dead hair out and then take a break and keep plucking away - you can feel and see the dead hair - eventually we will get his whole body completed - it may take a day or two. Demps loves it with his dead hair off. He looks so different. I have a wide tooth comb that I may use every other day and we have a Mars comb that I use just to thin out some of his hair - once a month maybe. But really he is pretty easy to groom. Demps has no smell and does not suffer from dry skin. Right now he is pretty shaggy and is in need of a stripping, but it is so cold here that we are waiting it out.

You will find this forum is a great help & a form of enjoyment to you and Ripley. Grooming is discussed frequently - you may read some of the old discussions. Welcome!!

[bradl]

Despite the common anxiety about stripping Cairns are actually pretty easy to care for. If the dog has the harsh, double-coat that is correct for Cairns (that's up to genetics for the most part), the coat is also quite resistant to matting. I find that even just using a pin brush I can "bust" most of the tangles that might become mats - and this is even on a dog with six inch coat (four inches of which is dead). I scarcely bother with a comb unless I am show grooming. I will use a comb to carefully de-tangle in case a dog has been rolling in pitch, or we've been in the woods and picked up a hundred burrs or something.

Use a shampoo specifically targeted to terrier coats. They usually say something like "for harsh coats" or similar. If you can get to a dog show, visit the biggest show supply vendor there and ask what they recommend. We use Pro-Line self rinse (it's purple) for the occasional spot cleaning. It's probably been five or ten years since we gave any of our dogs an actual bath - when we did we used Bio-Groom Harsh Coat shampoo. I recently bought a bottle of Isle of Dog shampoo from a vendor based on a recommendation by forum member kintra who's a skilled handler with considerable experience. Haven't used it yet, but everyone I talked to says it's a quality product. The key with any shampoo is apparently to rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse.

Baby wipes should be fine. I actually prefer the ones WITH alcohol, and have never had skin issues. Again, rarely use them except to clean up poopy butts and remove, er, cling-ons.

Most likely, your groomer is going to clip. It's hard to mix clipping with stripping, as clipping takes all the hair to one length - it's then much harder to just pull only those hairs that need pulling. The world will not end if a dog gets clipped (read any of the dozens of stripping vs clipping threads) but in the meantime, why not try just pulling some hairs for a few months. Try not to make a big project of it - just set about to acquire the knack of pulling a few hairs here, a few there. If you do that weekly, perhaps during a daily brushing session, you may find that the dog stays in good enough shape that you won't bother with getting a buzz cut.

We never placed dogs until 12 weeks and had usually stripped the puppy fuzz off before they went home. Most of the time the puppy coat was not ready to come out until 10 weeks or even 12-16 weeks. That's a terrific time for you to try the stripping thing out with baby steps, as the coat is often quite wispy and you can clearly see the colored tips with the clear, lifeless roots.

If it's all too much, just keep brushing. It's one thing to want to do the best thing for our dogs, but it's another to ruin all enjoyment by obsessing. In many things doggy, there is no *one* right way to do things. As long as what you're doing is working for you and your pup ... ENJOY!

[pindrop]

Hi Ripley's Mom It always nice to see new faces and we love to see puppy pictures. I too have a young puppy (4 months) named Layla. At this stage of her life, we simply comb her out every other day - but they make it difficult as everything must pass through their mouths first. I usually give her something to bite on to distract her, then comb away. Never more than a few minutes and then she shakes her body and all that nice flat hairs are standing up again in all different directions. Like Brad says, make it a pleasurable experience for both you and your puppy as your first test is getting them used to actually being brushed/combed. Good luck and we'll look forward to seeing your furbaby.

[kintra]

Like Brad mentioned, I am a die-hard promoter of Isle of Dog's harsh coat shampoo I simply like the results I have gotten with it on my Cairns - but with that being said, I have also used #1 All Systems Crisp Coat shampoo and even an Oster shampoo that specifically says "for all coat types" and does not mention anything about conditioning the coat, both with success.

Also, I'm pretty open to the fact that I disagree that you can't bathe your Cairn regularly. :thumbsup:If your dog doesn't need a bath, by all means, don't give the dog a bath. But if you feel like your dog needs a bath more frequently than once a year, then go for it. When I'm showing a dog reguarly, chances are they're getting bathed at least once a week. I admit, that's overkill for a pet, but it gets the point across that it does not do irreversible damage. The main thing is to use a proper shampoo and to make sure it is completley rinsed out (and when bathing reguarly, a force dryer sure does help speed things along ) Granted, now that I'm not actively campaigning any dogs, I'd say I bathe mine once every 3 months or so.

Many groomers will not have any idea of how to properly strip a dog. Even if they do, many refuse to take the time needed to strip a dog. *If* you can find a groomer who knows how to handstrip and is willing to do it, hold on to that number . I'm not sure where in Texas you're located, but I know there are several Cairn breeders down that way you could try to contact. Even if it's not a Cairn breeder, oftentimes other owners of wire coated breeds might be able to help out and give you lessons on handstripping. But like Brad said, I love stripping the hair out of puppies because it's just so darn easy once you get the hang of it. Test a few of her hairs and see how easily they come out. You might have to wait another few weeks, so don't worry if it doesn't get done immediately. When they start to come out with little resistence, simply pull all the fuzzy stuff out. It's best to do this in little doses so both owner and puppy stay happier

Also, since she's only 8 weeks old, I would suggest running a brush or comb through her every day. Even if she doesn't need it, this is a great time to get her used to it and make it a time she really enjoys. Make it fun and involve lots of treats and praise for being so wonderful

If you're going to handstrip your dog, you might want to look into getting a stripping knife - but everybody has their own specific likes for stripping tools. Some people use grooming stones, some people only use their fingers, etc. It's all about personal preference, but I learned to strip with a knife.

Another thing I would suggest is a pair of straight shears (Sally's Beauty Supply usually has nice ones) to trim around the feet and the tips of the ears.

[KShep]

Great advice. The breeder I got her from is actually a groomer! I guess that makes me pretty lucky assuming she strips the coat instead of clipping. But it sounds like something I can easily get the hang of. I will try it out in a couple of months