Starting to Groom a Cairn who is 4

[HokieCairn]

I have a 4 year old Cairn, and while I have bathed and brushed him I've never groomed him to look like a Cairn. Right now he looks like a Highland Cow without the horns! I don't know where to start and all the groomers around here want to clip him like a Westie. I've bought the book from the CTCA but I'd like to start before it gets here. Any suggestions? Thank you!

P.S. In 2009 he was one of the Cairns to get his RN and RA titles (he beat dogs getting their RAE).

[kjwarnold]

What tools do you have? I've got a couple of McClellan stripping knives, a pair of nice grooming scissors, a pair of thinning shears, and a Mars Coat King. They seem to work well for me, and I alternate between using the Mars Coat King and just stripping with my fingers. The Mars Coat King is easy to use, you just kind of brush it through, and it pulls out the dead outer coat. Yes, it does do some cutting of the coat and people that show don't like that, but I'm not showing my dogs and by alternating with hand stripping, I'm kind of making it easy on myself while keeping their coats in decent shape.

There are lots of threads on grooming here and you'll find some with links to videos that are helpful. Do some research and I'm sure you'll also hear from a lot of people with tips and ideas. Good luck!

[Tracy A.]

Right now he looks like a Highland Cow without the horns! I

The yak look, we all flirt with that fashion statement from time to time.

Seriously, i would just start pulling the top coat out, it's the long hair.

Just take him down to his undercoat...he'll look like a cat when you're done.

The hair on the legs, under belly, and face, I would trim- everything else...just start pulling.

Or you can find someone and pay them to do it for you.

But take your time and do little sections. If you don't have a grooming table, invest in one.

[tomatosandwich]

Disclaimer: my puppy is not old enough for me to have any real knowledge. However, in researching, I stumbled across this free group of videos on hand stripping that looks promising.

(there is a brief commercial at the beginning of each video clip.)

Maybe someone with experience will view and tell us if they are good?

[josie&holly]

I pay someone to do it for me!

It means that she gets bathed, nails clipped and coat stripped without me having to struggle to get her in and out bath, be dried, to stand still etc and while she is there I go and do some window shopping!

And the result is I am relaxed and I have a beautiful Cairn [well she is always beautiful and yes, I am a little biased!]

[HokieCairn]

Ah is that what it is called, the Yak look? I have a few Highland Cattle so that's what I equate him to I swear he thinks they are his friends! Thank all 3 of you for the advice. I will look into some stripping tools and start pulling too. I'll also look at the videos. Thank ya'll!!

[2littleterrors]

for some quick easy work, try a furminator!! Start at the hind end and work your way forward. I don't have a grooming table (wouldn't mind one tho!!), I just lay a towel down on the floor and get my girls as comfortable as can be! My red wheaten fights FOR her turn to be brush, and my silver brindle is grumpy at first but relaxes into it. I also have treats that I reserve specifically for grooming time. When I really get in there (every few months) I use the stripping knife and my fingers.

[hheldorfer]

Another option if you don't have a grooming table: I put a sheet of plywood over the utility sink in the basement and cover it with a non-slip rubber mat. It's a good height for brushing and grooming, easy on your back and the yak (Cairn) is easier to control than she is on the floor.

[kintra]

Furminators and Mars Coat Kings can work great for pulling out undercoat, but do not actually strip the coat.

[Idaho Cairns]

Following the lead of several of you here, I ordered a Mars King Coat #10 and it finally came Tuesday. I went right to work on my two, who had really bulked out on the hair this winter. I like the "natural" look in my Cairns but they had really grown too shaggy. Yak is good description. So I went to work and learned early on that there are two distinct coats on my dogs. Sammi, the older dog never has been very double coated-her hair is soft so a few passes down her and she was really really short coated--almost too much, my DW was incensed.

Here she is before I started.

And finished except for the trimming.

Bonnie Belle is quite the other extreme, she has a very heavy outer coat and a very thick under coat and I took it easy on her. I did not want to damage the outer coat so I took out much less hair. Here is the true "Yak" at the outset.

And at the end of the Mars work but before final trimming. She is showing her usual fury at being manhandled and made to do something other than her own agenda. If looks could kill! Notice the pile of hair.

This was my first time with a MKC and I was astounded with how easy it was to use and how little the dogs reacted to it. I actually tried on myself and I could feel some sharp painful pricks but the dogs didn't react at all--much less than they do to regular brushing! I will say that one has to be careful, these things take out a lot of hair very quickly and you can get the dogs down to the nubbins pretty fast--you can really make the fur fly with these things. Except the fur doesn't fly! This left less hair on me, the counter, and in the air than using any other method I have tried. Pretty clean instrument, the hair just balls up on the blades and comes off without a mess. Thanks for the suggestion--from start to finish trimming (not shown here) I think it took about 30 minutes per dog.

[Sam I Am]

Idaho I had to laugh at the look Bonnie B is giving you. Jock has the same look..."If you weren’t so big I would take you on"

I did try hand stripping years ago but gave up on it. I use the Mars comb and thinning shears for trimming head legs and belly. I trim the ears (very carefully) with small scissors. I still get the glares, the groans and the occasional snarl but its a tactic that never works. He still gets groomed

[jodi0553]

Just go for it! As Brad has said many times, it is just hair, it'll grow back! Take hair off till it isn't tangled or shedding much and till he looks good to you.

I am a terrible groomer. I just go nuts and take off whatever I feel like. In the after photos you can see I ended up with some holes in the coat on the sides, but that'll grow in and look fine in a couple weeks.

I groom with a combo of the following: MCK, slicker brush, pumice stone, my hands, regular scissors and thinning shears. I just got the thinning shears in the past year and wish I had them before. I also have a stripping knife but Currey really doesn't like it and tries to bite as soon as I touch him with it, so I gave up. I do his face, legs and belly with the scissors and thinning shears because his coat is softer there and he is a bit more sensitive there. I like to take the leg hair down to about an inch or less with the scissors then go at it with the thinning shears for a more natural look. Same thing with his sensitive belly parts and his face, where he REALLY does not tolerate stripping. Currey hates to have his face touched, so usually I end up with big holes in his face hair as he struggles to escape and I try to clip as quickly as possible, but it is better than having a beard, right? His coat on his back and rear are harder so the MCK or some hand stripping works well there. The ears and top of head get the pumice stone treatment - just yank out anything in the top 1/3 and trim up anything that is sticking out too far. Finally, the slicker brush is good for getting rid of the loose undercoat which gets very profuse in the winter.

Here are a few pics of my weekend project of hair removal. He looks a bit soft and fluffy right now because he had a full bath on Friday - he had just come from a week at the kennel, so he got the full treatment. The haircut will look better when his coat oils up a little bit - right now it is very dry from the bath.

Before (a couple weeks ago):

Before trim, after bath:

After:

[Idaho Cairns]

My dogs sure act like they enjoy the change--Sammi in particular looks much "younger" with all that hair off--sooo soft now. I have to say you guys with your suggestion of the Mars King Coat have made my job much easier and much easier on the dogs. I get such a negative reaction from the girls with hand stripping that the use of the King Coat and trimming shears is much nicer. We are really lucky about having to bath our girls, both can go months without any unpleasant odor--either that or we have gotten used to them. Currey is built a lot like my Sammi and the coats look similar although Sam never fights me on anything--so easy going, very unlike her little sister who is a classic Prima Donna.

[hheldorfer]

Idaho, you did a great job on your two rascals. And Bonnie's expression is precious: "Don't lay another hand on me! I'm DONE!" Isn't the Coat King great? I was amazed the first time I used in on Buffy - late last winter when she was sporting the full yak look.

[janis]

"Manhandled" LOL. They look great! I have a ordered a Mars Coat King as well - no not after Idaho go his - last week! After the pictures Brad posted I realized Kirby looks like a Westie! Going to give it a try myself. As Jodi said "just go for it. It's just hair - it will go back!"

[HokieCairn]

Thanks everyone for your posts!! I'm glad to see how your dogs looked after Idaho. Echo looks like your before pictures! I've also gotten a Mars King Coat and went to work on him. I will say I got a little crazy clipping him with the scissors and am now ordering a good pair of thinning shears since I think that they do a better job around the belly than regular scissors...thankfully the hair will grow back Echo looks and feels much better now! He too gives 'the look' but secretly I think he's glad for the attention. Everyone that sees him tells him how handsome he is. I've still got some trimming to do on his chest, legs, and face but he's starting to look like a 'real' cairn terrorist! I'll post pictures when I'm done. This has also led to an alleviation of another problem we were having, he's not marking on my son's stuff anymore since he's getting 'more mom time'...even if it is grooming. He's only done it once in the past 3 days and that's because the lamb we are bottlefeeding in our kitchen had kicked some dirty shavings out of her crate and I wasn't around to clean them up. Other than that Yea!!!!