Stripping

[BecomeFirefly]

I'm sorry if this sounds a bit stupid, I'm a brand new mom of an adorable 5 month old Cairn Terrier. I've read that Cairns need their coat stripped of dead fur twice a year. I was wondering what time of year this is normally done. I was thinking of setting a grooming appointment for her either in October of November, but then I don't want her be cold during the winter if a lot of fur is taken out. I've also read a post here about the Mars Coat-King, and was thinking of getting that, but then would she need to be stripped as well? I'll probably be posting here often with questions, and funny little stories, but I'd really appreciate it if anyone could give me some advice. Thanks!

[kayharley]

I can't really give you advice but I can tell you what I do. My dogs are not show dogs, they're pets so the grooming I do is only to tidy them up and help keep their outer coat

healthy.

I use the coat king maybe every other month or so depending on the growth of their fur and use it like a pin or slicker brush. Alot of fur comes off and much of it is the soft undercoat.

As far as hand stripping goes, I did my 1 year old last month. I roll fur in between my fingers and pull the long, straggly ones. I use sissors on her stomach and a combination of sissors/thinning shears on her tail and her legs. As for her backside...she's extremely sensitive in that area (wouldn't you be?) so I refrain from pulling anything there and just trim it with the shears.

I use a stripping knife on the face but like the shaggy look so whatever I do it's minimal. I do pull the hairs off the top part of the ears...that comes off so easy they don't even know your doing it.

There's a book from the Cairn terrier club for around $5 that shows how to properly groom a Cairn but I found it to be a little complicated and more for the show dogs.

I'm sure you'll be getting alot of different advice and techniques on how to make your Cairn look wonderful (in my eyes they'd look wonderful even if they were bald!)

[BecomeFirefly]

Thanks! My Cairn isn't a show dog either, so I'm not too particular on how she looks. I've only had her for a month, so far she's gotten a bath and she gets brushed once or twice a week. I'll look into buying that book.