Hubble's coat

[Meggie]

Am I the only one who doesn't really touch my dog's coat? I brush him, bathe him but other than that, nothing.

Sorry if this is a stupid question and it's likely it's already been covered:

But is there a benefit to stripping/grooming or is it just aesthetic?

[sheila and Misty]

meggie-you will just have chunks of hair once the coats blown- the dying hair can produce odor. alot is for "the look" but if you keep brushing out the dead hairs I dont see much of a problem except the paws need the bottoms trimmed and its a good idea to keep the hair close in the butt area for less mess.

If the cairn is properly groomed I would assume less bathings required. only in skunked emergencies or caked on mud-etc Im sure others will chime in soon.

I by no means groom my two correctly but I can see their eyes they arent matted and eye and butt are clean and the ears and tail dont drrop from too much hair.

[Idaho Cairns]

Eyes, ears, face, and tail is about all the grooming I do--regular brushing to drag out the dead hair and very few baths. It seems to be a preference thing for owners, some like to groom constantly and their dogs are used to the attention. Geography has a lot to do with it and so does how and where the dogs are active. We get ours off in the sagebrush and weeds regularly so they need to be brushed out a bit more. Ask ten Cairn owners what a "healthy coat" is comprised of and you will probably get ten different answers. Frankly I am paranoid about ruining the double coat (which I really think protects and regulates the temperature for the dog) so I go easy on grooming my dogs.

[KShep]

About every 3-5 days, I brush Ripley, wipe her down and spray her with puppy cologne. She is going through a grumpy stage, and will tolerate very little fuss over her coat. She even objects to the slicker brush lately. It's usually a little slicker brush, comb thru, then puppy wipes. Every now and then I pull the stripper through her coat. I gave her a bully stick today and went to town with the stripper and plucking out what I could. Just tried to do a little bit all over. I was so surprised that she allowed me. She was so engrossed with her bully stick she forgot to be perturbed. She's always had a soft coat, but I see it improving little by little. Getting wirier, redder, and fuller. I'm not sure that I'm doing it correctly, but I give it a try. I like doing it and spend less than 1/2 hour a week on grooming.

They are pretty low maintenance when it comes to grooming. Every owner is different and ever dog is different!

[MegsMom]

The answer to your question is-- it's not an "or" answer, it's a "both" situation. For some there can be real skin-health benefits to stripping, most especially in reducing itchies/skin allergies; and for some, grooming may be more an aesthetic appeal--all dependent upon on your dog's needs, coat-quality, how much minimal coat care is undertaken, and what 'look' you prefer and how you want to achieve that; some prefer a 'natural' look, some prefer a clippered look. {Remember, "stripping/pulling" coat could be a matter of semantics, a furminator, a slicker brush, even a comb and an MCK, are all capable of 'stripping/pulling' coat }

Brushing/grooming results in less hairballs around your house from shedding/dropping blown/dead coat, and gets that loose hair out of the coat before it causes bad tangles/mats. All dogs benefit from regular brushings as it reduces the accumulation of dirt near the skin, cleans the coat of debris and reduces coat/skin odor. It's definitely possible that depending on your dog's coat, that your regimen is enough to keep his coat in good shape/preferred style. Neither of mine require much overall grooming because I keep an ongoing minimal maintenance routine going; mostly they need ears trimmed and their jowl and tail hair trimmed to 'keep a cairn look' (since I do prefer it) to cairn "standards". Mine love to be brushed, they see a brush in my hand and someone is flopping at my feet "asking" for a brushing, sometimes I have both competing to get in the 'right' spot:) Enough brushing and that might 'pull' out much dead/blown coat, reducing a need for a 'per se' grooming session--depending on coat-quality and what your look-preferences are.

Idaho: really, it's awfully hard to "ruin" a double-coat; clippering may cause the overall feel and quality of the coat to be softer for a while, but most are recoverable given enough time and another choice made in grooming technique. To really change a coat, a health issue or major skin issue may do it--I've had bad cases of malessezia change the coat. Also, don't forget there are some dogs, with just generally [pardon] crappy coats, sometimes those can be improved by grooming technique, but sometimes you just gotta live with what nature dished out. [i have one of each-- a 'crappy' coat & a very 'nice' coat.]

[Meggie]

Thanks for the info you guys!

We do take a small nose hair clipper to the hairs around Hub's eyes that irritate him but other than a post-bath brushing, we don't do too much.

I've said before we're not "Mommy and Daddy" type dog owners, or breed enthusiasts, our having a cairn is circumstantial. (Although I'll admit, having a cairn makes other dogs seem so boring!)

I joined the forum to learn how best to approach/fulfill his breed needs but all the threads regarding coat care had me wondering: do I HAVE to do that?

Thanks again!

[Hapzen]

I just have to show you something.

this dog had to be sedated by a veterinarian to get rid of all tangles and dreads that were in the coat because it had gone many years without being stripped, plus the owners had cut hair in several places. It it absolutely better to give an extra effort in the coat and get a Cairn that looks like this:

I strip my Cairn very often because we do shows, she never loose hair, I hardly never bathe her (maybe 4 times a year) and she doesnt smell. The upside with giving a little care to the coat. You are supposed to strip a Cairn 2-3 times a year if youre going to keep the good coat.

[Idaho Cairns]

Oh, I do love these discussions! Between the bedraggled first example above and the highly groomed second example there is the "natural" Cairn. Unstripped, brushed, heavy coated and probably how most Cairns would look like without the heavy grooming that is typical of "Show" Cairns. It is all preference, it is all about what we want our Cairns to look like. I like mine rough because it fits the personality of my dogs. They are "no brainer" pets with a "no brainer" owner that doesn't fuss with them much.

[KShep]

Oh, I do love these discussions! Between the bedraggled first example above and the highly groomed second example there is the "natural" Cairn. Unstripped, brushed, heavy coated and probably how most Cairns would look like without the heavy grooming that is typical of "Show" Cairns. It is all preference, it is all about what we want our Cairns to look like. I like mine rough because it fits the personality of my dogs. They are "no brainer" pets with a "no brainer" owner that doesn't fuss with them much.

Is that Bonnie? What a pretty girl!

[darkpantherbabe]

This is Sadie when we first got her....

This is the very first grooming we had, so that we would know what coat 'n skin condition she was in.... Yes she's almost "shaved" but it had to be done cause of the summer weather we have is very hot, muggy, humid and we had a whole month of temps over 100 with heat index of over 110 degree's. And she was over-heating and staying hot, even in our Apartment which we kept at a cool 74 degree's because of how muggy 'n humid it was.

This is sadie since her last grooming, its a slightly longer coat, but still short due to it was still in the summer / "dog days" heat here..... she does have a "skirt" look.

I am now letting her coat grow out and become much thicker and longer due to it cooling off rapidly and winter months coming and it can dip down below zero before a windchill even...

(PS, we had to go to the extreme on the very first grooming cause we didn't know what condition her coat was in or her skin was in, and she was over-heating very badly due to the heat 'n how long 'n thick her coat was. She not once became over-heated or too hot during our walks or just being outside or even in the apartment since we took the long thick too shaggy coat off))

[Idaho Cairns]

Katie the picture is of Bonnie--taken this Spring. Thanks.

[jo_]

Katie the picture is of Bonnie--taken this Spring. Thanks.

Bonnie is absolutely beautiful!! We just had Jagger stripped for the second time this year. Our groomer did a fantastic job but I have to admit, I much prefer the natural look. She doesn't seem to have skin issues so I'm not sure we'll do it so frequently in the future. Maybe each spring just to keep her cooler for the summer? Or, after seeing this gorgeous pic of Bonnie, maybe not at all???

[gt_mustang_gal]

Oh I am so glad to read thru this post! I have been struggling about what I want to do with Cracker when he gets older. Now I am 99.9% sure that I want to go with the "natural" look. Idaho - Bonnie is absolutely GORGEOUS. As long as regular brushing and trimming of the areas you mentioned doesn't cause a lot of shedding, I want Cracker's "look" to be like Bonnie's!

[Hapzen]

Oh, I do love these discussions! Between the bedraggled first example above and the highly groomed second example there is the "natural" Cairn. Unstripped, brushed, heavy coated and probably how most Cairns would look like without the heavy grooming that is typical of "Show" Cairns. It is all preference, it is all about what we want our Cairns to look like. I like mine rough because it fits the personality of my dogs. They are "no brainer" pets with a "no brainer" owner that doesn't fuss with them much.

But I guess your dog are trimmed every once in a while? I didnt meen that a Cairn have to loke like the show dogs, but I think its important to take off the old coat so new can grow out. How long you keep the coat is up to you

Myself I keep the coat shorter than the show coat, even though we do shows. Just because i prefer i shorter Thia's breeder comments it every time we meet him

Ps, I dont think my dog looks "unnatural" just because she got short coat.

[Idaho Cairns]

Oh Helene, I hope nothing I have said is an implication that your dog is "unnatural"! That was not intended at all, I was merely pointing out MY preferences on the appearance of MY Cairns. I do trim the ears, face, and tail a bit to satisfy those preferences and I brush regularly. Each Cairn is different, some are heavy coated and others less so--Bonnie has a luxurious coat with an especially heavy outer or "harsh" coat which I really enjoy feeling and touching--but that is me. Brushing seems to remove most of the dead coat for her.

The nice thing is, of course, that with or without a long coat there is a Cairn that really doesn't care how it looks and that is the real joy of these dogs.

On the board this longer haired preference has been called the "Yak Look" which tickles me because it is really descriptive--sometimes these dogs do look like like little Yaks! Your Thia is a beautiful Cairn but then you have to take my biases into consideration--I have never seen a Cairn that I didn't like!

[Hapzen]

Oh Helene, I hope nothing I have said is an implication that your dog is "unnatural"! That was not intended at all, I was merely pointing out MY preferences on the appearance of MY Cairns. I do trim the ears, face, and tail a bit to satisfy those preferences and I brush regularly. Each Cairn is different, some are heavy coated and others less so--Bonnie has a luxurious coat with an especially heavy outer or "harsh" coat which I really enjoy feeling and touching--but that is me. Brushing seems to remove most of the dead coat for her.

The nice thing is, of course, that with or without a long coat there is a Cairn that really doesn't care how it looks and that is the real joy of these dogs.

On the board this longer haired preference has been called the "Yak Look" which tickles me because it is really descriptive--sometimes these dogs do look like like little Yaks! Your Thia is a beautiful Cairn but then you have to take my biases into consideration--I have never seen a Cairn that I didn't like!

I think were on the same page here

I just had to check what you ment about that natural comment, because the other day a staffieowner told me that nothing with my dog was natural (because I had to strip the coat) and he didnt understand why my breed existed at all. So I maybe fired a little when the word natural came up. Dont take it personal, Im horrible to explain myself when I write on a different language.

[Lynn in TN]

@ Idaho Bonnie is beautiful, and so is Sammi.

I really like the longer coat as well. I will probably strip little bits at a time just because Kelly seems to like it (believe it or not), and I find it to be very calming. I do trim the bottoms of her feet often though, because she slides on our floor if I don't.

I like the show dog look also. I haven't seen a Cairn I don't like.

[Meggie]

Oh, I do love these discussions! Between the bedraggled first example above and the highly groomed second example there is the "natural" Cairn. Unstripped, brushed, heavy coated and probably how most Cairns would look like without the heavy grooming that is typical of "Show" Cairns. It is all preference, it is all about what we want our Cairns to look like. I like mine rough because it fits the personality of my dogs. They are "no brainer" pets with a "no brainer" owner that doesn't fuss with them much.

Aw man, she is sooooo cute!

Hub's coat is quite similar although a touch shorter...and your dog's ears are neater.

Obviously I see it's all preference! They all look cute.

We would never allow Hub's coat to get out of hand...but I do like the scruffier look on my boy. It suits his goofy personality.

[Idaho Cairns]

You guys are too kind--we won't tell Bonnie, she is already too full of herself as it is! There is kind of a trick with the ears--I call it the "bear eared" look--if you round off the tops a bit and then let the guard hairs in front to grow a out you can camouflage oversized or pointy ears to a certain degree. I can't do that with Sammi because her ears are jet black and BIG so they can't be minimized. Nice thing about grooming is that all your mistakes grow out and disappear and, unlike with my wife, a bad haircut on a Cairn does not create more dramatics than a Shakespeare Festival!

[Meggie]

Hub's inner ear hair is scraggly but he won't let me brush him there, and I'm not sure I want to put a brush near there.

I like the big eared look too. It's like they have they're own radars.

I'm a sucker for anything weird about a dog. At the rescue my favorite dogs are usually the crazy mutts with underbites etc

This is Jackie, she's a cairn mixed with Lord knows what. One side of her body was a big white patch. She got scooped up so fast!

[Idaho Cairns]

Ooh, I like that little one, she has that "Yoda look" that is so cute! I'd say the Cairn was the dominant gene in this one.

[Meggie]

She definitely had some very distinctive Cairn traits personality-wise too, the quirkiness.

But was much mellower than a cairn.

We just loved her crazy colored eyes and mismatched fur. She was a pip.

She had many applications and was adopted by a nice middle aged lady A lot of young "hipsters" came in for her, because this look of dog is the new NY trend. The scruffy mutt. So I was grateful she was going home to someone who was looking for more than an accessory.

And to think she was nearly GASSED in a shelter down south.