New to Cairns...need help with maintenance!

[McAdooSweet]

Hi, my family is new to Cairns. We have a 4-month old black/brindle. Our breeder told us we would need to hand strip her every 2-3 weeks. We've had her for 4 weeks and her coat was starting to get long and she would shed when we held her, so we thought that meant it was time to strip. I used a stripping knife and worked on her this weekend. She looked more "cleaned up" and her hair seemed shorter on her back. After reading around on here, I see some of you saying you strip only at certain times of the year. I also saw the term "rolling." Is that something different than stripping?

We aren't showing her (McAdoo). We'd like the shedding to be at a minimum. So what do I need to be doing and how often? Does it depend on if we want her to have a longer coat? We really are clueless! Thank you!

[bradl]

Welcome to Cairn Talk. If you're pulling a little coat every couple of weeks, you're rolling.

A full strip a couple times of year is more or less a cycle of

no coat -> new coat -> nice coat -> long coat -> old coat -> dead coat - dreadful coat -> *full strip* -> no coat ... etc.

Pulling a little coat at regular, frequent intervals is an ideal way to keep a nice coat in perpetually good condition, with maximum weather resistance (both hot and cold, plus dirt, mud, and sand resistant), optimum skin health, minimal shedding, etc.

Don't fret over the particulars. As you said, you're not showing so no one's going to critique the fine points. Just keep yanking dead coat when you see it and you'll be miles ahead of lazy groomers such as myself.

Sounds like McAdoo (great name) has a great start. We'll need pictures, of course

[Lynn in TN]

Pretty much what Brad said. I love the idea of rolling the coat but I find it hard to find the time every week or two. I am a working Mother with a Husband and 2 Sons and a 1 year old Cairn, we are also in the process of a little remodling in our home so time is something I don't have a lot of right now. I would be in the lazy category. I strip her when I have a little extra time, once every month or two. I'm not very good at it, but it seems that a Cairn stays cute no matter what you do to them. lol

You will find the people on this forum to be a valuable asset. They have helped me many times. You will also find us very demanding when it comes to Cairn photos and videos, so don't be surprised by how many tell you that we really need photos! haha

Welcome to the forum and good luck.

Edited June 11, 2012 by Lynn in TN

[Hillscreek]

Welcome to you and McAdoo.

My pup Angus is a red brindle, nine months old. When he was six months old I stripped his coat down to his underwear, a red, velvety, thick, plush short coat.

The outer coat is growing back. Seems to take forever but the coat feels great. Coarse but not rough. And shiny and glittery as it changes color according to how the light falls on it.

I finally retired so I have the time to fiddle around with him. If I were working I'd probably just strip him down once or twice during the year depending on what kind of coat grows in.

I daresay it might come to that eventually as rolling is very time consuming - that's for sure.

Lots of help available in this wonderful forum. Plus lots of stories about life with cairns - plus lots of pics and videos.

We are anxious for pics of McAdoo!

[bradl]

I've been told that rolling is like housecleaning in that doing a little frequently is easier than waiting too long and having it be a big project. Because I am unfamiliar with half of the analogy, I have no idea if it's true or not

Seriously, I think the idea is that rolling should only take 10-15 minutes. If done every other week, that's 6.5 hours a year. Considering it takes me 3-4 hours to completely strip a dog with completely dead coat, it either works out even, or slightly better for rolling.

[McAdooSweet]

Thank you for your help! I'm wondering now why some Cairns look like they have long hair and some look short. Does the short-hair look come from rolling? And bathing often is bad, right? The breeder said 2 baths a year, but the vet said once a month! If I really can't give her a bath often, how do I freshen her up when she gets stinky?

I'm struggling with the pic. I'm on an iPad and it won't let me post from that.

[McAdooSweet]

I think I am able to post a pic from an iPad now...so here goes with McAdoo! Fingers crossed that I am doing this correctly...

[Lynn in TN]

Bathing isn't good for their skin or their fur, but there are people on the forum that say they bath their Cairn once a month and they do fine.I haven't found Kelly to need a bath very often. At least not like other dogs I have had. If she gets into something nasty I bath her if its just mud I rinse her with plain water. When I strip her she smells like she has had a bath.

The short hair look comes from stripping. When you roll the coat it is a little longer. When the coat is long it is from choosing not to strip and they let it come out naturally. I can't do the long coat as I have a child with allergies. When you see pictures of show dogs their coats are usually rolled. It is really a matter of choice. The bathing is more of a personal choice too, but can cause the skin to dry out.

Brad - I must be really slow at stripping the coat it took me more like 6 hours, and rolling takes me 2 hours. Maybe I will get faster with time.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Welcome McAdoo and family! If you are worried about the shedding, don't be. I strip Dempsy whenever he looks gangily and trim his ears and feet. I trim his nail more than worry about his coat and he has very little shedding - almost nill. I worried about the stripping too when I first adopted Demps, but no worries needed. You will absolutely fall in love with your little McAdoo. Does he do zoomies yet? And we would all love to see your little bundle of destruction. oh, I don't mean to scare you, your little angel ... well, ok - a little of both.

Oh my is he gorgeous!! I just posted this and then you must of posted the pic of McAdoo - I love him!! ... but I love them all. Oh yeah, I change that back to a little bundle of destruction. Thanks for the pic. .... and his coat looks great!

Edited June 12, 2012 by Dempsy's Mom

[Lynn in TN]

McAdoo is absolutely gorgeous! Beautiful colors.

[McAdooSweet]

Thanks! As I posted that, she went and peed on a pillow right in front of me! Little devil is more like it! Lynn, we need the shorter coat as well for allergies in the house. I spent maybe 20-30 minutes stripping her, but honestly it took 10 of those minutes to get the hang of it. Once I got the motion of the wrist just right, I went quickly. Now, that being said, I can't tell a bit of difference on her legs. I was so worried about her comfort (and the legs seem so tiny and fragile), I tried, but she squirmed and I didn't work too hard to make her sit still. I just gave up!

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions. I grew up with poodles, so terriers are foreign to me! Thanks for the help. I really do appreciate it.

[McAdooSweet]

Oh, and we had our first zoomies experience last night. She went NUTS and on her last lap, she literally flew onto my lap on the couch (she has never been able to get up there and couldn't again today when she tried) and was in a coma in 30 seconds. It was like watching a cat on catnip!

[Hillscreek]

McAdoo is beautiful

re bathing: some do it often some not. Depends on dog's coat and people's preferences. Good suggestions have been to use a shampoo specially made for terriers so as not to soften the coat. I use Isle of Dogs but there are others.

You can get a good booklet called Cairn Terrier Grooming from Start to Finish. It answers most questions quite well. Get it from CTCA. Link from this forum.

[hheldorfer]

Welcome! McAdoo is a very handsome boy. Love his coloring.

[cairnsby3]

I think rolling the coat is definitely easier. I spend about 45 minutes a week per dog, but that includes a good brushing, combing with a flea comb, tidying tail and ears and brushing teeth. It might also include trimming around feet, cleaning ears, scaling teeth, etc. As for bathing, be sure you have a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo on hand for when the puppy rolls in something and you don't have time for a bath. After using it, you may find you don't need the bath.

[sanford]

Pulling a little coat at regular, frequent intervals is an ideal way to keep a nice coat in perpetually good condition, with maximum weather resistance (both hot and cold, plus dirt, mud, and sand resistant), optimum skin health, minimal shedding, etc.

I think most would agree that this is the optimum way to maintain the coat. On those occasions where its not convenient to do this, a good quick brushing can help rid the coat of hairs that are ready to come out, therefore reducing shedding and allergic reactions by the uprights!

[McAdooSweet]

Thank you all so much for the help! Will definitely check out that book and the products recommended.

[MegsMom]

Have you found these pages?

(pg1) http://jerrier.tripod.com/grooming1.html

(pg2, stripping diagrams) http://jerrier.tripod.com/grooming2.htm

[Macdaddy]

MacAdoo is very handsome ! Attached is our Mac after puppy graduation !

[kieiras mom]

Beautiful dog. Looks like he has already discovered DIRT.