First time self stripping - wish me luck!

[WayneD]

Hamish is one year old tomorrow and after reading the wealth of information on this forum and watching a groomer do it last time, I have decided to begin looking after his coat myself. I assume he must be just about ready for a complete strip as there is loads of long hair that comes out really easily, so much so my almost non shedding dog is now shedding.

Unfortunatley it has become very difficult to get a groomer to do hand stripping here and thus the decison was made for me. Fortunately he has been hand stripped twice before and is used to being brushed so that's a big plus, I have assorted brushes, a good quality stripping knife and a coat king which I have only used very gently through very thick parts of his coat a few times.

He's not a show dog so he doesn't need to look perfect, I just want to do the right thing by his skin and coat and I guess at the end of the day if I somehow mess it up, it will always grow back.

Words of encouragement and new tips appreciated!

Here's a pic of him napping, it's a good example of how his coat is looking

Edited August 25, 2013 by WayneD

[hheldorfer]

Good for you!  Personally, I think his coat looks beautiful right now.  If Buffy looked half that good I'd be ecstatic.

 

In my experience with *attempting* to strip Buffy, the biggest challenge is getting your Cairn to cooperate.  Some Cairns seem to tolerate it better than others.  Her time limit for any kind of grooming is about 15-20 minutes; after that, her patience runs out and no amount of treats will get her to stand nicely.  Due to the time limit I try to do a little stripping in one area each time I brush her.  She still looks like a yak but at least I'm getting as much dead hair out as possible and she doesn't seem to have problems with itching.

 

Best of luck to you.  Let us know how things go.

[Lizzie&Addie]

My two boys are so different when it comes to stripping, I have stripped Leo's back whilst he's slept before, Bandit hates it, but then again he is a bit of a control freak we used the coat king on him last time and it did an ok job, although not recommended long term as can ruin their coats, but like you said they aren't show dogs, so doesn't really matter if they are not perfectly hand- stripped. And yes, wise to use the coat king on the really thick hairy parts only.

Like hheldorfer said though, I think his coat looks pretty good at the moment too, but doing a little at a time is wise, as stripping can be stressful for both you and the dog if you leave it too long, oh and always easier to strip before a bath, when their hair is dirty much easier to pull out.

Good luck.

[WayneD]

Thanks for the input.

I think his coat looks fine too - I like a shaggy looking cairn!

If it wasn't for the fact he is losing quite a bit hair I'd be happy to leave it, although it does need a little work around his rear end and tail area. I did have a gentle go this afternoon with the striping knife and the really long stuff was coming out really easily.

I'll keep you posted.

[Hillscreek]

If it comes out easy it's ready. Just pull it. 

Lots and lots of help in the grooming section of the forum.

[hheldorfer]

WayneD - You mentioned Hamish is losing quite a bit of hair.  This happened last year around this time with Buffy.  Our non-shedding dog seemed to be blowing her whole coat.  This year, no problem.  I attributed it to the extremely hot and dry weather we had last summer.  

[WayneD]

Hi hheldorfer

We did have a very hot summer but it's currently Winter here in Oz. I think he is perhaps losing a bit of hair because its been about six months since his last tidy up. hoe has only been done twice before, once to remove puppy fluff and once at six months, a light pull all over but not a full/proper strip.

Does that seem a likely explanation?

[WayneD]

Hi Hillscreek

Yep it comes out pretty easy, I've made a start taking out most of the loose long harsh long hair almost down to the undercoat, with a combination of fingers, stripping knife and brushes.

Hamish is mostly wheaten with a slight red tinge and a few dark spots but as you can see from the picture he has quite a red undercoat - it reminds of the picture of your efforts on your boy in a previous post.

Thanks for the encouragement - I think I'm on the right track (fingers crossed)

Edited August 27, 2013 by WayneD

[Hillscreek]

Keep at it wayne and remember if you mess up the hair does grow back- thank goodness!

[WayneD]

I'm sure glad it grows back Hillscreek.

I spent another 15 minutes this afternoon and now Hamish a "skunk-like" stripe of reddish brown undercoat down the middle of his back. I'm surprised that almost all his harder coat came out so easily. The "stripe is soft and whispy, it reminds me of his puppy coat.

No going back now I guess, looks like I need to move onto the sides and other parts. I'll post a few more photos as I go along.

[SunaPee1970]

How do you groom around the feet and toes and private area on a boy?

[WayneD]

Hi Suna

I was advised to use curved scissors around his feet and I have found they worked really well, they were also very good for under his pads to get the hair level with the underside of his feet. I was advised that if I couldn't strip his tummy I could use one sided thinning scissors carefully! Likewise around his boy bits.

I have also ordered what I am told is a great and very helpful DVD from the UK produced by Dawn at Carradine Cairns, I'm looking forward to it arriving as I believe that it goes over each part of the body in great detail by hand stripping. If you're interested the web site is

http://www.carradinecairns.co.uk/

[PLGD]

Thinning scissors.

On the feet, trim the hair so it doesn't extend beyond the pads.

Private area, if really mucky, clean (using a moist cloth to soften an remove mat due to urine) then trim to about 1/2 inch. I've found that I've only had to do this twice. Max is now 2 mo short of 2 yrs. I think he now grooms himself in this area. Huh, wonder if this is the last frontier of house training?

As for the anal area, if the bm is firm there usually isn't much problem. A flea comb can remove most small "Klingons". If the area is really messy, you'll need to wash it --- we put Max in the sink and he suffers through the indignity of a spray wash of clear water. ( If messy bm are a regular event, you need to ck diet as something is really irritating the system.)