how-to Classic Cairn Outline with Clipper & Shears

[bradl]

Choosing to clipper your Cairn doesn't mean it must wear an unflattering buzzcut. This is an outstanding video demonstrating that even dogs clipped and scissored can carry a flattering Cairn outline. 

https://youtu.be/9TNywXoJfIo

This would be a terrific resource to share with your groomer if they are giving you back a schnauzer, westie, or yorkie when you asked for a Cairn   I would probably offer to pay for the extra half-hour it would take them to watch it.  It's really good.

At the very least or if you're in a hurry the last few minutes (from 32:25 on) summarizes the concepts applied (the second embedded video, below, should start at the summary).

https://youtu.be/9TNywXoJfIo?t=1949

 

[Idaho Cairns]

That was helpful!  Not sure our groomer will take the time but what this does permit is for us to let the groomer get the dog to a near finished state and then finish the dog ourselves.   Not sure my old arthritic hands will allow the continued shaping but I can try.
What were those close trim scissors?  The ones she did the ears with, using on the tip of the scissors--give me a name--ear trimming is always dicey with the trim scissors I use--either my fingers or the dog's ears are at constant risk. 

[Lynn in TN]

Those were very informative. Looks easy enough. Funny thing is, believe Kelly would rather I strip her. She fights when I get out the clippers to do her bottom and paws. She stands still through most of the stripping. 

[Sam I Am]

The groomer is an absolute wizard with those thinning scissors! 

[bradl]

1 hour ago, Idaho Cairns said:

What were those close trim scissors?

I'd have to look much closer but they seemed to be straight shears, perhaps something like these:

I've never tried using the tip tip  she describes — I do always worry about a mishap so I have from time to time used some sort of round-tip baby scissors I picked up at the drugstore. Mostly though I find the ear felt pretty fast and easy to pull by hand (I too have arthritis) although shears are certainly faster.  A longer more versatile version of my drugstore baby scissors might be something like these:

(Images are Amazon links.)

[Idaho Cairns]

Brad, that first set looks like what the groomer in the video was  using, dull tips and all--I might have to order a set.
BTW, both Sammi and Bonnie being conscientious objectors to any form cooperation when being groomed/restrained, especially in regard to any commands/demands that would keep them from sitting when they were asked to stand and standing when told to sit are evil eyed and in a nasty snit over the video.  Yes, they heard the electric clippers and the "snip, snip, snip, snip" of the groomer, they know what it is and what it might portend for their general comfort in this home. 
They believe in shags, shaggy, un-groomed, naturally odorized , and unhandled self grooming and do not expect to be touched except when contact is initiated by themselves.
They would, no doubt, think the Cairn in the video was a weenie and very UNCAIRNLIKE in its willing cooperation with the evil mistress of the torture chamber depicted.  I will have to watch the video when they are outside, attempting (unsuccessfully),  for the 1001st time, squirrel assassination.

[Hillscreek]

Don't mean the angry face sorry. Just wanted to say that cairn's face seems trimmed to be rounded and  'pretty' ! Somehow I don't associate that bare face round the eyes with a cairn  Where is the foxy look?

On topic and with arthritis like others I was always too scared to use scissors. With Angus just pulled or left shaggy!

[Sam I Am]

I have to agree with you Hillcreek, the rounded facial hairs look more like  Westie cut. I also prefer a scruffy face.

[sanford]

Just like Idaho says re Sammi and Bonnie, Ruffy wages a war with me when it comes to stripping. I decided not to defeat him in battle and sue for peace instead, by resorting to clippers. I realize this is a sacrilege to many on this site, but I have to live with Ruffy and they don't!

Controversial as this video may be, it was a godsend for me and I am greatly appreciative that Brad took the time to pass it along to the "grooming challenged" among us, although I must add that the skill and speed of that groomer's flashing steel "scissorhands" was definitely intimidating and made me wince. I've always been of 2 minds re the cairn's appearance - liking the natural look and thick texture of the untrimmed coat on the one hand, but also admiring a properly stripped coat, conforming to the shape and contours of the body, as the video points out.

P.S. If Alfie is worthy of being called a cairn terrier, after a few days at the dog run, you'd never know he was groomed at all!

Edited May 28, 2017 by sanford

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

I am still doing the Mars combs....Pepper looks like a Scottish Highlander!

[JoJo]

It does seem like it would be nice for the summer and tick season.  Wonder if the multi-layer hard coat would grow back? Or do you think it would stay softer?

[Sam I Am]

Thank goodness Sam's breeder will strip his coat! I am hopeless at it.

[bradl]

10 hours ago, JoJo said:

Wonder if the multi-layer hard coat would grow back? Or do you think it would stay softer?

I believe she was raking the coarse coat with the coat king so that at least some would grow back. Only coat that is pulled can come back harsh ... coat that is cut will always be softer as the coat dies at the follicle end and cutting leaves the softer dead coat in place. 

[JoJo]

Thanks!  That is helpful!

[Toto-lee Cairn]

Ah, but the plans I had for my Cairn!

I was on here, early on, asking for tips as to how to hand-strip, as I was determined, perhaps blindly,  to do right by Toto.  I did stop short of building a barn and stocking it with vermin.

Toto tolerated my attempts at stripping him, but it got to be too much for me to try to stay on top of, following the suggestion to do the Cairn in sections over time.  My best intentions to set aside the time often got waylaid.

While I did not want to insult the groomer, I did carry a book I had with me the first time, explaining, politely, what I was after  --  tail like a carrot,  no skirt, * blah blah blah. *  It did help that the owner of the beauty parlor was familiar with the look of a Cairn.  Toto gets groomed twice a year, a little shorter in summer, and just shaped-up for the holidays.  LOL.  I bathe him if he needs it, and the vet will trim his nails for me.  (That was a fiasco.)  I invested in good tools to keep his ears, tail, and brows shaped. and so far, all has been good.  Note:  I did not say 'easy.'

I have not felt like his coat has been ruined.  He still has a distinct harsh outer coat and the softer undercoat.  His predecessor, by contrast, did end up with a soft coat predominantly, but his previous owners apparently had always clipped him fairly short.

 

 

[WillowStec]

I have a almost 3 year old red brindle cairn.  She has never  been professionally stripped.  I have used a "King Comb" on her and clipped her underside and around her face.  Do you think using King comb does the same job as stripping.  I tried a bit of stripping myself and she hated it especially around the legs and underbelly.  Suggestions.   I want to try to keep her rough coat and the lovely brindling colors but avoid stripping especially the cost.

[bradl]

Welcome.

A Mars Coat King or one of its kind is a handy tool for non-show grooming. They are not the same or a substitute for stripping as the comb is actually an array of knives with the sharpened bits fairly safely tucked away in the curve of the teeth. They are very effective on wild coats but they both cut and pull coat.

The pulling is from thickets of coat being caught up and grabbed by the teeth and yanked as you comb; the cutting is done by the hairs that meet the sharpened blades as the tool is pulled through the coat. 

It's a compromise, but one that has helped *a lot* of folks keep a handle on their Cairns' coats. Much better than clippering (exception as always for the ancient venerable ones who may be minimally fussed-with in their sunset years).  

Since at least some coat is being pulled, the coat will tend to keep a fairly decent texture, if the coat is genetically good to start with. Coat Kings are by their nature fairly bulky and coarse, so they do best on the jacket and haunches. Less effective on legs and tail. 

Finer work (like the ears and maybe tail) are more easily done with fingers, with delicate/sensitive areas achievable with scissors or (even better) thinning shears. No shame in using these tools to give your Cairn a Cairnish shape with minimal stress. 

[WillowStec]

Thank you very much - your advise is most helpful.  We had a Wheaten colored cairn for 17 years and did clip her but I really like the look and feel of our current cairn's rough coat and do not want to loose the brindle colors in her coat.  Thank you for the quick response.

 

[bradl]

Oooh, she's a cutie!

[Hillscreek]

She's lovely. When my boy was young I learned how to strip him with a LOT of help from kind cairn owners on this site. It was very hard work and very time consuming. If I were to start over with another pup I think I do pretty much what brad suggests. 

[WillowStec]

Thank you.  I watched a couple of videos on line and work a combination of a king comb on her body and scissors on her legs and face.  She hates any sort of pulling on her coat. I comb her daily with a steel comb just to get the knots and dirt out of her coat.  I do like the rough look because she is such a outdoor rough and tumble dog.  She loves playing with big dogs and chasing them round and round. 

[CairnCapers]

I have learned a lot on this site on how to strip the cairn coat and tools to use. The topic "the heads have it" was extremely helpful to me. The neck and head seems to be my weak area on getting it right. I have a coat king but rarely use it. Mostly use my fingers with a pumice stone. I get Grady on the table every 6 weeks . He is still a unwilling boy even at nearly 3 years old. After he is off the table after a grooming he prances around the house very smitten in his fresh grooming. 

[Dogcoat lady]

Isn’t something….they go in kicking and screaming, then come away smiling and proud.  I find the companionship of a tennis ball most helpful.

[sanford]

A groomer demonstrated to me how she strips by pulling only 4-5 hairs at a time. She said it goes faster with experience, but it would probably take me so long that by the time I finished, it would be time to start over. (Sort of like the way they paint the George Washington Bridge)!

[Eliz222]

I haven't worked on Atticus since before the holidays, other than wiping and combing his hair/brushing teeth.....

I was given a very nice grooming table, and the "loops" (don't know what you call them) to keep the dog in place. I am also lucky that I have an extra bedroom upstairs that I use to groom him in so I don't have to set up/take down often. I started grooming with just 5 min and progressing up to a half an hour. Today we did 20 and I worked on the top of his head and his chin. He HATES having his chin done, so I do this often, but only for a very short time.

I am going to try to roll his coat, but since I have no idea what I am doing, we shall see. Good thing the Cairn's coat is so forgiving! I find using the rubber cots the easiest. I was warned to be careful since the hair comes out so easily that it is easy to take off too much.

I need to find a left handed stripping knife to do his legs with. My friend, who showed dogs in the past, will help me with his legs.

 

Here he is after today. I can use lots of help and guidance! It's hard to see him because of the sun.