Au Naturel

[Sam I Am]

Definitely time for some serious grooming I am thinking. Must admit I am rather fond of the scruffy look but he is starting to resemble a sheepdog!

Edited November 14, 2019 by Sam I Am

[bradl]

Agreed on all counts  He's pulling the look off quite nicely, although I guess soon it will be you pulling his look off  

[hheldorfer]

Nattie thinks he looks just fine.  And is he available this weekend?

[Kathryn]

Still love the "yak" look.  Always tell our friend who strips the boys to "leave it long on the top."  And she never does...sigh...

[Sam I Am]

If one really thinks about it Mother Nature never meant us to “strip” or alter our Cairns coats very much as why do we alter so many breeds appearances?  Would a good brushing not do? Are we just doing all this fussing about not for the animals sake but for our own idea of what a perfect Cairn looks like?  

PS.... I am chuckling because I am pretty sure Chuck(Idaho Cairns) would have jumped into this conversation, posting pictures of his fluffy pups Sammi and Bonnie. 

Edited November 20, 2019 by Sam I Am

[Hillscreek]

Angus hasn't been stripped for more than two years. My friend brushes him now and then and once in a while she trims the hair over his eyes. His coat is very harsh on top and lays close over his thick soft undercoat. It is thickest over his shoulders. This is a working cairn's coat I always think. The coat of a cairn who runs in the mist and rain and digs into a tunnel to chase out its usually angry resident. He can run in any weather and his skin never gets wet. Snow and rain cannot pierce that thick cover. It always smells so sweet like no other dog's coat I've known. 

Of course there are many kinds of coats on our cairns softer, longer etc. Many modern cairns are much larger than in the past and have much longer outer coats which may need attention. There's no one way - they are all so different.

Here's Angus when I stripped him regularly and nowadays. His coat is darker red now and he's got a lot more muscle on him with all that hunting and running.

Then he was a pretty young fellow - now he's real (fairly) tough guy!

 

[pkcrossley]

Angus looks good every which a way. We can always call Sam Yosemite Sam and then you don't have to worry about this luxuriant mustache.