Would like some tips on stripping the legs

[merewen]

I'm planning to hand strip my Cairn tomorrow. I've done it twice before, but last year I clipped his legs because he kept pulling them away and wriggling in all directions. Even with my boyfriend holding him it couldn't be done.

This winter he got this itch on his legs and he kept licking them, so a lot of the hair dissapeared. It grew back, but now he's got all these long soft straggly bits from the clipping. I've tried to have a go on his legs yesterday but he won't let me do them.

Does anyone have any tips? Eddie is a wimp who even runs at the sight of a brush. I try to strip him as gently as I can, not yank at the hair but pull it steadily, but after a bit he stands there shaking and panting and all nervous and uptight.

Thanks

[bradl]

Holding the leg above the knee/elbow gives you more control of the whole leg - if you try to hold the paw or lower portion of leg, it turns into a tug-of-war with the paw. If you (or with your boyfriend) can immobilize the hip/shoulder, then you may have less commotion with the lower leg.

Another tip is to lift up the leg you are NOT working on, forcing the dog to put more weight (for balance) on the leg you ARE working on.

Maybe do one leg per session. Spread the sessions out over a day or two?

[merewen]

Thanks for the tips!

[merewen]

I've stripped Eddie and it went reasonably well. The only thing is that I don't know what to do with the hair on his muzzle. I pulled some dead hair out, but there's lots left and the hair is considerably longer than on the rest of his face.

Does this hair usually get stripped or clipped or thinned out?

Thanks

[bradl]

I pull it like everything else. I've seen a breeder use thinning shears there though, on rare occasions.

Do you have a big picture or drawing of Cairn who's grooming you like? Helpful to use as reference. I recently hung a big face on the wall next to the grooming table to help remind me - I am awful with heads and think I tend to pull down the muzzle too much.

[merewen]

I've got a picture of what Eddie looked like when he'd been to a 'proper' groomer a few years ago, and I was looking at that, but I wasn't sure how it was done. But if you say pull I'll pull

I'll have a go at him tomorrow.

Thanks

[bradl]

Here's a lovely Jack DeWitt photo from the gallery - its a pretty good look at a Cairn getting ready for the 2002 National Sweepstakes. Click on it to load the bigger version.