Stripping coats...why?

[Sam I Am]

So I am curious, who decided it was better to strip a Cairns coat? I have read books and comments  about keeping the coat healthy, but why? I can’t see a Scottish farmer patiently stripping his Cairns coat…no doubt the thicker the coat was kept the better  Scottish winters and rain kept the dog in good condition. Is stripping the coat something that someone decided looked better in the show ring? Why do we change the natural look of dogs to meet human tastes?  A good brushing should keep a coat healthy …at least with most other animals and many hairy dog breeds.
I stopped having Sam’s coat stripped years ago as he absolutely hated it and as I decided the show arena was not a place I felt he would be happy in.  I do have him clipped by a groomer who does an excellent job without shaving him because he collects a lot of debris being outside which lands up in the house. And yes his coat is not as harsh as it would be if stripped but in the end it doesn’t matter to Sam or me. What did the original Cairns look like in the highlands of Scotland with their natural coats? Just curious.
 

[bradl]

1 hour ago, Sam I Am said:

who decided it was better to strip a Cairns coat? I

It was Harriet. Harriet decided.  

I dunno, really. Observing dogs' dead coats it's apparent that nature cycles the coat. Maybe someone pulling out cockle burrs noticing that clumps of coat come out easily led to just continuing on with the process until everything that seemed feebly attached came out. Sort of like I do to poor Elroy as he leans against me watching TV — heaven knows he will never see a show ring.

Personally, I suspect what we call stripping today was probably a friendly attempt to add a helping hand to the natural process, to ensure that more of the dead coat (i.e. all of it)  gets a chance to come out, and not relying on sticker bushes and whatnot to get the easy stuff. Possibly even an expression of care, even though some dogs will object (not all do).  Some kids scream bloody murder at a bath, but not all do, and most benefit from a thorough dunking  

Perhaps it's just another instance of taking what nature does naturally and turning it into an exaggerated industrialized process. And of course extending, "improving" and adding flourishes, as we humans tend to do. 

The use of stripping to enhance particular shapes and outlines is probably more an aid to highlighting the desired shape and emphasizing (or hiding) the construction details of a particular dog of a particular breed of dog — a side effect of care grooming, essentially, and the part of the process that is applicable to breeding stock.

[Sam I Am]

Poor Elroy, he is a sweety and handsome. As my mum used to say, Some of us were meant for speed other for comfort…I am definitely in the comfort zone now….a bit like Elroy 

Thank goodness a lot of pressure has been put on certain dog breeders  to end physically changing the animal…ear cropping, dew claw removal etc. Terriers as far as I know are not altered in any way, ..thank goodness. We love them just the way they are.

[Otis’s Mom]

I totally agree. I used to have Otis’s stripped but stopped. I have a great groomer also that does not shave him. His coat is just as good. He is not a show dog, even though his father is, he is my companion, and it’s just him and me.

[sanford]

Here's Ruffy -- Top photo: Natural. Bottom photo: Stripped/Clipped. To strip or not to strip? Coat condition aside, I never could decide which look I preferred. 

[Otis’s Mom]

I know! I love the stripped look on Otis but then again the clipped looks good also! Top photo he was 3, bottom he is a little over 6. I prefer that scruffy look but I think he likes the bottom one.

[sanford]

I think Ruffy would have agreed with Otis.

[Hillscreek]

Looking back to about 1910 through multiple pics and descriptions of the cairn terrier I tend to think the outer coat may have been shorter than many of today's cairns 2 1/2 inches is often cited. They talk about the double coat, soft thick and close to the skin. Over that lays a rough hard coat impervious to the rain and mist so common in the Highlands and Islands. This what you might call a 'working' coat, as called for in the standard. It does not need much maintence as I found out. I learned how to strip Angus with much help from wonderful posts here. But after a few years I gave up. Since then all that has been needed is a thorough brushing now and then with occasional trim over the "eyebrows" - the only trimming he ever gets. His coat is very protective. His skin never gets wet.

However it is not as pretty as when stripped off and partly grown back. So I'm thinking the stripping is/was more of a show thing.

 

[Otis’s Mom]

I know I loved his longer coat.  Spring, summers in Massachusetts are brutal.  He gets really hot the older he gets. the We walk 2 to 3 miles a day.. (weather permitting, of course); he is much more comfortable with the coat that he has now, and when Otis Ray is happy, I am happy Thank you for sharing

[Toto-lee Cairn]

Interesting, all of this.

Went through the same trials -- to strip or not to strip?  Let's keep it clean *BIG smile.*  Like you, I could not imagine a large Scottish 'Angus' hand-stripping his group of working Cairns.  I tend to judge Toto's comfort level, and he gets trimmed twice a year, usually in the latter months of Spring, and that is because of the heat here in the Summer -- as high as 90 with high humidity.  It has grown out by late Fall, and he has his coat again to get through the colder months here.  The groomer will 'shape' him for me,  trimming the face some, eyebrows, ears, paws and he puts on his holiday airs.

I started out, with him, at 13 weeks when I brought him home, with such good intentions, determined to do everything 'right' by this fine specimen of Cairness.  I laughed when just recently I came across, in a drawer, the box of rubber finger tips suggested to strip with -- great suggestion by the way, but still one must assess the skill of the stripper.  I had no day job to refrain from quitting, let's say.

 

[Debildog]

On 6/6/2023 at 12:04 AM, sanford said:

Here's Ruffy -- Top photo: Natural. Bottom photo: Stripped/Clipped. To strip or not to strip? Coat condition aside, I never could decide which look I preferred. 

Iove the ragamuffin look so much more than the slicked one. It fits their personality better. 

[Sam I Am]

I should have used the word shaping and clipped. My groomer would never “shave” Sam…..thank goodness!  Our Alberta winters can be brutal and Sam loves his daily walks so a thick furry coat, boots and a warm dog coat makes his walkies possible.  I am always amazed when he gets a bath that I really have to work the shower deep into his coat to get it wet. He is so naturally waterproof!

[Kathryn]

Just came across this photo of Oban snuggling under Steve's arm recently -- he does get stripped. But he was obviously due for a grooming when the photo was taken.  I think I like the scruffy look best...

BF7CBBB8-972E-437B-9B8B-AFAE63EB597C_1_201_a.heic