Grooming Question

[hollyr]

Looking for advice from seasoned Cairn owners. Our pup is four months and we had pulled all his outer puppy coat long ago but can't seem to find a good brush or tool to get all the fine undercoat hair off of him...and it's ending up all over us! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

Holly

[bradl]

An ordinary pumice stone (like the 'grill cleaning' ones, etc) brushed over undercoat will often take quite a bit out (they should have some undercoat of course). Inexpensive and easy. We've also had good success using a Furminator to work some especially thick undercoat out of two of our Undercoat-Growing-Machines. Expensive and easy.

[Maggie15]

Brad, do you use the stone only after the dog has been stripped completely? are there other methods to clean up the undercoat when the topcoat is still in place (other than some regular brushing/combing)? Also would you typically try to take off or thin out the undercoat? I suppose it depends on the dog, i've never noticed any loose undercoat on maggie... just topcoat if we leave for more than a few weeks without 'rolling' her coat...

thanks,

a

[bradl]

Asking me for grooming advice is a bit like asking Gallagher for advice on serving watermelon at a dinner party. (Too obscure?) Anyhow, you can get undercoat out at any time by lifting up the outer coat and sort of brushing the stone on the undercoat exposed.

The dog is supposed to have a good undercoat, so frankly I only even think about it if it is so thick in an area that it seems to be choking down the harsh coat. We practically named Stella 'Patagonia ' her undercoat was so thick and fleecy as a pup. Both she and her mother have very thick undercoat at the shoulder and flank.

[Lisad]

(Brad, once again, you're too funny with your "Gallagher-watermellon" reference )

[hollyr]

Thanks for your grooming suggestions!! We've had labs for the past 20 years and are thrilled to have found the Cairn breed...what a lot of spirit packed in these lil bods!!