Another Coat King Question

[jodi0553]

Hi All,

I've just been paging through the old posts on MCK, and still have one unanswered question that I'm hoping you can help with! About a month ago, we started hand-stripping Currey (now 8 mo old) with the help of a very kind Cairn Talk member. I didn't have any tools till today, so I've just been finishing the job we started with hand rolling, so I haven't got very far fast. Well, today my brand new stripping knife and Mars Coat King came in the mail. I got a coarse knife and a 16 blade MCK. Well, we went to town on my little ball of fluff, and I noticed that the hairs coming out with the coat king seemed to be ALL cut - no stripping at all. They were all only about an inch long, while the long ones I pulled with the knife were 2 inches or longer. Am I doing something wrong? Or does MCK just pseudo strip? I thought from the posts that I read that it both cut and pulled the hair?

Thanks!

Jodi

[Cairnmania]

When you use the Coat King you have to press lightly and go only in the direction the hair grows. I only use the Coat King very sparingly on places like the chest and the back of the hind legs.

To be honest I was very disappointed with it and still mostly hand roll my two Cairn's coats. However, if I had to choose between getting the coat clipped at a groomers or the Coat King, I'd pick the Coat King. Even though it does cut hair, it pulls a (little) bit and the overall effect is much more natural looking than a groomer's clippers.

By the way, the one place I really hate to pull are my dogs legs - from the knee down. On that area I use thinning scissors!

[eastofeden]

I recently met with a Cairn Breeder who helped me out with some of my grooming questions. When I asked her about the Mars Coat King, she indicated that she did not recommend it as it did cut the hairs and did not really pull out the dead hairs.

She showed me how to use the stripping knife and also recommended running a soft pumice stone over the dog as if it were a brush a few times a week.

But I think I agree with Cairnmania....if the choice is between the MCK or clippering...I'd rather have the MCK.

[AllAboutPetey]

One of the keys to using the MCK is to use it BEFORE brushing, combing, etc., and it will pull out more. Hope that helps!

[tena]

I get long, wispy, wooly hair off Sophie when I use the MCK, unless I am combing in a different direction than her hair grows. I like it.