Grooming

Michelle says...

One of the books I read on Cairn Terriers before I got Tucker said that when it comes to coat, Cairns are "the lazy man's terrier". I say hah to that! Dogs with higher maintenance coats you can just take to a good groomer, pay some money and pick up a dog that looks good. Take a Cairn to a groomer you're just as likely to come home with a dog whose coat texture has been ruined by being clippered instead of stripped and that looks like a Schnauzer or a Westie! When I got Tucker I had no idea what hand stripping was. I still am really bad at it, but I try. My main effort is to try to make sure he looks like a Cairn, that his coat and skin are healthy and that I'm not too embarrassed to show photos of him to his breeder. My husband and I have a philosophical difference about his ears though. I'd like to clean the hair off the top 1/3 of the ear like Cairns are supposed to be groomed but my husband really likes the ear tips to have that long hair on it. He says it's "character". We'll see.

Stripping isn't too hard on the main part of the body. I use a stripping stone, which is basically a piece of pumice stone. You stroke it with the growth direction of the hair and it pulls the dead top coat hairs, which are loosely rooted, out. I've not managed this with a stripping knife or just my fingers like the experts can, but the stone does the trick for me. The legs and tummy are another story though. I've given up doing a true strip in those areas and use a grooming tool called a coat king, which has a blade you draw through the hair that cuts the top layer out sort of like thinning shears.

Another thing I read said you should never or hardly ever bathe Cairns because it softens their hard coat. That's not going to happen with a dog who sleeps in my bed thank you very much! Though he definitely doesn't need bathed as often as many dogs, Tucker does get shampooed every two to three weeks. I just use a shampoo specially made to preserve the texture of harsh terrier coats.

Tucker says...

Today my Mom tried to pull all my hair out with a ROCK! She said that's what she was supposed to do. I can't believe somebody would tell her to do such torture to me! And my Dad said to quit being a whiner and hold still for it because my sisters who are show dogs (hi Ellie and Heidi!) have it done all the time. Well I don't care, I didn't like it! By the time she was done, there was hair everywhere. There was a pile of hair the size of another doggy! My hair is still longer than the girls' though. Mom got tired and sneezy and said we would do some more another time. THEN I had to have a bath. But I dried faster because of the hair pulling. You can see my eyes better now and I don't have such a thick ruff around my neck. Anyway, everybody write to my Mom and tell her that's not what was meant to be done at all and that what really needs done is "more treats and walks".

This is my sister, she doesn't look that much better than me, I think my Mom's putting me on about this whole pulling it out thing...