Hi Barbara - what a great video!! I am so impressed by your talent and how kind and gentle you are with the little doggie. I have a cairn, Toby, that I rescued and while I do have him clipped (there is not a groomer in my area of Missouri that will hand strip) I so appreciate the work you do and how beautiful he is afterwards. From the "pet parent" point of view, it is always difficult to leave your little fur-kid at the groomer because you want to be sure they are treated well in your absence. Your customers should be very happy! You are great! :)
My Cairn puppy is now 12 weeks old, and I'm reading all about home grooming, brushing him, familiarizing him with handling his feet, ears, chest, tail, muzzle, and some beginning of stripping moves. Your video showed how to strip on the specific breed and dealing with the Cairn face. Thanks for posting your video.
What a great job on this super cute little Cairn, I'm flabbergasted how calm he remained throughout the grooming session, I also have a Cairn Terrier and he has a veryy short fuse when it comes to sitting and being clipped and combed but we just keep going, giving him a few treats helps and it is really worth the effort .
Hand stripping does not hurt the dog. Terrier breeds that are hand stripped have hair that becomes loose in the follicle and easily plucks out with practically no sensation for the dog. If an individual dog is uncomfortable with stripping, I advise against it.
Joe, thanks for asking. Scissoring or trimming the coat one time will not ruin the coat, but may make hand stripping a bit more challenging in the future. See my reply to the post below.
Thank you so much Barbara for uploading your wonderfully helpful videos! After years of being spoiled with groomers for my little girl I'm moving to the middle of nowhere in Zambia where I will have to do all the grooming of my Cairn. Many thanks and hope you're doing great! //Cynthia & Cookie
Seamus is adorable, and colored like my boy MacDuff. I'd take Seamus home in a heartbeat! I bought your chunking scissors, have the #10 Coat King, the comb like you used. I took Duff to a groomer after calling around looking for a hand stripper. They said they did it, but when I picked him up, he looked like a skirted blonde Scottie. Evidently they do not know a Cairn look at all. And, I think they clipped him on his back, about the only place that was different on his body, except they denuded his little butthole and left the rest long, not even trimming his nails, and they cut off his eyebrows and lashes. I was very shocked and depressed about it, cause I'd emphasized NO CLIPPERS, except maybe on the feet....which they did not touch. So now I know it is definitely up to me, and probably a skill I need to learn. MacDuff is now 10 months old, and still the adorable boy I brought home at 8 weeks of age, from Tennessee. He has such a wonderful disposition, loves his walks, digs holes like an auger, trees raccoons and squirrels, and does not give up easily even when darkness overtakes him. Of course down here in South Alabama, with our humidity he suffers with a long shaggy coat, and grooming his coat is of great importance. He was adopted by my younger female dachshund, who lets him maul her and compete for toys. After years of dachshunds, I finally got a SERIOUS DIGGER and plant eater. Love those Cairns!
Hi Barbara really enjoyed your video. Shammas was really a good boy too. I have a 4 month old Cairn so won't need to do him for awhile yet. But will try your techniques when I do. I had 2 other Cairns before that I took to groomers and all the wire part of hair was removed. Was so sad when I saw them . They looked adorable anyway but always loved their wire hair so after that I began doing their hair. To late wire was gone but it was ok they were still our cuties. . Will try to keep Tucker our cairn looking like Shammas . Thanks for your video will help me in future to have the right tools as well
Thanks for the note, Diann, and I wish you the best of luck in khand stripping Tucker. Here's a couple of tips: Rake out as much undercoat as possible with a not-sharp rake or very fine comb. Just doing this will help to keep nice fat, coarse top hairs coming in. Don't try to pluck hair that is not ready. Hair that is reeady will be light colored at the skin. I made that video many years ago. One of my favorite tools today is a pumice stone. Yes, a regular pumice stone from the hardware store. Wrap one end with about 3" of vet wrap, Hold in lyour lhand and cut off any stone that extends more than an inch beyond your forefinger. Place the edge on some hair at the tips and pull straight out. voila! You can sharpen the edge by rubbing the stone against something rough like a concrete block.
You can get the old coat back, actually a new fresh coat. Let the hair grow long enough until it starts shedding and then do as much hand stripping as possible to encourage new growth. While letting the coat grow out, use a shedding blade and rake to remove undercoat and any loose hair. We have a tool with a combination rake and shedding blade in my shopping cart. It takes some time to turn around a coat that has been clipped, but it can be done. Stripping is an option, no a "supposed to".
Important question! No, plucking is not painful. The hair we pull out is in very late resting phase, "Telogen". It is barely imbedded, not firmly rooted like growing hair. On a colored terrier, hair that is ready to be removed is a distinct light color at the skin. It is also thinner at the root. There is some sensation for the dog, but most terriers tolerate hand stripping. Occasionally we encounter a dog with poor tolerance and we recommend clipping instead of hand stripping.
Love this video...we have 3 Cairns....took 2 to a groomer and they hand stripped one like it was a border terrier...so, I am taking over...this video was very informative and well done...thanks!!
I can tell you that clipping and scissoring is easier on both the dog and the groomer and takes much less time. But that does not necessarily mean that clipping the coat is "better" for the dog. The hand stripped coat is healthier. What we are removing by stripping is old hair that is accumulating and clogging the hair folliicle, preventing fat new healthy hair to develop. For the most part, hand stripped dogs have fewer skin problems than clippered pets. Fresh coat is less porous.
Thank you. It bothers me when people assert that professional groomers do not have the best interests of the pet in mind. I have spent 42 years of my life grooming, always advocating for the welfare of the pets in my care. Not all dogs/coats are good candidates for hand stripping. Yesterday I recommended that we abandon stripping of a young Mini Schnauzer I groom. The dog has poor tolerance and the coat is very hard to pull nicely. The dog in the video clearly tolerates the procedure.
What an adorable puppy. Learned a lot. My guy Dusty is prone to some skin issues and I think it's because we mismanaged his grooming for so long. Going to try some of the stuff I learned here with him.
This is a very helpful video. I have my own cairn that is about 7 months I have started handstripping. Do you have any advice about developing the pattern line on the body? It kind of looks like its happening naturally after one session of handstripping, but I'm not sure if I need to do anything else to it.
I sincerely appreciate your concern for the welfare of the pets in our care, but the assumption that hand stripping is inhumane or not good for the pet is untrue. Dogs that do not tolerate hand stripping should not endure the process, but most terriers are not bothered. In those tender areas where a dog is more sensitive, underbelly, under the tail, etc, we always compromise with the pet and use scissors. In all grooming, the tolerance of the dog should be a prime consideration.
I found this a very interesting and helpful video. Thank you. But I mist admit it looks pretty skilful to me. I'm not sure how successful I'd be, and I'm not sure that my dogs would be so cooperative. But I think you did a really nice job with that dog. He looks the way I like mine to look.
Thank you for this terrific video. As a Westie owner, a finished champion, I also have a young Cairn puppy. Your video helps me groom her to look like a Cairn...not a Westie. So, thank you again!
He looks pretty cute but more like a yorkie or silky terrier than a cairn. I prefer more hand stripping for a courser coat and more rounded face. I like your idea of the latex gloves to help with the hand stripping also. Thanks for the video.
Thank you so much for this video! I have literally called every groomer in my area and surrounding towns to find that noone does hand-stripping or, really, any way to preserve the coat of our cairn. I'm going to try it on my own until I can find a groomer. Can you please let me know what size Coat King you recommend for a 9-month, 11lb Cairn... and any other tools that may be useful? Thank you!
I have had my Carin Terrier for about a year and a half. I got him when he was 7months old. I have cur his hair myself with a pet haircut machine. Is there any way for him to get his old coat back if I start hand stripping now? His coat is blonde and white for the most part. I remember his hair was darker when I first got him. I was unaware that Carin Terriers were suppose to be stripped.
ADORABLE is what I think. I have 4 month old MacDuff, Cairn, want to hand strip him, your video is great, but could not see what scissors you used on his head. Are blades solid or are they toothed? Doing the first grooming session scares me that I might ruin his coat at the beginning. He is light red brindle with black face mask. I brush him every evening, must wash his face when he comes in from playing/digging. He loves his bath too. Thank you so much for your video. I've watched it many times already.
On the Coat King Medium tool, I was wondering how many blades there are on that tool that you are showing as they come in various sizes and none of them indicate that it is "medium". They have a 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 20 and 26 blade tool. Please let me know which you are using as I have 3 Cairns (2 brindle puppies that I would like to start to hand strip. My older guy has been cut for years now and i didn't know about this hand stripping so his color has changed significantly to that light color you are showing on Shamus. It's too late for him to change grooming methods but want to start my other two out on the right foot.) :) thank you!
Thanks, Kathy! And thanks for admitting that it looks like it requires skill. Of course it does. It took me years to get good at this. The notion that I can produce a 15 minute video or explain in 1000 words or less how to groom your dog at home is totally absurd. However, it's not rocket science, and I trust that this video has offered some insight into the process.
I agree with Barbara. If you know what you're doing, hand stripping is the best way to groom a wire haired dog, and is not painfull at all, when done at the right moment. Clipping or scissoring will not make the dog happier, because his coat will tangle more quickly, and encourage skin problems. I try to groom cairn terriers in 'a rolling coat'.
I am glad I found this video as i have been trying to learn about hand stripping for my westie puppy. Thanks for this tutorial. how often should stripping be done?
Would you believe that show dogs are stripped some every week? True. Pet coats can be maintained with every 4-8 week efforts. Another alternative is to let the coat get really bushy, and when it starts to blow (fall out easily), the coat is stripped all the way down to the undercoat and a new coat is allowed to grow in.
The Cairn head is softer than the body and is less strippable. We usually just rake the face and head lightly to keep fresh coat coming in, but little plucking.
I groom a Cairn like that, and was keeping her for a few weeks for the owner. I took her with me for a week-end dog show and no one noticed I had a 'pet' at the show. Great Video. I had refused to pluck - I'd seen a dog screeching with that. Then I fell in love and own a little Parson Russell Terrier, a Grand Champion that I show. Guess what, I bring the table out and she's dancing around happy to get on it to get stripped and plucked. She seems to like it, as if it's a scratching.
Would love to know what groomers you work at! My Cairn Terrier is 7 years old. I have yet to find someone who knows how to strip where we live. He is allergic to fleas and many pollens. This causes him to have skin allergies that we are constantly fighting. Would stripping help him with this? Do you know anyone in the Austin Texas area that can do stripping?
Unfortunately hand stripping is not likely to help a dog with allergies. Sometimes these bad allergy problems are brought about by over-vaccination. I would stop vaccinating this dog, except for what is required by law (rabies).
Casandra, the only stripper I'm familiar with is Luther. He works at the Mod Mutt Salon, previously the Amazing Pet Groomers. I have a 6 year old Cairn and Luther strips her. However, I'm trying to teach myself. This is the BEST video I've come across. Great job Barbara. www.modmuttsalon.com
Why is it so hard to find a groomer for my cairn in my area?? I'm trying to learn how to groom my dog, but she doesn't like to sit still for very long :)
I have owned Cairns for a long time and we do not hand strip them but then we live in a clime where the heavier coat is not a problem for the dogs--I am sure that in a warmer and more humid climate I would have to thin their coats substantially I agree with the groomer that the hand stripped Cairn is probably the "cutest" look and that the degree to which one can comfortably hand strip is entirely dependent on the individual dog--some handle it and some don't. Good video, I learned a bunch.
Not all terriers are good candidates for hand stripping. It might be that your dog is more sensitive. Try not pulling so many hairs and/or using a soft muzzle.
Waw, 42 years! I hope that I can groom for another 10 years, and I will have 42 years of grooming experience too! You can have a look at my films ( among others the rolling coat on the cairn terrier), by typing 'toilettagemarilles' on google, and you will find my website with the videos.
I shave my Cairn all the way to the skin once a year....in the spring, right before the Georgia hot summer begins. He loves it. I leave his top long and spike it up with moose. Makes him look like a wild boy rock star. He love the shave session everywhere except his feet...He just doesn't like his feet messed with but he puts up with it out of love for me. This once a year shave gives his sensitive shin a break and by next year he is a full fluff ball again and ready for boot camp once again.
In a perfect world, we would want to hand strip more of the head for a firmer head piece. This dog has zero tolerance for pulling anywhere on his head. He can get very mouthy and jerky. It is a challenge even to safely tip the ears. He is perfectly fine for jacket work. It doesn't make much sense to go into all the drama and effort it would take to hand strip the head. That's why I rely on product. This is pet grooming and my goal is to do what is within the tolerance of the dog.
oh and I should probably add that I am pretty young-- So really any advice is appreciated. And i noticed there is a limit on characters-- so feel free to message me on here with any tips if they dont fit!!! THANKS AGAIN!!!!
Hi Barbara, I'm loving your video. I have a Wheaton Terrier/German Shepherd mix I've had groomed for 6 years. I've recently adopted a terrier mix from a rescue and he looks much like a cairn. I don't want to have him groomed as I do my other because I feel it's taken away from the "fluffy dog/terrier" look I fell in love with. I'm looking at purchasing a coat king to help manage his coat without altering his overall look. I have a few questions regarding the tools you've used in your video. 1) What was the stone you used called again? 2) What type of tool did you use to trim his face, it didn't look like a typical scissors but more like a thinning shears. My intention is to see the results I get from the coat king, maybe try the stone but also to consult with my groomer regarding his overall look.
I never heard of using man hair gel to groom a dog. Is there doggy gel? 🤷♀️ I. Don’t know.i don’t like the gel. It looks really messy.i don’t like it. Iam sorry.
