Grooming

This information is strictly our opinion based on our experience as well as opinions expressed by some of our puppy families. These guidelines are with pet quality cairns in mind, if you intend to enter the show ring, other grooming considerations will apply.

Puppies should be bathed about once every two to four weeks, depending on the circumstances. I personally do not want to hug a dog that smells bad. Not only do they smell better but it eliminates germs and bacteria they can carry if not bathed. Regular bathing seems to promote a healthier dog and a better relationship between the dog and human family. We use a mild shampoo, such as "apple oatmeal" made by Jeffers...you can see their fine products at www.jefferspet.com. this shampoo eliminates odors nicely and is not as harsh on the coat and does not seem to irritate them as do some of the commercial dog shampoos. We always put a mild conditioner on the coat as well that we also get from "Jeffers", so it’s easier to comb out and brush. You can get this as well as many other fine, reasonably priced products from www.jefferspet.com .

If you are going to have your cairn in the show ring you should never cut his coat. Cutting the coat tends to soften it. You would need to "strip" the coat, which removes the fine hairs and allows the more bristle hard coat to come in nicely. I use to keep our cairns stripped, however a recent battle with carpal tunnel syndrome in my wrist has now made it hard for me to keep them stripped. And though its not considered good to cut the coats, I now cut them. I groom them and give them a cut about every 6 weeks or so, and although it has softened their coats, I have had many compliments on how well our dogs look. They are always neat and groomed looking. And although their ancestors were in the show ring, and they come from nice champion show dogs, I do not plan to put them in the show ring, and with our Florida heat, I feel its better on them as well as helps to keep them clean and neat looking to give them a groomed cut. If I could find someone in our area that would hand strip for me, I would do this, but there is no one in our area that does the hand stripping.

So whether you choose to hand strip or to cut your cairn if he/she is not going into the show ring, either way that makes it easier on you and the dog, then thats the way to go. I have been scrutinized by some of the show folks because I cut their coats, but I feel that the coat is of the least importance, the love and attention they get means more. And besides that, you can always strip the coat once you have cut it should you decide to do this.

We show you how to do the hand stripping at the puppy luncheon if you are getting one of our pups and are able to come.

For more info on stripping the cairns..see the following link:

http://www.cairnrescue.com/general/groom.htm

****NOTE****

I have found that baking soda works great for those in-between shampoo times. I sprinkle it all through the coat, rub it into the coat and skin, then brush it out. Its great to remove dirt and odors.

Cute story.....Emmy who eats anything, was getting groomed with the baking soda and as I sprinkled the baking soda all over her, she started licking it off the floor of the plastic tub I sat her in, a few minutes later, every time I would go to turn her to groom her, she would say buuurrrrpppp, I cracked up so bad I had to stop grooming her for a while.