A Cairn has two coats. Underneath is a soft, dense undercoat that keeps him warm. Over it lies a harsh, wiry outer coat that keeps him dry, sheds dirt as it dries, and gives the breed its colour and its outline. Almost everything on this page follows from that second coat.
Why it is stripped
A harsh coat grows to a length, dies, and is meant to be pulled out — by a hedgerow, historically, and by hand in a house. Stripping takes the dead hair from the root, and what grows back is the same harsh coat in the same colour.
Clipping cuts the hair instead of removing it. The root stays, the undercoat comes through, and over a few clips the harsh coat is replaced by something softer, paler and more like fur.
Clipping is a choice, not a mistake
A clipped Cairn is a perfectly happy dog. Plenty of pet Cairns are clipped and nobody should feel judged for it — an older owner with a stiff hand, or a dog who finds stripping stressful, has a good reason.
But it is close to one-way. Once the coat has softened it takes a long time and a lot of stripping to come back hard, and on some dogs it never fully does. So it is worth deciding on purpose rather than discovering it at a grooming salon that reaches for clippers by default.
What changes if you clip: the colour dulls, the coat holds water and mud instead of shedding them as it dries, and the dog needs bathing more often — which softens it further.
Rolling versus twice a year
Two ways to keep a stripped coat. You can strip the whole dog twice a year, which means a naked-looking Cairn for a few weeks each time. Or you can roll the coat — take out what is ready every week or two, so there is always some hair coming and some going, and the dog never looks stripped at all.
Rolling is more pleasant for the dog and better looking all year. It also asks ten minutes a week rather than an afternoon twice a year, which most people find easier to keep to.
What you can do at home
More than you would think. Finger and thumb, take a few hairs at a time, pull in the direction the coat grows. If it is ready it comes away without resistance and without complaint; if it does not, it is not ready, and that is the whole test.
A stripping stone or a stripping knife helps on the body. Neither cuts — they give your grip something to hold. Anything that cuts is clipping by another name.
Ten minutes while you watch something, once a week, and you will rarely need more than a tidy-up from anyone else.
The bits nobody mentions
Ears want the hair kept short on the outside and the inside kept clean and clear. Feet grow a surprising amount of hair between the pads, which collects grit and snow — trim it level with the pad. Nails, if the walking surface is soft, need cutting more often than you think.
Finding someone who hand-strips
Not every groomer does, and a groomer who says yes but reaches for clippers is worse than one who says no. We keep a list of groomers who strip by hand at Groomers who hand-strip, with the ones confirmed on the breed marked.
Ask us about your own puppy's first strip — when it is due, and whether we do it or you arrange it.