Any Suggestions on a Shampoo for a Cairn Terrier?

I have a Toy Poodle as well as my French Mastiff, and for her I use Petco brand powder fresh tearless puppy shampoo & then I use a cream rinse made by Four Paws Magic Coat. I leave that on for like 2 minutes & it gives her a fresh smell that lasts a week & a very shiney, soft coat. Hope it works for your pooch if you try it out!

Eqyss shampoo's won't dry out the coat. I use the Micro-tek pet shampoo on Zoey for her dry, itchy skin. Works like a charm and she smells soooo good. I bathe her pretty often as well.. And her coat remains soft and shiny.

If she is being hand stripped and you want to retain the texture of her coat, then try to only bath her when absolutely necessary. Bathing softens the coat. If she gets dirty, let her dry, then brush her out. Correct coarse coats will just drop all that dirt, mud and dandruff right out. The best shampoo IMO for keeping the harsh coats harsh, is Crisp Coat, by All Systems. By far the best harsh coat shampoo I have found. You will have to order it online, as its a professional grade shampoo, and you won't find it in stores. And make sure you are diluting any shampoo as directed on the bottle..Using it stronger does not mean they are getting cleaners, etc..just a waste of product.

You have a Beautiful Dog! I have a toy poodle but she hates the groomers...so she doesn't sport anything fancy, just a puppy coat!

+1 to Graco post. I have a 5 month old Cairn and I have yet to shampoo him. As Graco says, I let him dry off and just brush him. His coat is young and does not have the mature harsh coat, but it is definitely not as soft as my Shih Tzu's coat.

I've tried to start hand stripping her myself (I live in the middle of nowhere and out of the 2 groomers near where I live, neither do handstripping or will even attempt it), but Zoey doesn't want any part of it since it requires being still and she likes to go at full speed all the time. I know hand stripping is best but are there any certain combs or brushes that can help get the undercoat out?

A number of people use a Mars King Stripper . An alternative is the Furminator .

You have to be careful not to use it too often, or she will start to look a little hairless.

I have not tried these yet, as I have not had to strip yet. However, it is coming.

Zoey_Sara said:

I've tried to start hand stripping her myself (I live in the middle of nowhere and out of the 2 groomers near where I live, neither do handstripping or will even attempt it), but Zoey doesn't want any part of it since it requires being still and she likes to go at full speed all the time. I know hand stripping is best but are there any certain combs or brushes that can help get the undercoat out?

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I use Eqyss on my Cairns. Love the entire line of that for the girls. I agree with the above posts that they shouldnt be bathed too often. When it gets bad with my mud monkeys a quick rinse and towel off is great. Cairns have that wonderful coat that seems to hold no yuck after a good dry and brush.

RockyCairn, how about pretending to strip so your pup gets used to the whole idea? Hair ready to come out doesn't hurt but the whole thing is time consuming. Practice assuming the postition, picking the tufts up and pretending to pull them out just tugging a little. Since there isn't any grooming going on you can have really short sessions to get used to it.

Kathyy said:

RockyCairn, how about pretending to strip so your pup gets used to the whole idea? Hair ready to come out doesn't hurt but the whole thing is time consuming. Practice assuming the postition, picking the tufts up and pretending to pull them out just tugging a little. Since there isn't any grooming going on you can have really short sessions to get used to it.

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At 5 months old, your cairn should be started with stripping. You don't want to wait until the coat is all one length, and the pup is older, to have to teach the process. You pull only the dead coat (longest hairs) and it DOES NOT hurt the dog when done correctly. However, it can be a tickly feeling, and the pups are best to get used to it ASAP. Putting them up on a table (washer or dryer even) and teaching them that this is business time, not wiggly play time will pay you back tenfold in the future. Just make them short sessions, and reward only when they are still.

I have Corgi and,I use oatmeal shampoo and conditioner. I am not expert on grooming,and wondering if many people use conditioner for bathing dogs too??

RockyCairn said:

Thanks Graco and kathy,

I have been reading up on hand stripping and I will start practicing. i can see how it is time consuming and I might as well get used to it. Might as well get Hamlet use to it as well. Attached is a picture of him.

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Awww! What a cutie! I want to reach thru the picture, and tip his ears though..LOL That is an area you can strip right now. The tips of the ears..all that hair should be gone at the tops of the ears. And in order for you to get the head coat to stand out correctly, is layers..so start pulling those longest hairs now...every week, go thru the head, and pull the longest hairs. This will cause new hairs to grow, in layers, helping the head coat to stand up and out. He is a cutie though..I just love puppies!