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How Do You Groom Your Cairn's Head For the Show Ring?
by Lisa Tuttle
Every artist has a different view and approach to their work and so do groomers. This is an article on how I would groom a Cairn, some may agree and some not, so take what you need. I learned to groom under Karen Smith’s instruction for 4 years and watching handlers and other breeders groom, the breeders who had very nicely groomed dogs in the ring. I personally still love to watch others groom their Cairns to see what techniques they use, I am always learning. My advice would be always watch , even if you don’t care for how some one grooms you can always pick up a tip or two.
You need:
- Good lighting
- Mirror - where you can see the entire dog while you are grooming.
- A good grip: finger cots, plain old fingers dusted with harsh grooming powder. Scholl’s pumice stone for feet, with the handle (found in most drug stores).
- Stripping knives, if you are more comfortable and confident in not breaking your coat when it is not needed or giving it a “ribbon curling” effect.
- Dryer Sheet in case there is static cling. When you get static cling, rub the dryer sheet over the dog and over the comb or brush you are using.
- Comb and brush.
Front View
First thing to do is look through the coat on the head to make sure you have layers under all the long hair to work with. Look through a section hair on the sides and top of head if you need to. If you have layers it is very easy to see.
From the time puppies start growing their first adult coat, start rolling the coat. When the coat on the head is about an inch long from root to tip, start plucking out the longer hair every two to three weeks. You will have to use the very tip of your fingers or pumice stone because the difference in the layers of hair length is pretty minute at this age. I have to write it on a calendar with life being so busy because I know it is very easy to get behind. If you get too far behind, you will lose the entire process. You will find this will keep those layers going. Not only will your coat be ready for show at any time, but the shorter layers will support the hair standing up on the head. Same goes for the rest of the body, except the “standing up part”.
If you are dealing with a dog that has no layers and the hair is all one length this will not be his first adult coat, you will have to pull a little bit of coat every three weeks until the entire long coat is gone. This will start the layering effect when the hair grows back in.
Let’s get started
Put on your finger cots or dust your fingers with Harsh White Grooming Powder. Place grooming noose behind jaw bone and ears, up where you would keep the lead, pull all the coat forward that grows in front of the jaw in front of the noose and pull back any coat behind the grooming noose that belongs on the neck. This is very important. If you pull out neck hair because you have pulled it up with the head furnishings through the grooming noose you may pull a divot in the neck. If you don’t pull enough through the noose you will think you did a pretty good job, until you take the noose off and see a hairy unflattering ring around the dog's head.
Finding the Visual Circle
When I refer to a “visual circle” it is the shape you are trying to visualize around your dogs head. The center of your circle should be between the eyes.
Fig.1 - x= center of the visual circle. Face the dog on the table - with good light. Thoroughly brush out head furnishings. Look at the shape on the head. You want to visualize a round frame around the head, not a football shape or sideways oval. If this does not come easy don’t worry, many Cairn groomers have trouble with this until they learn to recognize the “line” of shorter hair beneath the long over grown hair. If you have trouble with this, you can use an Elizabethan surgical collar to see the shape. Only use the collar to get an idea of what needs to be pulled, and then take it off. It would not be easy to groom with that collar on.
Fig. 2 - 1=Over grown coat, 2=Desired length, 3=Skin 
Fig. 3 - Football shaped head Sides and Top of Head
Pull the long hairs on sides and top of head down till you see 1/3 of the ear. With a comb you comb hair straight out from the root. Hold the hair in place with one hand and let the skin go back into place then pull all the long hairs out to the length where it falls in line with in the circle you are looking for around head. Repeat pulling up hair with a comb and pulling out long hairs all around the head until you get a round shape.
Fig. 4Muzzle hair should not be much longer than where the dogs lips meet from the front of mouth to the ends of the mouth, so hair will graduate from shorter hair in the front of muzzle to slightly longer hair towards the ends of mouth. Comb muzzle hair straight out to sides and up over the muzzle on one side like a fan, let skin relax back into place then pull long hairs out. The shape of the muzzle from the front is another circle within the circle that frames the head.
Pull hairs that stick out from top of muzzle obstructing view of eyes. Some hair left in this spot will leave a little more natural look.
Chin hair should be in line with your invisible circle around the Muzzle. If you see any hairs sticking out of your circle, pull it out.
Ears should be pulled down to the velvet on 1/3 of the tip. Here is where the Dr. Scholl’s pumice comes in handy or an appropriate stripping knife. Graduate hair on the sides ears down to match the hair on the sides of head. Pluck out all stray hair from the front of inside of the ear, from the tip to 1/3 of ears. All the hair in front of ears on head should be in line with your circle around the head.
Fig. 5Check your work in the mirror standing behind your dog that is facing the mirror. Make sure you are close enough to the mirror so you can see detail. The Mirror will show the opposite perspective of what you are looking at. Sometimes our eyes become so trained in what we are looking at that we don’t see the true perspective until you reverse the image. Another way to get a different perspective is to take a break and go back to it later, if you have the time or the dog needs a break.
Side View
Fig. 6 
Fig. 7 Face the side view of the head, comb all the hair from between the ears and front of head up (like a Mohawk), let the skin relax back into place then pull any long hairs that do not align with the hair that had been pulled from the front view. From the tips of the ears, graduate the hair down into the neck. Make sure your dog’s eyebrows fall in line with the hair on the head, in your circle.
Comb the hair on the ear straight out behind the ear to get a good side view of what needs to get pulled. Pull any long hairs on the top 1/3 of back of ears to velvet and graduate the remaining ear hair to fall in line with the hair on the back of jaw bone line, where your lead sits at the occiput and down around jaw line. Again, try the Dr. Scholl’s pumice if you need it.
Side view of chin hair can be slightly longer in front, so pull long hairs out and make a small tuck up under jaw. Almost like a goatee only less severe, or a straight line from the bottom of chin hair to the neck. A slight tuck up at the under jaw will give the appearance of a longer neck.
The hair on the “fill” under the eyes should match up with muzzle hair.
Check your work
Put a little Cholesterol in the dogs head let it set a bit then brush it out. Remove the grooming noose and get your dog to shake out his coat.
Check the front view of your dogs head in the mirror. Face the dog towards the mirror and stand behind him, make sure you have hold of the dog’s rear so he won’t leap off of the table. Make adjustments that are needed. You should see a round head with no long chin, ear or muzzle hairs sticking out beyond your tidy circle.
Check the dog’s side view. Turn the table where you can see the side view of the dogs head. You should see a backwards ”C”from the eyebrows over the ears and down around the back of the head to the tip of chin. You should see tidy ears and muzzle and chin. Repeat on the opposite side to check the other side of his head.
Good luck and good grooming to all.
This grooming information is extremely helpful but I'm not sure that I would be able to do it without seeing it done several times by a professional. Although I get my dog professionally groomed every couple months and comb him every couple days, I doubt even the groomers do it as shown. Quite possibly he looks like this soon after grooming but ends up with a rather scruffy appearance especially with the eyebrows that look like CS Mott but nonetheless absolutely adorable. In fact, a good many people stop and ask how we get his face to look so cute but I'm not exactly sure if this is the "look" so to speak. Do you have any suggestions as to keeping his face looking similar to the ones shown?
, the rest I pull.
