How do you get a scruffy look on a Cairn Terrier?

[Sasha's Mom]

My customer loved the way I've been grooming her Cairn until she took it to visit her breeder during xmas and the woman said she was not "scruffy" enough. I don't handstrip, and I started using thinning shears to do the legs, belly & face but the face is still too refined. How do I achieve that Toto look?

[Bearmtn]

Seems to me that you have to handstrip, than the hard coat comes in.

[snickerpoodles]

I think that if you don't handstrip and have been using thinning shears, you may be overtrimming the coat.

What about just using a coat king lightly to get out some of the dead coat rather than doing a lot of thinning? You'll acheive a less tailored-look. The dog will look "better" but you won't be able to put your finger right on why...

[OntheBRINKofDisaster]

My customer loved the way I've been grooming her Cairn until she took it to visit her breeder during xmas and the woman said she was not "scruffy" enough. I don't handstrip, and I started using thinning shears to do the legs, belly & face but the face is still too refined. How do I achieve that Toto look?

Thinning shears or chunkers (clunkers? I can't remember the technical name, lol) sound like the ticket. Honestly, on most of my Cairns, their faces don't grow too much, so I don't need to touch much aside from corners of the eyes, tips of the ears, and a bit of the visor. Maybe a general shaping all over. It's hard to tell without pics, but perhaps you are either taking the face too short or scissoring the edges too tight and neat? On the body to set the pattern I like using a #4 skip and then stripping just a bit. That gives it an uneven "scruffy" look without too much effort.

[KarlaSnyder]

Depending on what the owner wants, I do the body with an A comb (wahl). I do the head with thinners, but I also pull some hair. Lift up, or out, Take a swipe or two with thinners, then pull out some of the longer hairs that are left. I think you are probably shaping the head too much.

[rainingcats&dogs]

i leave my cairn all natural a little face trimming,but he looks scruffy all the time everyone thinks he looks really cute but honestly my dog is a butthead to groom so i do the minimum and his fur really doesnt grow to out of control

[doggydivas]

When I get too overzealous with the thinners I do something my hairdresser taught me. It is called point cutting. use the tip of your shears and go straight at the tip of the neatly trimmed hair. It helps take away the "Freshly trimmed" look. Kinda like a hair stylist will do on bangs....sorry not good at explaining

[puppy love]

i leave my cairn all natural a little face trimming,but he looks scruffy all the time everyone thinks he looks really cute

That is what I do with my Cairn. He looks like a little rag-a-muffin! You are probably over grooming the dog. Hard not to do when you are used to getting every hair right and perfect. I use an A snap on when he gets too long (about 2-3X a year) and thinning shears to lightly shape the legs, tail and face to keep them from getting too long. Most of my Cairn clients dont like the scruffy look, they want a more shaped look so they get a modified Westie.

[Debbiedogs]

Maybe the head

....was too narrow and close? Sounds like you like it neat, and Cairns don't usually have a neat look, even when they are freshly done.

Here's a photo I found on the web from a dog show. Too scruffy even for me for a pet groom, but it gives you the idea about not going too far with the tidy look, or too narrow a head or muzzle. http://www.cairngallery.org/displayi...album=12&pos=0

[Helly]

When you're doing these dogs, less is more. I usually don't take scissors to the head at all, other than to tip the ears and maybe tidy up a stray hair that might be sticking in the dog's eye.

Minor plucking will help a lot. So will using a Coat King or undercoat rake. But they're supposed to be rough and tough little dogs, and they should look the part. You don't want them to look neat and tidy. Give 'em a hair cut that doesn't look like a hair cut.

[onions]

I agree with Helly.

BUT...
I will scissor the feet nice & tidy (as I am anal about that on all dogs)

AND, I have fully hand stripped those long back hairs (like in a westie pattern) on some cairns....is that wrong???

[Sasha's Mom]

....was too narrow and close? Sounds like you like it neat, and Cairns don't usually have a neat look, even when they are freshly done.

Here's a photo I found on the web from a dog show. Too scruffy even for me for a pet groom, but it gives you the idea about not going too far with the tidy look, or too narrow a head or muzzle. http://www.cairngallery.org/displayi...album=12&pos=0

These pics are great, and I see what she is talking about the trick is to achieve the look. I have been doing a modified westie cut, the body/legs are now good but it's the face in the picture that I'm trying to get to. Since I've already "over groomed" how do I get to scruffy- just leave it alone for a while? I took the thinners in that "point cutting" motion mentioned below, to give a more ragged look and it helped a little. Would scrunch/tossling the head and face hair when I dry her help?

[puppy love]

These pics are great, and I see what she is talking about the trick is to achieve the look. I have been doing a modified westie cut, the body/legs are now good but it's the face in the picture that I'm trying to get to. Since I've already "over groomed" how do I get to scruffy- just leave it alone for a while? I took the thinners in that "point cutting" motion mentioned below, to give a more ragged look and it helped a little. Would scrunch/tossling the head and face hair when I dry her help?

Let it grow out for a while. Just keep the tail, feet, eye area and ears neatened up, but let the rest get a little messy looking. You might could put a little styling mousse on the ends of the hair on the head to make it a bit more scruffy and "stringy" looking..

[Poodlestar]

If the owner loves what you are doing... who cares what the breeder says.

[Sasha's Mom]

If the owner loves what you are doing... who cares what the breeder says.

Ya know I said exactly that especially since she only she the breeder once a year.. The owner even appologized to me but she still wants me to to try, so thanks for all the advice.