The technical skills and artistic aptitude necessary for grooming a Cairn Terrier for the show ring it may take many years, if not a lifetime, to master. Correct grooming not only enhances a dog’s strengths, it also helps to disguise his faults.

Poor or excessive grooming can destroy the prospects of even a superior specimen. Because a casual appearance is an integral part of breed type, exhibitors must never show their Cairns in the highly stylized fashion of West Highland White Terriers or Scottish Terriers.

Although instruction in the finer points of show grooming is beyond the scope of this article, it’s important for beginners to be able to visualize the relevant points of the standard, as well as the “perfect” Cairn Terrier, during grooming sessions.

The breeder usually is the best source of information on proper technique. Briefly, show preparation involves a combination of rolling the coat and judicious trimming with thinning shears to blend different parts of the coat into each other.

The Cairn must have no visible demarcation lines from one part of his body to another, but must possess a well-furnished cloak of medium-length hair.

Rolling the Coat for Show Ring

Because show dogs must look their best for competitions that take place throughout the year, most handlers use a process called “rolling the coat” to keep their terriers in top form.

This involves plucking all of the long, dead hairs on an ongoing basis, about every seven to ten days. Removing only a few hairs at a time and controlling the emergence of new coat ensures that show dogs are always presentable. Handlers also comb out the dead undercoat when it’s ready to be shed.

However, some Cairn Terriers don’t have enough thickness or coarseness to permit rolling the coat. In that case, time the full-coat stripping to coincide with the dog’s show schedule.