Grooming a senior cairn

Question
I adopted my 13 year-old male Cairn 3 years ago. He's a wonderfully sweet
dog and is in very good health. Although I'm able to brush him regularly,
(every few days) and keep his rough textured coat & skin in good condition,
he won't let me hand strip him or use a (Mars Coat King) rake. I have him
professionally groomed and stripped twice a year. Several groomers I spoke
to, refused to strip him, saying stripping was "too uncomfortable, inhumane"
for a dog his age. They recommended clippering at his stage in life.
   My question is, if the hair is clippered and not stripped, will it soften his
coat and cause him to be vulnerable to skin problems because the dead hair
will remain in the follicle, or will regular brushing help remove dead hair ?
  I don't want to stress my dog with stripping, so if I go the route of
clippering, can you suggest what kind of electric clipper & blades would be
appropriate for me to use between grooming appointments? Thanks!

Answer
Sanford -

You are right about clippering softening the coat.

Any chance you could get the groomer to mars him instead of hand stripping him ?? As I am sure you know, hand stripping is a real project for the person, but not inhumane. Perhaps the real issue is with the person not wanting to do it, so maybe they would do the "middle of the road."

The other tool I have heard a lot of rave reviews about, but have not tried myself is a fur-minator. It is supposed to remove dead undercoat.

If you opt for the clippering, good routine brushing will help stimulate the skin and remove the loose coat.  Many cairns live perfectly fine lives after someone does this to them.  

For in between groomings, I have like this one for the ears (I also have gordon setters, so I know all about **ears** and **hair**).

http://www.petedge.com/Master-Grooming-Tools-Ultra-Violet-SLM-Trimmer-Kit-TP2258...

For the rest of the coat, I have always used thinning shears and just cut it. The shears give an uneven edge, so it still looks mostly like the "scruffy" cairn look.

Best wishes and bless you for loving your ole fella !

-Beth

****************************

Wow, Sanford, I didn;t remember mentioning Col. Potter !

I have been a member since about 6 months after they formed, and am currently a foster home, mentor to other foster homes and manager of the calendar sales (and you have bought yours for 2008, right ??  LOL).

I can not believe the size we've grown to, let alone the number of voluntees involved in placing that many dogs per year (+/- 400 per year).

Thank you again for giving your little man a whole new life !

-Beth