Geez Suze. We pretty much do what you do right down to the oxyclean in the water. Sometimes, I will fill little glasses with oxyclean and soak their feet in it but I'm careful not to get it on their genital organs. It will do a good job with those boys whose aim is not particularly good too. I check the little eye brow hairs often and make sure that they don't grow into the eyes as well. We use Vellus products sometimes, but my favorite are the CowBoy Magic products that we get from KV. For the show dogs, I use a leave-in conditioner after every bath, never condition the ears, never strip out the fuzzy ear hair. We use the K9 Topcoat Spandex body suit. I put the dog in it still wet after I blow dry the ears and bib and then the pup goes into a crate dryer. When the body suit gets taken off, there are no more waves on that coat. It is as straight as a stick and stays that way for several days. We feed a raw, natural diet, so the teeth stay nice pretty much all the time, but I check the mouths at every bath and work on scaling that needs to be done as I go. My dogs all stand perfectly still and let me do it as needed. Nails are trimmed at every bath and filed to be smooth. Also, we play fetch with the dogs, come rain or shine almost every day and let them run on asphalt pretty regularly for the ball. I think that some exercise on a hard surface helps the tendons. Some of them don't have a clue as to why they are chasing the ball, but the running is good for them, especially as they extend their front legs in a full out run. We also play games with them to encourage them to jump straight up in the air. Sounds silly, but jumping high every day will build up the muscles in the rear end and give it good definition. I've seen straightish stifles come down and develop lovely curvature there with daily jumping. One of our dog room doors has a window. If I have a girl in season, I will keep her in the dog room while the boys play outdoors. They will spend large amounts of time jumping up at the window to catch a glimpse of her. Sounds silly, but there are no mushy rears around here. Myra
>From: "Susan A. Schlenger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel List ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: [CKCS-L] trimming etc >Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 10:32:30 -0500 > >Hi, Jo Ann, > I'll be glad to honestly tell you what I do. Six months in >advance I >am shedding out dead hair, bathing and conditioning. This includes hot >oil in cases in which it is needed. I adjust diet if coats seem dry, >etc. I try to bath show dogs every week or every other week as I agree >with George Alston and others who say "clean hair grows". > I trim nails when I bath; I file them as well. I also brush teeth >at >that time. (We use oxyfresh in the water of those not being bred). >I'll assess a dog a couple of weeks prior to a show and decide how much >time I need to groom it. Thanks to Ellie Mordecai, I have those super >grooming coats which enable me to cut out a lot of drying time. They >also work wonders for that sometimes wavy back end. > I have been known to take a small thinning shears to a bad mat >especially underneath where it is tender. I will cut open the mat >lengthwise so that I can then tease out the rest of the tangle more >gently. I am guilty there if that is not allowed, but I can't bear to go >after a mat in a tender area (like groin) and end up with either >tortorously, long, slow grooming sessions or dogs who hate grooming. >This generally only happens when they are blowing coat. I don't >generally even trim the hair on the underneath (pads) of the dog's feet >anymore, as one judge accused me of trimming when I did that! (Which IS >allowed in our standard). > I once used a pumice stone on a bitch with a cowlick and got hell >for >it. That was after I got hell the day before from the judge who >suggested I try it. <G> > I try to wrap the stifle of the dog so that I can show a nice turn >of >stifle and despair when guard hairs won't wrap because I know what my >competition will do. <G> So, this is why I try to shed them out as much >as possible (using slicker and comb) in that period before they show. > I use a myiad of products depending on coat, mostly Vellus to tame >unruly bits and pieces. Their satin cream is useful for that but I use >it very sparingly if I'm showing and never on ears. > Anyone in this area can tell you that my dogs look like they are >shown >naturally......because they sometimes have bad hair days. When Tyler >was put up as WD at Morris and Essex, the judge made mention to Gary >that Tyler was definitely having a bad hair day that day; it was >terribly humid and his profuse coat was not cooperating. > >I honestly WISH that we could "neaten" up our exhibits, but judging from >what is already done (some to great extremes) if we were allowed even >that latitude, then the inch would become many miles. It *pains* me to >show a dog that I could fix up a bit with just a tad of hand stripping >on the head or just a little evening up of an ear, but I won't do it. I >am so aware of the really sculpted competition and how it could change >the breed forever. SOME of my dogs grow bell shaped ears; but most >don't! I suppose I'll get chucked by judges who wish my dogs looked >neater, (as I do!) but others will reward my efforts to make the most of >my dog in a natural way. > >It really is a shame that human nature is such that many of us can't >follow rules or we COULD be allowed to "neaten" without trimming. > >Suze > > >Jo wrote: > > > > Would everyone***** honestly***** tell me what they do to their dog to > > prepare for a show. > > Starting six months before the big day. > > > > > Actually, Dave, > > > I think I mentioned "handlers" in suggesting an ad meaning ALL > > > handlers. There are plenty of owner handlers out there trimming >merrily > > > away. <G> > > > > > > Suze > > > > > > Dave Wagner wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > My response was to a subsequent post that said maybe we should > > distribute the > > > > letter to pro handlers. > > > > ========================================================= > > "Magic Commands": > > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > > to start it up gain click here: > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. > >-- >Suze at Llawen Cavaliers >"...I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man >to depend simply upon himself." -Isna Ia-wica >"Thought comes before speech" Luther Standing Bear > >========================================================= >"Magic Commands": >to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: >mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL >to start it up gain click here: >mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. >Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > >All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. Myra Savant Gardengate Cavaliers _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
