> Would everyone***** honestly***** tell me what they do to their dog to > prepare for a show. > Starting six months before the big day.
I hesitate to do this for fear the Show and Breeding Dog Services will remove my dogs from my home due to neglect! But here goes! I don't do anything *6 months* in advance. Every dog in my house is groomed thoroughly once a week. I start with a regular comb and comb through the hair. If there are tangles I try to get them out however I can. I try to use the slicker brush method Pat Hastings suggests-pushing the pins of the slicker through the tangle and moving it around to loosen up the tangle, but if the tangle is in a tender area I will sometimes use scizzors and cut through the middle and try to comb it out. Then I use a flea comb all over the body. Last I use a flat, natural bristle brush and brush the top coat well. I do spritz with water or an anti-stat/conditioner spray now and then while grooming. I check ears and eyes and clean if necessary. I look at the nails and cut if necessary (many of my dogs never have any white showing and don't need their nails cut). One or two days before a show I will check the teeth and scale or brush if necessary (not often necessary either) and bathe. Right now I bathe with Chris Chistensen whitening shampoo. Then I put conditioner on the dog and wash out--I have been using Mane and Tail but just started using Vellus recently. I blow the dog dry. For those that need a drying coat, I put the drying coat on when partially dry and leave until dry. Then comb out well after removal of the coat. Morning of the show I check the nails, teeth and hair between pads and cut/clean as necessary. And of course comb and brush. Retired dogs are not bathed more than a few times a year. Show dogs are rarely bathed more than once a month *normally* but are always bathed before a show weekend. If shown 4 days in a row, I rarely bathe a second time, but occasionally have had to bathe legs and feet due to very dirty floors. I sometimes try to condition the coat the week before a show. When I do this I use Whoopi Conditioner diluted in a spray bottle. I haven't tried the hot oil treatment--maybe I should. I do spritz the dog with something before going in the ring, usually Mink Oil or Ice on Ice. Of course I comb and brush the day of the show. I do spritz the feathering with water and blow dry each day just before showing. I think my dogs look good although no one would ever accuse me of trimming or neatening my dogs! They certainly look clean. The dogs with good coats always have nice sleek coats, the dogs with fluffier coats look *controlled*, but maybe not so sleek. Sometimes I think if I bathed weekly and conditioned more often the dogs with the fluffier coats would have less fluffy coats, but maybe not. If they have ticking and freckles--they show--oh well. Better than having a stark white or purple dog. They certainly get enough care. But as compared to those dogs which are campaigned continuously, I am sure my methods might be considered downright neglectful. Laura Lang Roycroft Cavaliers ========================================================= "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.
