Burnt Coats
How to Handle & Prevent Sunburn
Summer sun is the bane
of all dog show people who have their dogs running outdoors. You
can restrict your dog to moon bathing and only allow them to run
outdoors at night but if you have Siberians as we do, then you
may have the neighbours complaining of someone howling at the
moon. Others crate their dogs and I have seen them lined up like
budgies in a cage. Then there are those who just put up with dog
hair all over the house and the dogs live indoors.
The more outdoorsy your
dog is, the harsher the texture the coat will be. The further
north in the southern hemisphere or the further south in the northern
hemisphere, the harsher the conditions for your coat under relentless
sun. If you allow your dog to sun dry after bathing then the sun
will oxidise with the water in the coat and the coat will effectively
be peroxided or bleached. Just think of the "surfies"
at the beach in the water albeit saltwater, all day - mostly blondes!
The best course is prevention but even a dehydrated and sunburnt
coat can be cosmetically retrieved. The typical signs are a harsh,
brittle coat or a coat with split ends flipping up particularly
on the topline. Then you will see a black coat turning reddish,
a copper coat turning orange/yellow or a gold coat that has paled
to insignificance. One does not have to put up with these consequences.
It is not politically correct
to colour a coat and heavens knows, most would not know where
to begin. However, clever little things can be done that are not
breaking the rules. For those of you who paint and understand
the colour wheel this will be readily understood and for those
that aren't, just trust me it is so. Purple will negate an unwanted
yellow tinge, blue dismisses an orange tinge and green cuts out
a red tinge and the reverse is true too.
Our Plush Puppy Herbal
Whitening Shampoo with Ginseng
is purple toned. This cuts
out the yellowing in the coat and the blue tones in the colour
cut out the orange and the ash tones even out the reddish glints.
Just mix up a 50/50 mix
of water to shampoo and slosh it on. If the unwanted discoloration
is severe, then use the product straight. Do this each time you bath
till the new coat comes through. Of course, the whites will have
a nice pearl tone to them too.
Now we need to soften the
coat so it feels nice and healthy. In the rinse water after conditioning
with PP Silk Protein
Conditioner, add
PP
Seabreeze Oil , a tspn to a bucket or a tbsp to a bath
or hydrosurge and rinse though. Leave in. This is a wonderful calming
and moisturising oil that is based on an old Ayervedic recipe
containing Evening Primrose Oil, Calendula Oil and ultra fine
Sesame Seed Oil plus other goodies. Great for oiling Poodles
too.
For in-between shows, you will need to keep up the moisture especially
on the toplines. Use Plush Puppy Reviva coat, a non greasy moisturising/conditioning
foam or PP
Coat Balm which is also ultra light and contains a strong
UV filter. The coat balm is a nice finishing cream and great for
even single coats such as Maltese.
Those that like to wrap
can mix the PP Reviva
Coat and water 1 tbspn to 300 mls warm water in a spray
bottle and shake. Others can wrap with the
PP Seabreeze Oil. It depends on how intense
you want the wrapping mix to be.
PP Seabreeze Oil is heavier however I know
some excellent Shih Tzu coats that owe that to
PP Seabreeze Oil. You will see the depth
of colour come back into these coats with the oil and that is
the consequence of the moisture content & keeping the cuticle
(outer) layer of the hair from opening and letting the colour
and moisture out.
So, heat, sun and water
are a lethal mix for a coat. Moisture and conditioning and oiling
is the answer. Dogs need muscle tone so they do need to run and
romp. Easy for those that live in cooler climates but tough on
those that don't. It's not easy preparing and putting the time
into a show dog but if you want to be serious about winning, then
a good coat will win you big points with the judges.
CHERYL LECOURT
