Collie Rough
Exhibitors have been generous in
their input to this grooming article.
Thus I am able to share with all of you.
A well known speaker
once said "You are what you are, but for the people you meet
and the books that you read." Plus, of course the articles
you read on grooming etc. We all grow by what we see and learn
and have to
adapt to new techniques and incorporate the old. As south-east
Queensland particularly, wallows in dust from a drought, this
contribution to grooming from Cecilie Kemp, a Collie breeder in
the area, is timely. Her place is a dust bowl. Cecilie would normally
the day before the show, either wash the dog or assess whether
to lightly clean it up.
If washing from scratch, she uses
PP
Body Building Shampoo then shampoos the white areas in
a PP Whitening shampoo.
Of course you would break these down accordingto the instructions.
With Plush Puppy we recommend at least 5:1 or for long, thicker
areas 10:1. Rinse, then work through a good conditioner (again
broken down with water for easier distribution through the coat)
and rinse again. Cecilie then uses a rinse of vinegar to make
the coat sparkle. ( This is a good, old hairdressers tip that
prior to conditioners was our mainstay.)
Towel dry well and then blow-dry with a cattle-dryer. The cattle-dryer
really lifts and removes any dead coat. Cecilie advises blow-dry
from rear to front and from bottom to top using
PP Volumising Cream. Brush the hair upwards
to give it plenty of volume.
Then, trim the feet around the pads and cut the nails. (Ask me
for help on this if you have problems getting the dog to let you
do it.) Use the blow dryer to bring out the hair between the pads
and trim the long pieces off to neaten the foot. Lastly, trim
the back of the hocks and around the ears and along the lip line.
For a light clean, Cecilie
just washes the whites in the PP Whitening
Shampoo. For the rest of the coat she uses a chamois
wrung out in hot water and rubbed through the coat to refresh
it and then blow-dry as normal.
These procedures ensure there is less time spent brushing the
dog at the showground. However, Cecilie usually uses
PP Wonder Wash on the dogs' feet again
at the show and dries with a towel. This is quick to do and you
don't have to rinse it off. Then rub in potato flour to expand
the hair around the legs - this makes the legs look thicker. Finish
off with a light dusting of
PP
Pixie Dust rubbed through the coat. A little goes a long
way!
During the week, there
isn't a lot of maintenance to the coats if you are showing regularly
and following the above procedures. However, for the house dogs,
Cecilie usually gives them a thorough brush through once a week
and rubs PP Reviva Coat
into the coats. Cecilie says this is "magic" for dry
coats. Ensure you get any matts out from under the elbows and
behind the ears.
I greatly value the knowledge
of good show people and their willingness to share and assist
others. Many thanks. My own contribution to grooming this breed
is to use 1/3 Volumising Cream to 2/3 water and place in a measured
PP Spray Bottle and
spray onto the coat after drying - then brush - upwards of course.
This adds so much extra
lift and volume and is fabulous if your dog is not in full coat.
You can still use the PP
Volumising Cream before blow-drying but this extra bit
is great especially if the coat has flattened during the night.
CHERYL LECOURT
