Pomeranian
This extrovert little member of the Toy
Group, descended from sled dogs of the north, not only makes a wonderful
pet and companion, but is a great show contender. He may be small and he
may be compact, but this does not diminish his stature in the ring. I
often think these little dogs appear to have bigger personalities than
some of the larger breeds.
Having several friends who exhibit this breed, I have spent much time
working out a good grooming regime for them to use. I also show
Eurasiers along with my Siberians and laughingly joke that my Eurasiers
are simply large Poms! I do tend to groom them the same way as the Poms.
The double coat of the Pom is a fairly straightforward one to groom but
it does take time, albeit on a small scale of dog. The crux of the
matter is to keep the texture on the longer guard hair and maintain the
overall shape of the dog, which I have always pictured as being a ball
shape thus wanting to keep lift and fullness to the coat.
You are in an enviable position of being able to lightly trim this dog
for neatness and a clean outline. So, starting with a good pair of
thinning shears (you only get to make half a mistake at a time using
thinning shears), trim the hair on the ear tips to make small and
rounded to balance the head. Next, shape the feet to make small and
cat-like. Trim right down at the base of the tail to give definition to
the tail set and also to shorten the back. Trim the bib, the underline
and pants maintaining at all times the round ball shape. A practised eye
makes for a perfect shape, so do this gently to start with - you can
always take more off if needed.
The next step is to get the lift and fullness to the coat so I never
recommend anything that will flatten or soften the coat such as a
conditioner. Your Pom's harsher outer coat must have texture. Use
Plush
Puppy Body Building Shampoo at a dilution rate of 3 parts water
to one part shampoo. I always like to dilute the shampoo to disperse it
readily and evenly throughout the coat and to shorten the time of
rinsing. This is a small dog so is an economical breed any way but they
do hate to stand still - the quicker you get this done the better! For
the final rinse add approx = teaspoon of
Plush
Puppy Seabreeze Oil to approx 4 - 6 cups water working this mix
well into the coat and down to the skin. It is all naturally sourced and
gives a wonderful gleam and glow to the coat without flattening and
softening. You can keep a small amount of this mix for spraying onto the
dog between shows, behind the ears and on the males "pee" feathers. Any
disentangling, should it be needed on the longer areas of coat, can be
done with a mix of a golf ball amount of
Plush
Puppy Revivacoat to one cup water - this will get the matts or
tangles out without flattening the coat.
I do believe in blow-drying with a cool to warm dryer - never hot. This
serves to lift and aerate the coat whilst removing any dead undercoat.
Good chance also to check the skin for any skin disturbances or "free
riders", heaven forbid they should be there. We get "bush" ticks where
we are but whilst they are not particularly threatening, they are ugly
and irritating. I love to find the critters during the blow-dry and
eliminate them as quickly as possible. On longer coats, it is often the
only way to truly track them down.
The best thing for volumising the coat when drying is the
Plush Puppy Volumising Cream. It is brilliant when the dog is
out of coat after shedding and just as helpful when in coat to give that
extra "oomph" without being hard or sticky. Apply 1 tbspn to 1-cup water
in a
Plush Puppy Spray Bottle, which is marked with measurements on
the side and has a nice spray to disperse evenly. Try adding instead to
the final rinse water along with the Seabreeze Oil to save time and
leave in. Can also be used the day of the show to lift any flattened
areas - just lightly spray and brush or if available, use a dryer just
to refresh the shape.
Another great spray for grooming on show day is
Plush Puppy
Quick Fix. This has slightly more hold factor than the
Volumising Cream and can be used either diluted or undiluted - dilute =
and = if you wish. However, the Volumising Cream will add more thickness
to each hair. You can use both if you wish - the Volumising Cream
firstly for a more coat appearance and the Quick Fix for more hold and
lift. An even stronger grooming product for a lot of hold and lift is
Plush
Puppy Puffy Dog, used also straight after bathing and when the
dog is approx 80% dry. Dilute one golf ball amount to 1-cup water and
spray well into the coat and finish drying. This gives a lot of hold and
texture. It is your choice to decide just how much is needed for which
coat as with all double-coated breeds, they are constantly in various
stages of shedding and regenerating.
Always keep in mind that ball shape and
avoid anything that will flatten or soften. Your fluffing up on show day
can be done readily using your light or harder hold grooming spray
recipes outlined above and using an oval cushioned = bristle = nylon
brush such as the
Plush
Puppy Porcupine Brush. On larger breeds such as the Eurasier I
use the Pin Brush and you might prefer this instead.. You do need to get
into the coat to the skin and lift the coat and you do want bristles
that do just that and not skate over the top of the coat leaving a
felted undercoat. Always you are lifting and fluffing up.
The Pom doesn't seem to get
too many problems with tear staining though I have seen some on the
lighter colours. Again I recommend using a simple remedy such as a
whitening toothpaste applied with a toothbrush or Q Tip and worked into
the area avoiding getting into the eye. Leave for 10 - 15 mins and wipe
off and then rinse to avoid getting any surplus washing into the eye.
You can use the
Plush
Puppy Deep Cleansing Shampoo to keep on top of this problem.
For final touches on show day, a light dusting of
Plush
Puppy Pixie Dust onto the edge of the
Plush
Puppy Porcupine Brush and flicked lightly into the coat will add
a hint of glamour and light when picked out by the sun. Don't overdo it.
Subtlety is the key word and it looks wonderful. Don't forget a light
spray also of
Plush Puppy
Odour Muncher to complete the overall sense of good grooming and
presentation. It is so nice for a judge to not only touch a clean and
beautiful dog but to have him smell fresh as well.
What a nice energetic little character you get to show! Full of vim and
vigour he appears to dance along like a little ball of delight. I see
them sometimes in the marshalling area spinning on the leash with sheer
joy. Such a cheeky little fellow is your Pom. How could anyone not be
cheered seeing his pixie antics and his cocky attitude? He is well worth
the work that you put into him and a hard act to follow.
CHERYL LECOURT
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