Preparation and Maintenance Between Shows
Betwixt & Between
The job of grooming for
that all important event really starts before and between shows.
Preparation, preparation and preparation are the 3 keys to successful
coats. No point running around at the last minute in damage mode
and getting the stress levels up. There's enough to do getting
to a show without having to fix dramas.
It must be so much easier
living where climatic conditions are not as harsh though I believe
no-one can afford to ignore condition and moisture in a coat.
Some breeds get dry and scratchy towards the time to shed or "blow"
coat and others which have coats for life, need oodles of extra
assistance just to keep it there and looking great.
Some people wrap their
dog's coat and other breed owners condition and moisturize throughout
the week without wrapping. Speak to your breeder/expert or email
me if uncertain what to do with your particular breed. Nonetheless
all of this is in the goal of keeping the moisture in the coat
and stopping dehydration, burning, brittleness and fading color.
Sun is the enemy. It will leach moisture and fade coat. Red coats
pale to orange, blacks turn reddish brown and top lines will frazzle
with flipped ends. If your dog plays in his water bowl or you
haven't dried him sufficiently, then that water combined with
sun and oxygen, turn to hydrogen peroxide and we all know what
bleach does to hair.
You need to get into a
canine routine of "under cover and moisturizer". Shade
cloth is great or only exercise your dog in the great outdoors
early morning or very late evening in summer. Moisture is essential.
On a clean coat, and for those who use hairsprays and stuff and
like to bath after the show this is normal routine anyway, slather
on masses of moisturizer. Some breeds need more intensity than
others but a good safe and effective one is
Plush Puppy Reviva Coat. You can never
use too much of this. A nice easy to apply moisturizer in mousse
form, apply it liberally every day.
For those who like to oil,
then Plush Puppy Seabreeze
Oil is a fine natural oil - apply and leave in the coat
all week. This is good for fine coats (apply sparingly), corded
coats and thick coarse coats. Still use Reviva Coat too. If you
like to leave conditioner in the coat all week, then mix a watered
down version of 1 part
Plush
Puppy Silk Protein Conditioner to 3 parts Water and work
through the coat with a squeeze bottle. Apply
PP
Reviva Coat to the top line area each day.
Reviva Coat is excellent for Terriers. The first thing you want
is to keep the moisture in the coat but the last thing you want
is to soften the coat. Reviva Coat will not alter the texture
of the coat - conditioner will.
Some exhibitors mix
Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil
and PP Silk Protein
Conditioner together for a conditioning treatment/mask
and leave in all week. That's a great recipe for certain coats.
You can also use this as a quick treatment pack for 10 minutes
and rinse with warm/hot water. Try using a good squirt of
PP Seabreeze Oil into
the warm bath water for a final rinse instead.
Lastly don't let your dog's
trailing coat become a compost heap. Wrap it or cover it with
a cut down children's T-shirt tied in a couple of knots under
the belly. Slip this on each time the dog goes outdoors. Terrific
in autumn!
Once you have maintained
a good degree of moisture in the coat then it's a simple matter
of maintenance and judging the stage of the coat to choose the
particular shampoo needed at the time and always, absolutely always,
apply PP Reviva Coat
every single day. Life will be a breeze and dog shows a simple
routine. Champions need to be in training and conditioning all
the time and so does your Champion Dog.
CHERYL LECOURT
