.com Forum · Real Show Dogs

I may get beaten up for this, but the point of my post is that sometimes folks insist that a natural dog is one that has never been bathed. Dirty, smelly dogs are brought into the ring. This is just as much of an issue a as over groomed dogs.

It is a dog show. So we need to present the dogs at their best. I have herding dogs that work my farm every day. I don't take a dog straight from the field to the ring. They need a good shampoo and breed appropriate trimming. They are also brushed and readied for the ring at a show. But I do not believe in going over board.

If you are new to a breed, go to shows. Get to know the folks in your breed. Ask questions of the folks whose grooming styles you like. Also learn from folks in other breeds. My friend shows toy dogs with dropped coats. We have learned much from helping each other. I think at every show we learn something new. We are also always willing to help folks.

In a registry where grooming rule are not enforced everyone needs to decide what amount of grooming they are comfortable with.

Bringing this back up*

So I have broken down into usuing hairspray on Coal, at the shows and online Im seeing these wiggies, Im super tempted to get them but I have a feeling Ill be excused from juniors with them.

Anyone have ANY advice on coat growth?!?!?! I dont want to resort to fake hair

Btw I only show AKC atm.

I heard Biotin work wonders.

I would highly suggest not going as far as switches for the juniors ring. Maybe the breed ring, if necessary... but not worth it with juniors. Can the breeder of your dog help you learn the grooming/growing techniques?

Are you banding your poodle? If so, how are you banding? (if not done correctly, it can actually do much more harm than good)

Breeder has never helped me. I don't want to deal with her. I have met some nice mentors however. I band his hair with fabric ties because it doesn't break his hair as much, my grooming mentor taught me this technique.

Having a mentor to help you learn is really the best way, and is also a great networking method. Especially with a breed with complex trimming and grooming. Have the mentor trim one side of the dog while you watch, then you do the other side. Good luck!

Whoops, just realized I got way off topic with that reply, haha. I don't know about poodles, but with springers we put them in oil during the week to help grow coat... Which is basically a heavy conditioner. Not sure if poodle hair is too delicate for that though.

Wait... you have springers? ESSs????

Lumen that was my initial thought too, because we soak the setters' hair in oil between shows but their hair is so different I don't know how that would work. We've used biotin on various types of coats and it always works wonders

Yea. Sporting dog coat is so much different than a Poodles.... Poodles are thick, dense and curly, they also need to stand up, not lay flat, which I believe is the main reason we don't use oils.

Very common to put poodles in heavy conditioner between shows to get maximum growth and limited matting or coat loss. I'll also recommend you find a mentor (your breeder?) in this breed. They are tough to groom but there are so many little tricks that will help you immensely.

And yes, like it or not, wiggies, hairspray, dye are all regularly used on winning dogs in AKC....

Good Luck!
K

Yes about springers.

After a bit of research, it looks like oiling is fairly common for poodles. This is the company I bought oil from in the past, the "Protect A Coat" is what I used. www.summerwinds.com/CoatCare.html

You just need to be really diligent when using oil. You can't just leave it on for a couple of weeks. You need to bathe your dog and re-apply the oil every week.

Before a show you will need to use a clear shampoo to get the oil out, probably shampooing 2x. With schnauzer legs we put them in heavy conditioner, but you just have to make sure it is all the way out for a show, kinda similar to poodles cause their hair needs to be "up" also.

Dish soap works best to strip out all the oil. It's never been too harmful. We routinely bathe the schnauzer legs/beards in it and the setters get it right before a show to get the oil out

Just a little caution about dish soap!

I have used it but it is not intended to be used as a shampoo.

Be very careful around the eyes!

I'm so afraid to put anything on his coat to be honest. I'm going to try the supplement you guys recommended. See how that works and continue from there! Again, the new banding method I'm using is working very well.

I may record myself banding his topknot and post it on YouTube for peoples opinions.