I am just curious on show dogs and their coats... How do their coats look PERFECT, what do the handlers do to them? Do they put something special on them? Wash them with something special? I know a lot is diet and good oils exc. but I am sure they do some special things on the outside to get it like that.

Usually before they're shown they're brushed and blown out. I think some even bathe them right before. That's what makes them look so fluffy and plush. Sara would know more...

Hahaha...well the day before a show, I bathe Elara in a whitening shampoo and really get her clean. Then I blow dry her coat with the high velocity drier and get it totally dry. Then I do what is called line combing. I use a greyhound comb like this:


I start from the bottom pushing her hair forward with my hand, then comb just below my hand so I'm pulling the hair back. It takes a while, most dogs hate it, and it makes your hand cramp! But oh their coat looks so nice afterward!

Then if she needs a touch up on her legs, I'll wash them with no rinse shampoo and sometimes chalk them. You first add this stuff that makes their hair a little stiffer and the chalk sticks to it, then you brush and blow it out so there's no loose chalk left. But that just makes their legs look whiter or more black, grey, red, brown, whatever color their legs are supposed to be. I also trim the hair around the pads of her feet to make it look neater. And that's about all I have to do with Elara.

Siberians are some of the easiest ones to groom for show, because they are supposed to have a natural coat. You're not allowed to trim anything other than their feet and whiskers (I don't like doing that and never will do it) to make them look neater. Other dogs are nightmares to groom for show! You have to do sooo much trimming and it's a little silly, cause you can hide so many faults by just cutting a dog's hair a certain way. There are products you can put in their hair to make it stand up and be stiffer, to fluff the hair out, to make it smoother, to change the color, etc. Though technically they are all against the rules to use in the show ring, but EVERYONE overlooks that part! Just take a stroll down the grooming section of any AKC show and you'll see that no one plays by those rules. lol. I'm not supposed to use chalk either, but they don't really care if it's just making the dog look a bit nicer. If I used it to really try and change her color, then they would care, but just as a touch up, they don't.

This video takes way too long, but it shows the basics and explains line combing. It's long because the audience speaks a different language and it took a while translating it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4_Xk1xuwP8

Also forgot to add, you trim up their nails before a show too. I like using the nail grinder before a show to make the nails look neat rather than using a nail clipper.

Ugh that's a lot of work haha. I know it takes a lot of time and $$ to make them look perfect.

This reminds me of the movie "Best in Show" hahaha I love that movie.

SaraB wrote:

Then I do what is called line combing. I use a greyhound comb like this:


I start from the bottom pushing her hair forward with my hand, then comb just below my hand so I'm pulling the hair back. It takes a while, most dogs hate it, and it makes your hand cramp! But oh their coat looks so nice afterward!

I did this to Seamus when I needed to get out his winter coat... It does hurt your hand but he did look great!

All groomed, though she looks basically the same all the time!



My grooming box. The drier fits in it!

brady.law wrote:

Ugh that's a lot of work haha. I know it takes a lot of time and $$ to make them look perfect.

This reminds me of the movie "Best in Show" hahaha I love that movie.

I can actually get away with just a good bath and blow out and Elara looks pretty good. I got my grooming table for not too much. My drier was the most expensive thing and the brushes aren't all that cheap either. But those are the basics. I didn't really need to get chalk and some of the spays I got. I bought them, because other siberian people recommended them, but I rarely use them. Elara's coat is so nice without needing them. I really lucked out that way. Her coat is nice and plush. Not too long or too short. Very easy to care for. I don't even need to brush her, but brushing her just makes her look that much better.

Yeah, line coming is great for getting out loose hair! I do that along with using the HVD and zoom groom when my two are blowing coat.

Speaking of high velocity dryers. I went to my first self wash station here and their "High pressure" dryer was patheic (they just built their self wash station also) it would have taken me probably and hour and a half to dry her with their dryer, I just switched to using towels.

I use 2 to 3 towels first and then use the drier. Mainly cause I have to get them from my bathroom through the house onto the porch where I dry them with the HVD, and I don't want them getting the whole house wet! lol. But it takes me a little over 30 mins to get one of them completely dry. Not just mostly dry, but completely dry to the skin. Takes a while, but if I don't on Elara she'll get spots of hair going the wrong way if she lays down with damp hair all night. Like bed head or hat hair on people! lol.

I'm soooo happy I went with an easy to groom breed. I couldn't do all the trimming setters, golden, and let alone poodles need before a show! Grooming them is an art in itself!

If you want something to make your pup's hair feel really, really soft, try "Ice on Ice" leave in conditioner spray. Makes their coat silky smooth, but don't get any on a hard floor! You'll slip! I about cracked my knee when I accidentally got some on the tiles in my bathroom.

I'm actually considering becoming a dog groomer, so this is a great thread for me to read I think it'd be fun to groom dogs for show!

Check out that link and search her name in youtube. I know she has at least one other video about bathing. Good luck if you do decide to become a groomer! And it would be great if there are more groomers out there that don't think they have to shave every dog they see! I'll never bring my two to a groomer in fear that they'll come back shaved! lol.

I'll never take mine to a groomer either because honestly there's nothing a groomer could do for a husky that can't be done at home, hahah.