Could anyone offer advice on grooming mals before a show? I've been practicing and I can manage to get Taiko's head and neck fur to stand up but I'm unsure which way to brush his shanks/rear. I've been told to brush all the hair in the opposite direction,but it doesn't look right. Should I brush the fur in opposite direction and then smooth the coats surface and keep the topline flat? I don't want Taiko entering a show looking like he's had a fright :D
Julie :)

Hi Julie ...I can only tell you what we do ..not sure if it's right or not ;) We brush ALL Hudsons fur UP and then smooth his topline down...we cheated fopr LKA and sent him to the groomers as he was a stinky mutt ...she managed to get it to look wonderful following my instructions (but then she has several LARGE hairdryers to get the fur up more :D )

Mel

Yep, same here. We generally brush the hair up a couple of minutes before going into the ring and it has settled by the time he is standing ready to be judged. The only exception is the tail as Kai has a fairly bushy tail and it looks awful if it's not brushed flat.
However, I do know people who complain that their mals coats won't stand up at all, so it must be down to the type of coat. I warn you, this is from a novice :)

I don't suppose anyone's going to the show at Newark on Friday ?

Practice,practice......will I ever learn the secret of the mal who wins everything??????...except BOB at LKA :D ssshhh I never typed that! :)

hi julie
yes thats what i do i blow dry the hair combing from the roots in sections takes a while but worth it!!!and just fluffy dry the top!!!
best wishes
steph

OK this is what I do but I think you pretty well know all this Julie. Firstly the night before, I bath the dog (this is a lot easier with just one dog). Then I blast him 3/4 dry. When he is just damp I apply a bit of mousse or whatever (by the way Julie, that stuff..not saying what, its a secret... is very good). Once I've worked it in, I set to with the hairdryer. The coat on his sides gets brushed up to his shoulders and dried. The coat on his legs is brushed up and outwards. Shoulder hair is brushed up, as is neck hair. Keep the top line flat, they are not supposed to look like a porcupine :) Once dry its just a matter of tweaking to get it looking OK. It is just practice and it does take a bit of time before you can say you've got it right....in my case 6 years :D It also depends on the dogs coat, some coats readily stand off and others flop very quickly, longer coats are more difficult to work with than shorter ones. Hope this helps

Just a PS... it nice to have a mal looking good in the ring but what will swing it every time is movement. Judges will go for movement over fluffed up coats every time. The thing to aim for is to have a nice looking coat AND good movement.....well at least we can dream :D By the way, Julie have you had my letter yet??

Sounds similar to what they do to elkhounds in the USA, thankfully here they are shown clean but as nature intended with close lying weather resistant coats (correct for our breed). We also have no trimming of any kind, and bathing should be at least a few days before a show, so that the coat regains it's texture and settles, as an Openb coat is a fault. Strange that across the pond they fel it neccesary to have them all moused and fluffed up, underlines and quarters trimmed looking more like you breed, and in some cases getting on for as tall :D

Hmm, Barbara's reply has got me thinking. I think I should clarify myself a little more. When I said mousse I am talking a teeny amount, remember nothing should be in the coat when showing. The main work is done by the hairdryer and the brush. My hair dryer has a cool shot which holds the hair. I had visions of people moussing their dogs to within an inch of their lives and the judges having to wash their hands after going over them :D I don't think we are in the same league as the Americans when it comes to fluffing up dogs. What will be interesting is when some come over with their dogs for Crufts and we can see them against ours.

Jayne ...so what if you DO use mousse? Winning BOB with one of yours shows that whatever you do , it darned well works :D :D

FWIW , he didn't look moussed up to me :D :D :D

Mel

An American dog being handled by a Canadian pro handler (where he was being campaigned) won BOB at the World Show under a Norwegian judge (though an allrounder).

The ownere had of course for months told the handler to let his coat return to it's natural form, and he didn't look over prepared at the show, though the wayt he was shown, well looked rather as if he was trying to upstage the others, but for some reason in USA they move their dogs at a very fast trot, whereas we move them at a nice collected pace. they aren't a Racing Trotting horse, but a tracking hunting breed.

Thats 'cos he wasn't moussed up Mel :D. Only a tiny amount folks, about the size of a 10p rubbed through the hands. I want no punk mals turning up on my account :D :D

I dont doubt it Jayne :) I wouldn't have known Floyd had any on if you hadn't said

Hudson is a punk Mal in spirit rather than in coat :D

Mel

I'm pleased I was able to share that "stuff" with you and you agreed, it's really reassuring :D I've been taking more photos for you as Taiko's had another growth spurt. The Brother in law is a photographer and I've asked him to take some proffessional shots for my xmas present. So if Taiko manages to stay out of the muddy holes and strike a pose for longer than 3 seconds hopefully you'll get some good shots.
Have a great christmas everyone!
Julie :)