Hi

can anyone tell me the name of the product that covers blemishes on dogs head. My daughters bitch that she has started showing has 2 black dote on her muzzle which spoil the overall look. She was told there was a product that show people use to cover up or maybe make less obvious

You are not to use any product that alters the colour or texture of the coat when showing.

Extracted from Kennel Club website

"Please note that no substance that alters the natural colour, texture or body of the coat may be present in the dog's coat for any purpose at any time during the show. No substance that alters the natural colour of any external part of the dog may be present on the dog for any purpose at any time during the show. Any other substance (other than water), which may be used in the preparation of a dog for exhibition, must not be allowed to remain in the coat or on any other part of the dog at the time of exhibition"

Of course you are not meant to use anything but alot of people do!

What colour are you needing?

>Of course you are not meant to use anything but alot of people do!

Only cheats do; honest exhibitors don't. :-)

Right ok!

In my breed a small amount of white is permissable on the chest but not desirable so I wouldn't pick a pup to show/breed from which had this trait because so many more in the ring wouldn't and I wouldn't want to pass it on.

Dapple pattern if not balanced on the face can put a dog at a disadvantage because it can distort the features or split the face.

Unfortunately we can't predict where Mother Nature may place faults be it in conformation,temperament or coat colour/pattern.

I totally agree only cheats would do this.  If your dog is a good enough example of the breed in every other way then it will get placed if it's better in every other way than the others in the class.

My friend once gave me a sort of white lipstick, or you could use chalk. Quite frankly though I wouldn't bother - my girl has a couple of freckles in annoying places (hence why my friend gave me the lipstick thingy) but I only ever tried to use it once, it was way more trouble than it was worth, and she's done very well in the ring in spite of the freckles. If your girl is good quality, most judges will forgive a pigmentation imperfection. :-)

If she's a decent bitch, it won't matter. Everyone knows dogs aren't all born the same or perfect, and that every dog has faults. I hope her owner won't mind me saying so but I know a member on here has a bitch with a small white patch on her chest, she is still built superbly and has just won a CC after a year of sparingly showing and not once coming away without winning her class.

Our breed record holder has a white patch (white is undesireable) on a darker chest, so it shows up, hasn't stopped him from winning well over 50CC's in a breed with less than 20 sets available each year.

I totally agree only cheats would do this.

Well I guess when one is competing in a breed that everyone is also doing the same, they will  ALL be "cheating " against each other............kind of evens it out , doe`nt it ! LOL!!

2 wrongs dont make a right.......

> She was told there was a product that show people use to cover up or maybe make less obvious

A shame isn't it.  There is genuinely no need - a good dog will do well despite this.  No dog is perfect and judges are well able to decide relative merits and "two dots" will make no difference in the grand scheme of things :)

What is the point of showing a dog and winning by cheating, just what does it prove? As far as I can see the only thing it proves is that you can fool a judge, as others have said, if the dog is good enough it will win even if it has a minor marking fault and if it is not it will not win anyway.

What is the point of showing a dog and winning by cheating, just what does it prove?

It does not prove anything, and I doubt any judge worth their salt, is going to be fooled by a bit of chalk covering up a tear stain or a white paw  that has discoloured.

I thought the comment "Only cheats do; honest exhibitors don't"   was rather uncalled for and a bit rude to be honest, some one asked a question,  and such responses don`t do anyone any favours.

Some breeds DO   get chalked,  yes the rules say  its not allowed, but it goes on all the time, my point being if you are in such a breed  and everyone else is going it, you are not gaining an unfair advantage,  as the majority of exhibitors in that breed will be doing the same.

Now if one makes their dog look like its just been though a wash of Daz,   and then wins over those who have not ,  then you can say  its an unfair advantage.......

I doubt many judges are so blind they cant see a bit of enhancement  on a dog,   surely they will still look at  conformation , a chalked dog that has poor conformation is not going to win over an unchalked one that has excellent conformation.

Calling someone a cheat or a potential cheat is not very nice,  the message one wished to get across could have been achieved with honey instead of a sledge hammer.

>I thought the comment "Only cheats do; honest exhibitors don't"   was rather uncalled for and a bit rude to be honest, some one asked a question,  and such responses don`t do anyone any favours.

The truth does everyone a favour; it saves the OP's honest daughter from starting off down the wrong road, so it's worth a million "Oh well, everyone does it" comments which only sully the good name of all exhibitors.

To sum up; using concealers, or any other substance that alters the natural coat, or tattooing areas of missing pigment, or dying the coat, is against the rules. Breaking the rules is cheating. Cheating makes a person a cheat. It's really very straightforward; and I'm sure the OP's daughter doesn't want to go down that route, and was only asking because she was unaware of the rule.

Funny how product catalogues I've picked up at Crufts have so many products that are against the rules. Presumably they must sell enough to make it worthwhile stocking the products.

To sum it up, the OP asked about a bit of chalk to cover a few spots up,  ye sits against the rules, but  PLENTY of people use products  on their dogs,    the issue is not pointing out its against the rules its the way it was pointed out...........RUDELY.

There must be an awful lot of cheating going on at conformation shows , considering the amount of products on sale at ALL these shows !!

Using chalk is not against any rule it is leaving it in the coat that is - not sure what products you are talking about as you seem to be suggesting that all dogs that are exhibited are only taken into the ring once they are "made up" that is just not so - some people cheat but most do not because there really is no point.

I don't buy the products sold at the shows, but there again thankfully my breed is show naturally, or should be :)

>Funny how product catalogues I've picked up at Crufts have so many products that are against the rules.

*sigh* There are coats and kennels and seat belt harnesses and doggy-ballet dresses for sale as well, but they're not for use in the ring! ;-)

JG think people see what they choose to see but have to say all catalogues have a notice telling people that because it is on sale does not mean you can use it in the ring - but if you think that showing is a problem then you will think the worse whatever the facts are. 

I suppose it's human nature to cherry-pick which rules you choose to obey and which you choose to break, depending on how much they affect you. Loads of people don't bother to pick up their dogs' mess, but that doesn't mean it's okay to encourage it.

> JG think people see what they choose to see

Maybe too much chalk in the eye :)

To be honest, if it's black dots you're trying to hide you'll be hard-pressed to find something short of dye that would hide them. Chalk might dull them down a bit, but you'd have to apply it shortly before the dog goes in the ring as it rubs off fairly easily.

I personally don't see the harm in using a bit of chalk to hide something like a persistent stain or to make a scar less obvious. Some dogs have perfectly correct coats that do end up with stains no matter how clean the dogs are kept. Many judges would overlook a clean dog that just looked dirty due to some staining on the feet for example. And although dogs in most breeds are permitted to be shown with scars, sometimes the ones that are glaringly obvious can alter the dog's expression or detract from the dog's appearance a bit. At the end of the day, if it comes down to two dogs that are equally correct in structure, the judge is probably going to go for the one that is more aesthetically pleasing so why not give your dog the best possible chance?

Actually altering the colour of the dog is pointless though, your breed isn't going to benefit in any way from you showing/winning with a dog that has been altered to look more correct than it actually is.

I think if you take a dog in the ring thats less then perfect coat wise. It could go in your favour. as the judge may see that you are confident that your dog is a good enough dog that you did not feel the need to cover somthing :)