Hello i show my cavalier but i havent been doing it for long so i would like to know when there coat starts to REALLY bloosom i have 17 month old male and he he has a fantastic coat but i would like it if you could tell me please when it starts to really blossom

thanx

Each dog is different & a lot depends on the breeding behind your dog, some lines have lovely early maturing coats & poor(well poor IMHO)colour especially in the blenheims, others have lovely colour & slow to mature coats

I personally wouldn't want my dog to be in full coat & mature(they seem to go hand in hand)before they are 2 years old

To keep your dog looking good once he is in full coat requires a really good diet(doesn't need lots of additives ;) )regular grooming & good quality shampoo & condition. I use Quistel on my older boy, as I have mentioned many times he had a skin problem which it has cured, every time & the other two every third/four shampoo & I use Doreen Paige shampoos for the others. I have a herbalist/homoeopath friend who makes me a special leave in conditioner(he's done this for over 30 years), but there are commerical ones available. I must have a chat to Doreen about her developing one as her stuff leaves their coats with a gloss like a mirror & so soft & silky & smelling gorgeous

BTW I do not use a hairdryer as this makes the coat too dry & I use a blaster & drycoats after their baths

Thanks for that moonmaiden! he has been bred well i think! his father is pascavale austin and his mother is goldenbrows kayleigh's kiss.I use aloe vera shampoo and oatmeal shampoo and seaweed, rosehip,mint shampoo and he does have a really nice coat so i dont think i have anything to worry about

He will have a mature coat eventually those lines don't mature too early but do have the type of coat I quite like

thats alright then

LOL might see you around the champ shows ;)

yeah maybe lol

Do normal handheld dryers dry out the dogs coat because of the hot air?

I don't have any problem drying my Cavalier's coat with an ordinary hair dryer, but I only use the cool and warm settings, not the full heat one. He has a very full show coat. He matured quite early and was winning BOB out of junior classes regularly, but luckily he didn't go 'over the top' and is more gorgeous every day!

It does if the dryer is held too close or is too hot as it dries out the natural oils & replacing them via sprays etc doesn't work

My two current show boys have different coats & the heavier coated is by far the easier to dry. The older boy has a very correct straight coat that is the darkest of chestnut & looking around the champ show rings(we don't usually go to open shows) the dogs with the deeper chestnut & that are more heavily marked seem to have the straighter coats

There are some stunning B&Ts around even though it is not a colour that appeals to me, there is a gorgeous little bitch who is doing quite well, she has a super coat & not too much either, my youngest is deeply infatuated with her ;)

Yes, that's why I never use the hottest setting.

I think you are probably right, my boy has a very deep chestnut and a correct coat, though he is not heavily marked, he's just right - half and half I would say. I think the blenheims are getting a bit too heavily marked at the moment, a lot of them are almost tan all over with white legs!