Hi, Patti,
On the day of the show I always bath the dog that day if at all
possible and if that dogs body coat looks best that way. That does mean
sometimes I'm up bathing the dog at 4:00 am. <UGH> I'll use the shampoo
and conditioner on the ears, but this time I will make sure that the
conditioner is completely rinsed out. (On the days of our show dog's
weekly baths if they are NOT being shown, I'll leave it a bit of
conditioner and even finish off some of them with Vellus Satin Cream;
but not on show day). I'll dry the ears completely.....and then dry
them again. Dry as I can get them. I dry against the hair (like back
combing) and when finishing up I'll use a mason pearson brush to set the
hair coming forward to frame the face. (Like blow drying your own hair
with a round brush; just slightly more tricky as the mason pearson isn't
round.). The closer you are to going into the ring, the more likely the
ears will stay fluffy. If, for some reason I can't (or can't BEAR) to
bath the dog on the day of the show (some coats do better with a day's
rest before), then I will bath the ears that day and prepare them as I
mentioned.
We all see the specials handlers blow drying the dogs just before ring
time; they know that those ears (and furnishings) look their best
freshly washed. If I am at a four day cluster or many days of showing, I
will often just bath the furnishings each day and leave the rest of the
coat (if it still looks good) alone.
Many of my dogs have lovely ears but I've noticed that just a matter of
hours after leaving the ring, they are no longer "fluffy" and full
looking.
If the ears seem a bit ragged at the ends, I will sometimes carefully
(and well away from the ear leathers) turn them under with a curling
iron. Just a touch is all it takes.
Right now I use the Vellus products but am about to experiment with
something else; if it works I'll let you know. I will probably continue
to use Vellus as one of the nice things about it is that you can change
the dilution of shampoo or conditioner for each dog's needs.
Suze (who is thankful to the handlers who gave her help!)
Patricia Conroy wrote:
>
> Okay...
>
> I have tried and tried and tried...to get my dog's ears look
> nice and full and fluffy (not stringy) like some of the well
> known specials. What do you do?
>
> I keep the leathers free from mats. There is much hair to
> work with (not slight on hair or length).
>
> Pray do share with us folks who must know...what do some of
> you do to prepare your dogs' ears for the show ring...prior
> (weeks) to the show and on the day of the show?
>
> I promise I will keep your secrets! <VBG>
>
> Patti Conroy
> SOVEREIGN
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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--
Suze at Llawen Cavaliers
"...I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man
to depend simply upon himself." -Isna Ia-wica
"Thought comes before speech" Luther Standing Bear
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