Judges Weigh In On Grooming

[SkySoaringMagpie]

http://www.dogchannel.com/dogsinreview/judges-on-grooming.aspx

[WreckitWhippet]

and yet people continue on their merry way. I really dislike seeing breeds that should have their coat presented in a more natural state ( still clean of course ) that have been blow dried straight, brushed and scissored to within an inch of their lives.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

and yet people continue on their merry way. I really dislike seeing breeds that should have their coat presented in a more natural state ( still clean of course ) that have been blow dried straight, brushed and scissored to within an inch of their lives.

Yep, tho' I've also seen exhibitors reverse out for a specialist. One day dog is titivated to within an inch of its life, next day under specialist the dog looks more "rustic". Dunno what they do, find a handy hedge to drag it through backwards I suppose - LOL!

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Gremlins.

Edited May 5, 2013 by SkySoaringMagpie

[WreckitWhippet]

The major peeve from those judges appears to be dirt, nails , teeth and excessive use of product

[Blakbelgian]

I admit I am abit slack in trimming my dogs nails.

Our breed should NEVER be near a pair of scissors except for the hair between the toes.

BB

[DesertDobes]

I've trimmed whiskers off the Dobes since I was advised to by another successful dobe owner/ handler. Then a rotty owner told me I shouldn't do that, although I haven't found anything in the standard that says you shouldn't unless I'm not looking in the right part.

I think the Dobe outline looks "cleaner" without the hairy face, and Judges have never commented on it but I do wonder if I should or shouldn't

[Podengo]

I was surprised to hear how much grooming goes on for a Dobe in the ring in the USA. The dobe forum I'm on had a grooming thread, they do the usual bath, nails teeth stuff.... Then clip the whiskers off the muzzle, clip down the backs of their legs to smooth them out, clip any whorls of hair on the neck, shoulders etc., trim the hair along the flappy bit of skin between the tummy and rear leg (name escapes me right now) and trim the hars along the edges of cropped ears.

[Rebanne]

I was surprised to hear how much grooming goes on for a Dobe in the ring in the USA. The dobe forum I'm on had a grooming thread, they do the usual bath, nails teeth stuff.... Then clip the whiskers off the muzzle, clip down the backs of their legs to smooth them out, clip any whorls of hair on the neck, shoulders etc., trim the hair along the flappy bit of skin between the tummy and rear leg (name escapes me right now) and trim the hars along the edges of cropped ears.

I trim my greyhounds "skirts", don't do whiskers though.

[Podengo]

Skirts! That's the one! :)

[faytiges]

Hi Rebanne,

We did all the trims with the Setters, whiskers OF COURSE, then one day a judge said.. I have never put a dog down by a whisker !!!! Gundog judge so it really hit home. However, I still think a dog without whiskers just has a better look... remembering we are in a Dog Show !! :)

[Rebanne]

Hi Rebanne,

We did all the trims with the Setters, whiskers OF COURSE, then one day a judge said.. I have never put a dog down by a whisker !!!! Gundog judge so it really hit home. However, I still think a dog without whiskers just has a better look... remembering we are in a Dog Show !! :)

and I always think if a judge can't see what a dog's face looks like with whiskers then should they really be judging :laugh: I did take whiskers off a couple of times in my early days of showing but it did nothing for me or the dog. :D

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Re whiskers on or off, google win and advertising pix for your breed (local if you can) and take a close look.

I think in Dobes you'll find people take them off. In Salukis you definitely don't take them off. Only way to know is to take a close look at what most of the winners do.

[paddles]

I'm very new to showing, and I have gsp's, I've been told that I should take the whiskers off, and told it doesn't matter.. I chose to leave them. whiskers serve a function, so fail to see why we should remove them (if there were many, I might "thin" them out tho.)

[Sheridan]

Every time I see an American show with their primped and preened wheatens I post this on FB:

Presentation — For show purposes, the Wheaten is presented to show a terrier outline, but coat must be of sufficient length to flow when the dog is in motion. The coat must never be clipped or plucked. Sharp contrasts or stylizations must be avoided. Head coat should be blended to present a rectangular outline. Eyes should be indicated but never fully exposed. Ears should be relieved of fringe, but not taken down to the leather. Sufficient coat must be left on skull, cheeks, neck and tail to balance the proper length of body coat. Dogs that are overly trimmed shall be severely penalized.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Sheridan

[Nevafollo]

I'm very new to showing, and I have gsp's, I've been told that I should take the whiskers off, and told it doesn't matter.. I chose to leave them. whiskers serve a function, so fail to see why we should remove them (if there were many, I might "thin" them out tho.)

I have Pointers and all mine start coming off the day they hit the ring for the first time! I like a cleaner look! Doubt its a winning edge but i do think it makes my guys, espcially my dog who has a very handsome head and face look alot nicer!

I do ALOT of trimming on my smooth coated griffon, I think with short coated breeds that its better to do as much as possible to have your dog looking amazing because we all know how hard a nicely groomed "fluffer" (coated breed) can be to beat..... even bad ones! As the saying goes, you can hid alot under coat!!!

[OSoSwift]

I was surprised to hear how much grooming goes on for a Dobe in the ring in the USA. The dobe forum I'm on had a grooming thread, they do the usual bath, nails teeth stuff.... Then clip the whiskers off the muzzle, clip down the backs of their legs to smooth them out, clip any whorls of hair on the neck, shoulders etc., trim the hair along the flappy bit of skin between the tummy and rear leg (name escapes me right now) and trim the hars along the edges of cropped ears.

Apart from the cropped ears that is generally what is done here as well as trimming along all seams in the coat, so where the coat meets down the side of the neck and also from the carpal pad to the large paw pad on the front legs, and when docked, the underneath and end of the tail to make sure there were no straggly hairs.

I do shirts on the Whippets, whiskers and any straggly hairs around the ears.

ETA and of course trim nails, make sure teeth are clean and wash them :)

Edited May 13, 2013 by OSoSwift

[SwaY]

As the saying goes, you can hid alot under coat!!!

What the eyes can't see the hands can feel...

[Chequeredblackdog]

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but does having their whiskers taken off effect a dog in any way?

I know it's horrible for a cat if their whiskers are gone, though I suppose dogs aren't as reliant on them?

[OSoSwift]

Mine doen't seem to show that it affectes them in anyway, and as they are shown rarely they have whiskers for ages between having them clipped off.

I have cats with no whiskers and they are not affected either and are far more agile than the cat with Whiskers. So I am also guessing it can be what they are used to to a degree.