# coat conditioning???



## msblake (Mar 13, 2008)

HI!  i'm new AND need some input from some voices of experience about coat care for my wonderful 2 year-old standard apricot female, Chloe. I have a brady bunch of 4 large dogs (2 mastiff-like breeds, 1 boxer, 1 poodle.) They spend a lot of time rough-housing outside. Chloe doesn't think she's a poodle. 
Okay. COAT: it's tightly wound in small ringlets. and it's dry (i know light coats tend to be dryer so a bit of disadvantage i suppose). (i have her on great food, Avoderm, for skin and coat AND very quality organic supps) Keeping it brushed out?? Well, it's pretty much impossible. If i brush it (with a pin brush) it's back in it's little wound masses of ringlets in no time. I've tried different heavy conditioning conditioners (tropiclean and etc.). I leave the conditioner on which seems to help with manageability a little more. 
IS THERE SOMETHING OUT THERE that will make it not so dry and help it stay brushed out a little more? repelling dirt would be awesome also!! One lady who's been grooming a long time said *"the stuff" for dogs *is awesome. Any opinions on this product? 
*GOAL:* Chloe's lifestyle doesn't lend a magnanamous froofy cut. however, i would like her legs to remain a little longer (1.5-1.75 inches maybe?) I love that look with a shorter body cut. Simple but pretty. It also seems like it'll be easier to groom. Navigating the joints of the ankle and knee isn't fun. If I can't get this furr a little more manageable, though, I'll just have to keep her in a puppy. 
*ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS VERY APPRECIATED, YOU GUYS!!* THANX


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## Jako (Mar 4, 2008)

If you're saying you want her fluffy instead of curly, you need to fluff out her coat while it is drying. If you allow it to dry curly, it will stay curly no matter how many times you brush it. Brushing it while damp will straighten the hair and make it less likely to curl.

You can also try using a slicker brush instead of a pin brush. Pin brushes are usually used only on very long hair. After brushing her out well with a slicker brush, use a wide-tooth steel comb to check for any knots you may have missed.

Hope this helps!


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## T o d d (Sep 25, 2007)

We keep moose in a puppy cut. We keep him a #3 all over. It's very short but his hair grows SUPER FAST, and since he's 'chocolate' he gets super hot in the sun fast.

In fact we cut his feet up to the first joint shorter too. He is an outdoor dog (like yours) and he was always getting grass, burrs, etc stuck to his feet. This seems to work best.

I tried the combing thing but it's a waste of time, seems to never stay.


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## msblake (Mar 13, 2008)

*thanx!*

thanks for the response and input. It does seem like I brush chloe out and she's curly right away again. Even if she's a big poof-ball, within a day she's curly again. BTW, Moose is beautiful. Love the pic of him with the rocky background!


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## Mourningdove (Jan 10, 2008)

I've never hear of "the stuff" for dogs Is this available at Petco? I want to try it.


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## T o d d (Sep 25, 2007)

msblake said:


> thanks for the response and input. It does seem like I brush chloe out and she's curly right away again. Even if she's a big poof-ball, within a day she's curly again. BTW, Moose is beautiful. Love the pic of him with the rocky background!


Thanks! We just hope he continues to grow.


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## GroomerChick (Feb 28, 2008)

Yes you must fluff dry. Curly hair mats easier and is harder to maintain than straight hair. For an active dog, 1-2 inches of legs hair is quite a bit! To keep that mat free you will need to slicker brush AND comb daily. Not using a comb will allow matting to form underneath the topcoat.

Conditioner will help to keeop the hair from breaking (which causes more matting) and softer. I use Eqyss Premier Conditioner on my two in the tub. The Stuff is a detangler, and when used in excess it will make the coat dingy and greasy. 

Best of luck.


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## msblake (Mar 13, 2008)

*wow... thanks for info*

thanks for tip on what "the stuff" tends to do. I'm a novice groomer. The legs (ankle and knee) joints are the toughest for me to navigate. Her legs look a lil rough compared to an experienced groomer. I groom her because a few months ago I had her groomed (at my vet's) and they slaughtered her feet. a bloody mess. every single foot, toe, and pad bleeding. Now she's skiddish about her feet being groomed (duh ) and I take great care not to make it a traumatic process! I use kalstone's poodle clipping book as a resource, but it's practice and finesse I think.


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## Jako (Mar 4, 2008)

I'm planning on getting Kalstone's book soon. I've heard a lot of good things about it.


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## T o d d (Sep 25, 2007)

Jako said:


> I'm planning on getting Kalstone's book soon. I've heard a lot of good things about it.


Do you have a link to this on Amazon?


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## Jako (Mar 4, 2008)

http://www.amazon.com/Poodle-Clippi...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205953213&sr=1-2

This is the one I'm talking about.


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## mightymite (Aug 10, 2008)

Ditto on what everyone has said about fluff drying. It's best if you have a forced hairdryer but even if you don't - try to dry from the roots out - using a pin brush without balls at the end the bristles. Brush from the root, straight out with a flicking motion. 

As to what to use on your dog's coat, it all depends - but the most important thing is to hydrate both inside (with "healthy" fats in the diet, and "out" with a high quality dog shampoo & coonditioner (made for dogs!) that is non-stripping and will restore the cuticel) From your post, your dog's hair is THIRSTY.

Everybody has different products they like and a lot depends on:
1) your dogs coat (even show coats have different textures and thicknesses).
2) your dog's skin. Just like humans, dogs have different sensitivities. What might be great on one dog's skin could cause a reaction on another. You should always do a patch test. To do a patch test, apply a small q-tip size circle - full strength to the inside back thigh of your dog (there isn't a lot of hair there and if there is an inflamation it will be localized and not very visible. Let it sit for an hour and then you can wipe the rest of. If your dog has a bad reaction, you'll notice it with 24 hours. 
3) What you feed your dog. There are two primary factors that create a beautiful coat - your dog's genes and what you feed your dog. A diet rich in Omega fatty acids and highly digestable protiens will result in a thicker, richer coat. If your dog is not getting protiens and "good" fats in his diet, the coat will be dry, brittle and thin. In addition to feeding my dogs a top quality diet (I feed some Stella & Chewys Raw and ultra premium kibble and wet and I rotate protien sources), I also provide my dogs with a balanced mutli-supplment. For coat growth, I recommend a product called "Show Stopper." http://www.k9power.com/k9_show_stopper.php

When I first started showing, there were not many quality (cosmetic quality - I mean) products on the market. I tried the usual suspects that everyone seems to write about on dog boards:
Vellus
Chris Systems
Pet Silk
(some people also use commerical products made for horses (not a good idea since horses can sweat and dogs cannot. What would not irritate a horse's, or human's skin, could very well irritate a dog - plus the PH of the skin is different)

I had very little success with them. My dog's skin actually began to flake and I found out that many of these products contain sillicone. Sillicone makes the coat looks shiny but seals the hair shaft. So moisture can't get out OR in. (There's a product that petedge sells for resale in grooming supply and groomer's shops. It's very low quality stuff but pet owners are often awed at how shiny their dogs look when they come home from the groomer. Unfortunatly, this product is made with silicone). Over time, that makes the hair brittle and can build up on the skin.

I was fortunate to meet Arlene M. at a Yorkie Speciality in PA. She gave me some samples of her products and I was hooked. A few years later, I began selling her products on my website and as reputation of her products grew, my sales have grown too. Now, I have a hard time keeping stuff in stock! You can see those products and a video on how to use them on a Standard Poodle by going to the Pure Paws section of my website: 

http://www.mightymitedoggear.com/shampoo.html

you can read about how the products should be used on a poodle by clicking on "poodle" on this link:

http://www.mightymitedoggear.com/breedlistfinishing.html

The product I STRONGLY recommend for your dog given your interests of 1) hydrating the coat and 2) keeping it resitant to your wild doggie lifestyle - would be the Ultra Silk Conditioner:

http://www.mightymitedoggear.com/images/ultra_puresilk.jpg

http://www.mightymitedoggear.com/conditioner.html

Poodles should be bathed once a week and then fluff dried with a pin brush. So in your weeklyl bath, I'd bath and rinse then dab the ultra silk conditioner in my hands and then run it though your dogs hair going from root to tip (do not scrub as that can cause matts). Allow it to sit in the hair for five minutes and then rinse out.


Other products, I don't currently sell but found to be high quality and effective on dogs were:

Plush Puppy
SummerWinds

Plush Puppy is sold at every dog show I have ever been to. It's ubiquitous in the show ring. SummerWinds is harder to find. It's sold privately by an Afghan Kennel by the same name.

http://www.summerwinds.com/

There's also a product line from Australia that many Toy dog people love called Laser Lites that might be worth looking into. I met a woman at a show who breeds Eskies who got into it but I don't think she's selling the products anymore - I don't know the back story on that one.
http://www.laserliteseast.com/
http://www.laserlites.com.au/

Most commercial/pet quality shampoos will not be as effective AND while the initial price may seem cheaper, in reality you will spend more money because the show shampoos are very concentrated and designed to be diluted (remember show people may have to bath and groom their dogs EVERY day of a three or four day cluster whereas pet shampoo is designed for a person who might bath their dog once a month!)


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