# Show Day Schedule



## MyDogElwyn (Nov 27, 2010)

So, I want to peer into the lives of handlers ... I am a newbie to showing poodles, and I am curious - what does your show day look like? When does bathing happen, do you bathe each day? (I'm wondering how y'all handle all that hairspray!?)

Whats the agenda? When I am picturing it, I am at a loss - how does it all work!?

Edit: Maybe I should be more specific - I'm curious about how long it takes you to get ready...I have seen some on here mention they bathe the dog a day or so before the show - so how do you get ready in the morning? Spray bottles and dry from there? I am even more curious about break down - what do you do with all that hairspray in the coat at the end of the day?! Especially for a cluster?!

Oh, and if I can put one more question in here - I was browsing through the threads and wigging? WHAT on earth is wigging?! Oh boy what did I get myself into! lol!


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## vtomblin (Jul 18, 2010)

If a show starts friday I shave wednesday and bath thursday. I've started scissoring the week before with intense scissoring thursday. I set up my area at the show thurs eve. I arrive 3 hours before we are on the first day. Before leaving home or the hotel each day I mist and blow out the coats. I prefer doing this before we leave vs at the show. Less equipment to haul and save $100 for hook up at the show. It takes a long time the first day to get everything right. By sunday they look awsome because they are full of spray and had all the scissoring perfected over 3 days. After the show I go home and use the dryer on the hair spray with some grooming spray. The heat and spray help to break down the hair spray. Be very gentle or you'll snap off all the hair. The last day I spray her with motions oil after breaking down the hair spray to keep it softer until I bath either sunday night or Monday morning. i've also heard people putting Talcum powder on the last day til bathing. 

Wiggies are swatches of hair from dogs who were shaved down. They are banded into the top knot to add volume. They are illegal but quite common. Some judges excuse people for using them and really search the poodle for them. Some say that it is okay if they are a special. I think they should not be used ever and dogs should be shown naturally. I would love getting rid of hair spray too! Horrible stuff.

Hope that helps you calculate time needed. Also calculate 22 dogs an hour to find out when you are on.


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

I do not show Quincy, but hand him off to Chrystal Murray at the shows. I clip Monday, bath Tuesday, and take him to her for scissoring on Wednesday. Then we bath again Friday if his first show is Saturday. If Spoos are shown around 10am, we have him to show around 7:30 so she can do last minute tidying up with the scissors, banding and spray up. We do this every day of the show. We bathe him again Monday to get the hairspray out of his coat.

I do not envy Chrystal one iota. The weekend of the PCC show there was an all breed show which began on Thursday. She had four or five Standards, a few minis and several Terriers for the all breed shows, then Saturday and Sunday had the all breed shows in the morning and the Poodles all had to be re-done in the afternoon for the specialties. Saturday the all breed (outdoor) show was rained out, but she had to have the Poodles all ready anyway just in case, then begin all over again with the Poodles for the afternoon. The humidity and moisture in the air re-activates the hair spray making their heads and necks like hardened molten lava. By the end of the weekend, Quincy's neck looked silver from all the residue.

I am with VTomblin...let's follow Europe's lead and get rid of the spray, and wiggies and switches should NEVER be okay!!


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## MyDogElwyn (Nov 27, 2010)

Wow, I appreciate these responses very much, this is stuff I have never known! I was never sure how you all dealt with that hair spray - I know I hate the stuff for MY hair lol, rarely use it.

I gotta say though, it must take MUCH practice - dealing with hairspray-y coats. I would love to hear more people's typical schedules - heres a random question - do you spray pompoms too? 

Thanks for letting me ask really dumb questions - its really nice to be able to spread my dumb questions out over multiple people so my mentors dont think I'm too crazy lol!


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

MyDogElwyn said:


> Wow, I appreciate these responses very much, this is stuff I have never known! I was never sure how you all dealt with that hair spray - I know I hate the stuff for MY hair lol, rarely use it.
> 
> I gotta say though, it must take MUCH practice - dealing with hairspray-y coats. I would love to hear more people's typical schedules - heres a random question - do you spray pompoms too?
> 
> Thanks for letting me ask really dumb questions - its really nice to be able to spread my dumb questions out over multiple people so my mentors dont think I'm too crazy lol!


Not dumb at all! Not spray anywhere but the topknot and neck area. But on a Standard, I'd be surprised if they do not use 1/4 to 1/3 of a can of spray per show, even if there are two shows in one day!


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## Fond of Poodles (Feb 1, 2011)

My schedule is similar. I shave and bath on Thursday (with a bit of pre bath trimming earlier in the week, but keep in mind show dogs are mostly clean all the time, no scissoring is done on dirty or curly coats). I leave early afternoon Thursday, set up camp, and grooming station. Try to get a good night's sleep, though that doesn't usually happen as I'm pretty nervous, LOL. I start grooming 3 hours before the dog's scheduled to go into the ring. Grooming consists of a complete line brushing with conditioning mist, coat is never brushed dry. Removal of every single tangle or mat (if there are any). If needed mist and blow dry bracelets and in the case of a messy male, the underbelly. I have no rinse shampoo for blacks and use both that and baby powder on creams or whites. Then stand the dog up and beginning final scissoring (which will be done every day of the show as you'll always find stray hairs every time you comb out the dog, LOL). Finally have the dog lie in the "sphinx" position and begin the hairspray comb up. This takes me about 45 minutes (just the hair spray), as I've only been showing for 3 years. I had a wonderful teacher and she can spray up a Specials dog in about 15 minutes, LOL. The again a final comb out of bracelets, tail, a quick scissor of the spray up area to ensure a nice neat outline. All this for 3 minutes in the ring, LOL. If you win Best of Breed and have to go back in the ring, I usually do a ring side quick touch up to the neck and head if needed, another comb out of bracelets and tail. Then holding dog gently in place until it's time to go back in the ring.

Daily after the show I spray the hair spray area with Crown Royal conditioner and let it dry. Once dry I use cool air and a long toothed brush to brush out most of the hair spray. A little residue remains in the coat, mostly at the base, but it makes it easier to spray up the following days. Some handlers with Specials will lay the dog on it's side and completely wash out the hair spray, and blow dry the hair bone straight again in preparation for the next day's show. They would also wrap the top knot and back hair to protect it.

The day after the last show is bath time, and they wrap the coat and wait for it all to begin again. Show poodles are brushed daily or every 2nd day, gently with a soft, long toothed brush and comb, with conditioning spray, then re-wrapped. It has to be a labour of love though or you'd quickly tire of the work. They are bathed every 10 days or so.

There is also the insane period of coat change that occurs in poodles with long coats (it happens in short coat too but the matting doesn't occur because of the shortness of coat) where they may need brushing twice a day for up to a month. They mat right in front of your eyes and if you're not diligent, it can mess up a wonderful coat very, very quickly!

I personally enjoy it all, no other dog looks like a standard in the ring, they epitomize showiness IMO, LOL (not biased at all!). Though I agree, no hairspray, no docked tails, and the option to have different clips would be nice.


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## MyDogElwyn (Nov 27, 2010)

Thanks for the replies - it helps so much to visualize what goes on!


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