My dog got his AKC Rally Novice title :)

[Felicia]

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No problem! I loved reading what you guys wrote! It's so nice to see people who work there dogs, and also have them in the show ring.

Ninjapoodles - The dogs in the pictures are beautiful! I bet is was a sight to see a poodle groomed for the show ring in the agility ring!

Redfeathers- the dog in your avatar is beautiful! I think that the setter breeds are some of the most beautiful breeds out there. They look like natural beauty's

I know it probably takes Ninjapoodles hours upon hours of prepping before the show ring. How long does it take you Redfeathers? My bouvier takes roughly about an hour & 30 min.

 

[ninjapoodles]

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Hee--I can't claim the tack box (but isn't it nice?). It, and the stud dog, belong to some nice folks in MA.

It takes hours to get a poodle ready. It's so ridiculous. And most people keep the dogs' coats in oil when they're not showing, so there a whole bathing process that is highly involved. The minis take MUCH less time, which is really nice! I don't have the skill to totally do one up for the ring, so we use professionals most of the time (another reason we haven't had anything shown lately--$$$).

I'm pretty good at maintaining show coat, and at the show I can fluff 'em up, put up the topknot, and even spray it up, but I can't do the final scissoring that makes the silhouette so sharp.

I don't blame your dog, really--can you imagine how the scent of all that hairspray must assault their poor little doggy nostrils? Not to mention how really odd they must look to other dogs! What cracks me up at shows is how the poodles instantly recognize, and adore, each other. It's hilarious!

 

[Redfeathers]

With our dogs, we do most of the grooming the week before the show. The tops of their ears and necks are shaved and we take it down close to the skin, so after a week, there is a little growth and it looks more blended and natural, we also do alot of clipping with shears and thinning shears on their feet, otherwise Irish Setters have "slippers", so we trim that all up nice and tight...there are other things we do as well. On show day they get a full bath of course and some light touch ups. Most of the work is blowing out the coat and adding a few magic potions here and there to make them shiny and glossy...nothing major, but all show people have their "tricks" for making the coat look it's best....so to answer your question, I think on show day we spend about 45 minutes on a dog, and the week before about an hour or two.

I have posted this before, but here is Liam with his breeder. She co owns him so she could show him in the Bred by class. Liam finished his championship last year.

 

[ninjapoodles]

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But how much time do you spend on maintenance of the coat, outside of the show ring? I'm imagining that it's not a cake-walk to keep it in good condition, especially keeping the dark colors from getting sun-bleached, etc. And those shaggy mouths! I've always wondered how people with shaggy muzzled-breeds keep them clean on show day.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Holy frijoles, Liam is gorgeous!

 

[Redfeathers]

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Thank you!! I love him dearly, he is so smart and sweet and always a gentleman, he makes sure I walk before him before we go down the stairs or out a door...he just couldn't be a better boy.

Although today, he looks nothing like this picture...he's a mess and needs a bath and some time with a brush. He was groomed last weekend because this coming Sunday we are doing a walk in downtown Portland for Doernbechers Childrens hospital during our Shamrock run. Each year our club takes a few good dogs to this event and we walk with a big "Pot of Gold" on a radio flyer wagon and we collect money. Liam loves to go, though this year it's supposed to be pouring down rain...so he will be in his coat and hat. lol The local T.V stations always love to follow around the Irish Setters, which is kind of embarrassing to me...I don't like being on the news...bleh...but it's a wonderful event and it feels good to be a part of it.

 

[Felicia]

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But how much time do you spend on maintenance of the coat, outside of the show ring? I'm imagining that it's not a cake-walk to keep it in good condition, especially keeping the dark colors from getting sun-bleached, etc. And those shaggy mouths! I've always wondered how people with shaggy muzzled-breeds keep them clean on show day.

True. I probably spend over 24 hours before the show. And then when I get to the show, my mentors tell me "fix this foot, fix his chest - you made him look like he has no chest and he does have one, fix the poofiness on his side - it makes him look fat, fix his waist..." And that takes another hour or so. I appreciate them telling me. Once you look at a dog show long, everything seems to mush - haha.

I love his beard, its a great handle, hehe. Like if another dog trys to grab his face, I just quickly grab his beard and turn his head (all Jack Russels go after his beard...he has probably had over 10 try it at random dog shows...). Or if his collar breaks, I can just grab it so that he can't go anywhere. He doesn't even care. Its easy to keep it clean at the show, the harder thing is when they drink - their beard gets soaked. So once you dry it, they only get to drink of squirt bottles (I squirt it in his cheek).


Redfeathers- What a beauty he is! The only setter I have been able to spend a lot of time with was Lighting, a 14 year old English setter. What a joy he was

. I had to sleep on the couch for a weekend while staying at someones house (for a dog show) and he slept right next to me. I was rather squished, but I couldn't even think of kicking him off the couch. He was just too cute, and at the time, he was even older then me. If anyone should sleep on the floor, it should be the younger one! So we shared, and he stayed with me the whole night....well actually I went to bed around 12pm and had to get up at 4am. But I just got up in the morning and he stayed sleepin

. I will never forget that weekend, mostly because of him and also I showed a Russian Terrier puppy who was 6 months old and his head was at my shoulder (I was about 5'1 at the time)!