[CurlyDog]

I've heard that you should always brush out your dog before you bathe.

I've heard you should never brush a dirty dog or you will break the hair.

That seem so pose a dilemma! Mine gets dirty almost every day in the yard or dog park. I'm thinking I should still brush him before the bath? What's best?

 

[Purple Poodle]

For a pet like yours I would say a good once over with a pin or slicker brush to remove any mats before the bath would be best.

 

[Jako]

I know! It's seems like they get dirty within seconds.

As far as I can tell, the solution would be: (1) brush daily, so when he gets dirty it won't hurt to go straight in the bath; (2) bathe often.

Not that I live up to this myself.

 

[SECRETO]

I've heard to spray a leave on condioner before brushing everytime to elimate breakage. I haven't started that yet myself but Im going to give it a try.

Sometimes I bathe before brushing. I do use a condition after I shampoo and haven't had any issues yet. I think its better to brush before but I do it both ways.

 

[Blue Fox]

I have been using the dryer to blow out any dust before I start brushing as I understand you shouldn't brush a dirty dry coat. When the coat is damp it has more elasticity so is less likely to break, and if your brushing dirty fur it's more likely to catch and you'll cause breakage.

So I have some watered down conditioner I use after I blow out the coat and just spray lightly each section as I brush out - this is all before the bath - no wonder it takes me forever LOL. I have read that unless you have a major matted mess of a coat it is OK to bath then brush, as long as your very thorough when you do brush to get any mats out otherwise they just dry matted and get even worse.

 

[SECRETO]

I just heard the same thing. If you need to bathe first then make sure you use a conditioner after you shampoo. Im going to start misting the coat prior to brushing as well. I keep forgetting to get a good spray bottle though.

 

[CurlyDog]

Yeah, I was wondering about the conditioner mixed in the spray bottle. I wonder if you need a certain kind of sprayer to keep it from getting clogged up?

 

[highhorse]

If your dog is around the 12 month mark and has a reasonably long coat, I would brush every time before bathing. If you bathe when there is trapped puppy coat in the hair, mats will get worse when they are wet and almost impossible to get out. At the moment, I'm trying a mink oil conditioner that is supposed th work wonders on the coat. We'll see.

 

[Blue Fox]

I am on a grooming forum also and some of the professionals say if you put in a really good leave in conditioner and then force dry the dog while they are wet and still in the bath it helps to push the mats to the outer ends of the coat making them easier to brush out. I must say I have never tried this but they swear by it. I reckon the easiest way is to brush daily during coat change so the mats don't become a major issue - having said that my pup is not yet 4 months old so no dreaded coat change here yet!

 

[Blue Fox]

Yeah, I was wondering about the conditioner mixed in the spray bottle. I wonder if you need a certain kind of sprayer to keep it from getting clogged up?

I just have a normal squirty bottle I got from the supermarket and have been using it for about 6 weeks without it getting blocked up. The conditioner I use is a Plush Puppy one and you water it down something like 10 parts water to 1 part conditioner so it is quite watery.

I have some mink oil conditioner too which I plan to use when coat change happens. So would be interested to hear how it goes highhorse.

 

[highhorse]

Started with the mink oil spray and must admit they smell very nice. It has changed the texture of their coats though and I'm not sure that I like this. They are less curly. The coats do have a beautiful shine though.

 

[SECRETO]

Started with the mink oil spray and must admit they smell very nice. It has changed the texture of their coats though and I'm not sure that I like this. They are less curly. The coats do have a beautiful shine though.

See now Im still wondering how straight is a actual show coat at an adult. One of my dogs will not blowout straight on the back. The head legs and chest will though. Maybe what I consider straight and Poodle straight are to different things?? I need to see some in person.

 

[Blue Fox]

I saw an absolutely gorgeous pic of one of the Ozzie poodles on another forum which shows her boy in a photo shot and his coat is absolutely beautiful. Will see if I can find a link for you. Not like seeing in person but it is a lovely photo all the same.

 

[Blue Fox]

http://www.capanashstandardpoodles.com/showingoff.htm

This is the link. This boy is the reason I decided on a standard - how absolutely gorgeous!

 

[CurlyDog]

Wow, that's stunning!!! I'm curious, and this may sound dumb, but I've never seen the show coat anywhere other than a show. Are people able to keep their dogs looking like that all the time, or do they go around with their hair tied up in between shows?

I'm just wondering how long I can let Max's coat get and still keep up with it myself. It's seems like the biggest problem is keeping them dry. Once he gets wet, I can't brush him enough to keep him from looking raggedy.

 

[SECRETO]

http://www.capanashstandardpoodles.com/showingoff.htm

This is the link. This boy is the reason I decided on a standard - how absolutely gorgeous!

I really like the bone those dogs. A few are a little lippy but I love the bone and there male Vegas caught my eye. He's a beautiful male. All have nice coats though (besides the pink in it..lol)

 

[SECRETO]

Wow, that's stunning!!! I'm curious, and this may sound dumb, but I've never seen the show coat anywhere other than a show. Are people able to keep their dogs looking like that all the time, or do they go around with their hair tied up in between shows?

I'm just wondering how long I can let Max's coat get and still keep up with it myself. It's seems like the biggest problem is keeping them dry. Once he gets wet, I can't brush him enough to keep him from looking raggedy.

Im keeping Mikey in a show coat but he doesn't always look fluffed up. I figure as long as he is clean and matt free thats the main concern. Sometimes I just let him air dry after his bath. You can always fluff dry it next time.

 

[CurlyDog]

Re: "a bit lippy"

Wow, I never would have noticed that but now that you mention it I can see the difference.

Re: Show Coats

Jenn: When you let Mikey air dry, do you find that he always looks messy? I used to love the curly look on Max but found that as his coat grew out, I couldn't keep him looking decent. He always seems on the verge of mats no matter how much I brush. Is this the dreaded coat change I've been hearing about? He's 8 months old.

 

[SECRETO]

Re: "a bit lippy"

Wow, I never would have noticed that but now that you mention it I can see the difference.

Re: Show Coats

Jenn: When you let Mikey air dry, do you find that he always looks messy? I used to love the curly look on Max but found that as his coat grew out, I couldn't keep him looking decent. He always seems on the verge of mats no matter how much I brush. Is this the dreaded coat change I've been hearing about? He's 8 months old.

Possibly. Eli started his coat change around 10 months but I never had any issues with his. Mikey is now 10 months and his coat needs more attention. I really haven't had a hard time with coat change yet but that could change.

Ya, I guess you could call the air dry look messy. lol If Im going somewhere with them I'll brush it out and its fluffy for awhile. I tend to start stressing out when the dogs are dirty. So for me, as long as they are clean I don't mind. Im actually going to do that today....bath and air dry.

About the lippy muzzle....see Im really bad about picking apart dogs. Thats what showing dogs does to you. Thats was the first thing I noticed..lippy muzzle and it was toed out. Love the bone though. lol

 

[CurlyDog]

Part of the problem is that I can't get him blow dried before he air dries. He still is afraid of the dryer and squirms and fights and trembles the whole time. He'll sleep while I trim his nails or shave his feet, but the drying is a huge challenge right now. I try to give him treats whenever he's still.