Bath

[Inna Mashkovich]

Is it OK to give a bath twice a month? She hates it. Once (first time) I got in a bath with her and hold her and reassured her that she would be fine.  She still is afraid of hairdryer. So we just towel her and usually I hold her on my lap and hugging her until she is dry and not upset anymore.

Pam recommend me to get puppy use to hair dryer by just turning it on, and play with it, so she’ll use to it. We didn’t wash her for a while because of her ear infections. May be this weekend will go for it again.

[Katie Rogers]

That's true, I definitely spent more on shampoo and conditioner and coat care for my dogs than I ever spent on things for myself. I used a really great daily coat spray on the horses. Lots of Vitamin E and Lanolin in it that kept their coats very well moisturized. Never a dry coat or flaky skin problem to be found!! And then for shows when they needed to be really glossy and shiny I would just mix it heavier and add some baby oil and another concentrate called Silk Protein. I kept it a secret though what I mixed together and everybody always tried to figure out what I was using to make them so extra shiny ;) I loved figuring out what concoctions worked best for each individual horses coat and making them look their very best. I was a very dedicated groom ;)

[Pam Gale]

Hi Katie,

You can definately try the horse stuff! Many people use horse products on dogs! It is funny - you will learn what you like the best. I have a whole routine that I am more than willing to share if anyone is interested. But...Katie - if you are good and horse "coat" you will be fantastic at dog coat! The biggest key that I have found is consistency. Grooming little bits often makes the coat look so much better than a lot of grooming "the night before the show". You can always tell a coat that is worked all of the time versus one that is worked the night before the show. JMHO

Pam

[Katie Rogers]

YAY!! I will have to get all my old secrets out and start playing with what works best for her. Yes, that was a huge deal with the horses too. A good curry 5-6 times a week and daily conditioning. 5 minutes a day makes a world of difference. I'm working on getting GiGi to stand still for grooming until I get a grooming table. She usually end up laying on top of me before we are done. ;) I would love to hear your routine both for daily maintenance as well as before going in the ring. I'm stupid excited about getting a great coat on her and I hope her hair cooperates. I have heard the girls are harder to keep a good coat on than the boys are so we'll see how it goes with her. I have got to get some clippers, she has grown out everywhere where you had her groomed up so nicely and it's making me bonkers!! I was the kind of groom that kept my horses show clipped once a week because I couldn't stand to have fuzzy faces. I'm loving watching her hair start to come in and can't wait until there's really some there for me to work with!! Maybe I need to take up dog grooming, hmmmmmmm...........

[Pam Gale]

Hi,

I know EXACTLY how you feel. My family thinks that I am neurotic with my grooming (and they are probably right!). These puppies are going to carry a ton of coat - which means a ton of puppy fuzz also. I always love seeing the fuzzy cheeks and top of the head because that means they will be "coat machines". Actually, the boys are a little bit harder with coat because you have to do "pee feather" baths everyday or every other day on the hair on their bellies. Otherwise, when they pee it gets on the coat and then the coat breaks off. I don't start pee feathers until they are about 9-10 months old but it can be a real pain. The tough part about girls is that they can "blow coat" after they go in season. They usually will get a nice coat - then have their first season and loose a ton of it. They don't usually blow as bad on the following seasons - usually just the first one. However, I have to say, Journey rarely blew coat. Even after the puppies she didn't blow it bad.

Here is my routine (our little secret!). I use Infusion coat conditioner and spray their coat with it every day to every other day. I just keep it in a spray bottle and once a day I quickly spray their coat. They get bathed about once every 10-14 days or so unless they are being shown - then it is weekly. I also use a product called cholesterol - looks like yellow frosting. I slather it in their coat and leave it sit for 12-24 hours, then bathe. The night before a show I use a different shampoo and then do a hot oil treatment. I buy most of the stuff at Sally's beauty supply. I put the hot oil in a spray bottle and leave it in hot water in the sink while I am shampooing the dog. Then, instead of conditioner, I spray the hot oil on the coat and massage it in. Then rinse thoroughly - it puts such an amazing shine on the coat. If the dog has a wavy coat I will "towel" the dog for the night. I made towels out of swimming suit material - I tightly pin the towel over the dogs neck, back, and tail. I leave it on until the show. It really helps the topcoat lay flat.

The other piece of irish coats is the stripping. I strip the coat about once a week (on a dog that is being shown) so that the top coat is nice and short. I have started stripping Rio's coat but only for about 5 minutes a week - just enough to take out the dead puppy coat. In another few months they will turn in to "fuzz machines" as their puppy coat comes in. These puppies should carry nice straight dark coat - time will tell.

Ok - I have rambled enough. Please let me know if any of this didn't make any sense!!

Pam

[Katie Rogers]

That doesn't sound all that different from what I did with the horses, all the way down to cholesterol and hot oil treatments ;) I hope she gets a lot of coat. That was one of the things that caught my eye about Journey in the beginning among her other beautiful attributes ;)

[Inna Mashkovich]

Thank you, Pam for sharing. It's lots to take in.

[Katie Rogers]

Pam - One more question, as you know I'm full of them, can you explain the stripping? How much do you take off and from where? What kind of tool do you use to do it?

[Pam Gale]

I use 2 stripping tools. The most important one is called a Mars Coat King and you want the "fine" one. I use it all over but mostly on the back, heat, and belly. On puppies you use it whereever you see puppy fuzz. It can strip out a lot of the dead coat pretty quickly. Then I use a stripping knife (again, a fine one) to spot strip. The most common places that need stripped are the top of the head, the front of the legs, and around the shoulders and forechest. The point is to remove extra hair so that you can see the dogs structure better. It is really best if someone can show you how to strip - once you see it done it is pretty easy. But, without seeing it, it is hard to visualize.

Pam

[Carmel Stringfellow]

Hi Pam,
greetings from Australia. I have used the Mars Coat King on one of my dogs and it stripped out the good coat as well. It took ages to grow back. I also have a dog with a wavy coat and I have tried putting a coat on him before the show but as soon as I take it off the wave bounces back. I have started bathing him and blow drying about twice a week to see if that will flatten his coat. He has a lot of short flyaway hairs over his shoulders and loin. I am a bit nervous of cutting them, should I try and strip them with a stripping knife? Any advice would be very welcome.
Carmel

[Pam Gale]

Here is what I do with a wavy coat - I do strip with the mars coat king - I LOVE this tool. Then I use a stripping knife about once a week and strip the top coat. I then use a pumice stone which will help to remove a lot of the pattern/wave. The blowdrying certainly helps but without the stripping it will stay wavy. You can also put in a straightening gel/lotion that people use - the heat from the dryer activates it and it relaxes the hair. The night before a show, after you bath and dry him, put a towel over the top coat and pin it tightly to him. Take it off about 1 hour before you go into the show. Do NOT wet the top coat after you remove the towel. Hope this helps. Let me know if I can help in any other way and I would love to hear how this works for you. Pam

[Carmel Stringfellow]

Thanks Pam, I will use the Mars Coat King on his coat this weekend when I have got a few hours to devote to him. I will take photos of before and after if you like and send them to you. His coat is not very thick but I clipped him off completely just over a year ago so I am pleased with the way it has grown back.
Thanks again, Carmel