Dirty dog at dog show

[gcv-border]

Yesterday, I visited my friend who has a half-brother to my dog. We let them play out in her back yard for a while - both had a largish ball which they pushed with their nose everywhere in the dirt and leaves, alternating jumping on the ball out of frustration that they couldn't bite it. Of course, they got pretty dirty.

 

Our plans included running over to the annual Mountain Cluster AKC dog show (1) to expose the dogs to the vendor area while doing a little training in a highly distracting environment and (2) to do a little shopping. (We did not even go into the area where the rings are. It is so sad to see the show dogs.) Since the dogs were filthy on their legs, chest and muzzle from playing with the balls, we turned the hose on those areas, crated them in the van and drove a mile to the dog show.

 

One vendor had a selection of shampoos, etc. and something in the corner. I went over to look at it, and asked the vendor what it was. It was a collection of different colored chalks for prepping the dogs for the show (apparently some breeds are prepped (groomed) by adding chalk to their coats?). Before I could stop myself, I said something to the effect of: "Oh, I don't need that. I don't groom my dog." -- And the vendor responded: "I could tell."

 

Bwaahh - ha - ha - ha.

 

I got the biggest kick out of that. I felt very proud of my 'ungroomed' dog.

 

Jovi

[Sue R]

That is funny!

 

The vet who was taking a look at Celt's itchiness problem last week asked if I bathed him. I said that I did not. She conspiratorially told me that she didn't bathe her dogs either...

[Liz P]

One of my dogs has not had a bath in 3 years. People are always telling me that she doesn't have a doggy odor. I pretty much only give a bath if something stinky needs to be washed out.

[Sue R]

I do admit to a "spot clean" if there's a particularly nasty glob of something that just won't rinse off without leaving obvious eau de stinki. Which reminds me, Dan, that something that's dabbed behind your ears has definite overtones of bovine...

[frisbeegirl]

I had to board Keeva for 2 days last month to attend my sons wedding.

 

There is a girl who takes care of my lab and horses. (Not ready for anyone being responsible for my pup just yet.)

 

So she went to the farm (alot like here.)

 

I stupidily said to the owner hey, give her a bath before I pick her up.

 

$30 later this is where she went as soon as I let her out of the jeep.

[SS Cressa]

Ooh you really showed those show people up.

 

What is so wrong with enjoying a clean trim dog? I love them smelling like coconuts or lavender.

[gcv-border]

What is so wrong with enjoying a clean trim dog? I love them smelling like coconuts or lavender.

 

I don't mind a clean, trim dog - but I guess my definition of a clean, trim dog (not smelly, not matted, coat doesn't feel grungy) is different than the show definition.

 

I have bathed my dog in nice-smelling dog shampoo (maybe once a year on average plus if he rolls in aromatic substances) - and I enjoy the smell too - for the one or two days before it dissipates.

 

Jovi

[geonni banner]

Trimming feet is fine, it helps to keep them from bring in quite as much of the great outdoors with them. But I'm with Jovi. My dog smells perfectly fine as she is. The main reason dogs hate baths is the smelly shampoo that people use. If dogs were meant to smell like flowers or fruit they would be born that way. My dog can dance like Carmen Miranda, but she smells like fresh grass and warm soil - when she smells at all.

 

I get remarks all the time about her coat. "She's so shiny and beautiful! What kind of shampoo do you you use? How often do you bathe her?" My answers are, "None, if I can help it!", and "Only if she rolls in something unspeakable."

[brady's mom]

Brady has a bath at least once a week swimming in the lake and the river, does that count?

[SamS]

Many show terriers get their coats chalked before showing. This quote is from a show day grooming website for terriers:

When finished, use the chalk brush to apply powdered chalk generously. It serves two purposes. First, by drying the hair, the legs will maintain their shape much longer. Also, obviously, it enhances the white and brightens the color.

Interestingly enough, the AKC does not allow "foreign substances" to be put in a dog's coat, but it seems to be very common as seen in this article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/pets/8800958/Kennel-Club-suspends-testing-dogs-for-banned-substances-amid-widespread-cheating.html

 

If the show ring was originally intended to select the "best" specimens of a breed to have offspring, then why are ear sets, coat colors, and other aesthetic things faked so much?

[Sue R]

If the show ring was originally intended to select the "best" specimens of a breed to have offspring, then why are ear sets, coat colors, and other aesthetic things faked so much?

Maybe because winning is the most important thing? Maybe because if everyone else is giving their dog an edge, in order to win, a person has to also give their dog an edge?

 

This reminds me of a website I read while researching ACL tears and TPLO (and alternative) surgery prior to Celt's surgery. It mentioned that for show dogs, the hardware can be removed after the leg has healed so that judges in the show ring will not feel that the dog has had a ligament tear and repair surgery.

 

Since ACL tears that are not the result of an obvious traumatic injury (caused by an "outside" trauma, like running into an object at knee height or putting a leg in a hole) are generally felt to be related to the tibial plateau angle and usually are wear-and-tear injuries (which, of course, will occur more readily and at a younger age with more steeply-sloping tibial plateaus), isn't that just another way of saying that your dog has an issue likely leading to unsoundness but we can fix this and the judge will never know there was a tear?

 

I know people with a purebred, registered very-large-breed dog that they have shown. The dog has had to have surgery for an issue related to soundness (can't remember if it was an ACL tear or something else). He has finished his AKC breed ring championship and the people who own him (who are ethical) will not use him for stud for this very reason. But they are approached over and over by people who want to use him for stud, even after they tell the people that he has had the surgery and what it was for and why they won't use him for breeding.

 

But, he's got his championship and for the people inquiring about using him on their bitches, that's all that matters. Tell me where their breeder ethics lie...

 

This sort of attitude is not confined to the showing of dogs - it is, IMO, a symptom of what's wrong with the show ring (or other competition) for many species and activities when people without ethics are involved - winning takes precedence over all other considerations.

[SamS]

If only everyone involved in breeding would be as ethical as the people you know. Many breeds of dogs would be a lot better off.

[Jo&Tex]

I make goats milk soap to sell at the local Farmer's Market. One of my best sellers is my Dog Shampoo Bar.

It gets my dogs white bits sparkling white. The magic ingredient is Fullers Earth.

 

I did some research when I was messing around to create a dog soap. The shepherds of olden times used to wash their fleeces in water to which Fuller's Earth was added. The FE lifts the fibers and removes embedded dirt and grease. It also acts as a whitening agent. I only use the FE in my dog soap. It changes the pH slightly which is also beneficial for doggy skin.

 

My white headed merly man, Loki, just gleams after he's had a bath. Now if I could only find a way to make him pond-proof.

[gcv-border]

I make goats milk soap to sell at the local Farmer's Market. One of my best sellers is my Dog Shampoo Bar.

It gets my dogs white bits sparkling white. The magic ingredient is Fullers Earth.

 

I did some research when I was messing around to create a dog soap. The shepherds of olden times used to wash their fleeces in water to which Fuller's Earth was added. The FE lifts the fibers and removes embedded dirt and grease. It also acts as a whitening agent. I only use the FE in my dog soap. It changes the pH slightly which is also beneficial for doggy skin.

 

My white headed merly man, Loki, just gleams after he's had a bath. Now if I could only find a way to make him pond-proof.

 

How interesting. I also buy locally-made goats milk soap, and, like you, the same woman makes a dog shampoo (but I do not know if it contains Fullers Earth since it is a liquid) that I have purchased because (1) I like the couple who sells the goats milk soap and want to support them and (2) the shampoo has a nice, light scent (not overly cloying) and (3) it contains 'natural'? ingredients. Unfortunately, because I do not bathe my dog very often, it has been a couple of years since I bought the shampoo.

 

Does the Fullers Earth make the dog fluffy after bathing? (as you say above, it "lifts the fibers")

 

Thanks,

Jovi

[beachdogz]

Well while we are on the subject.....

 

Both of my dogs (rough coats) can go out and play, get dirty, and by morning...voila!...they are clean as a whistle. Their white is very white and very clean (this does NOT include when they roll in deer poop, which I have to remove and de-stinkify .)

 

So...do Border Collies naturally, miraculously become clean. I mean, really, does their coat in some way self-clean itself???

[JohnLloydJones]

So...do Border Collies naturally, miraculously become clean. I mean, really, does their coat in some way self-clean itself???

Yes, a healthy coat is really self-cleaning. A foster of mine, who came from atrocious conditions smelled just gross after swimming in the lake, but after he had blown his sun damaged coat and grown a splendid new one, he just shook off the lake water and was fresh and clean in less than an hour.

[Maralynn]

 

What is so wrong with enjoying a clean trim dog? I love them smelling like coconuts or lavender.

 

I try to stay away from scents on a dog - their nose is so sensitive that I imagine that some scents could be overwhelming to them.

[airbear]

I make goats milk soap to sell at the local Farmer's Market. One of my best sellers is my Dog Shampoo Bar.

It gets my dogs white bits sparkling white. The magic ingredient is Fullers Earth.

Could you bring a bar to the Kingston trials? I'd love to try it on Lou, as I take enormous pride in making his white parts the whitest they can be. I guess I'm one of those weird people who likes a clean dog.

[G. Festerling]

I am not certain that my old gal has ever had a bath!!!

But I love a clean dog. And I love, love, love the goat milk soaps. For me and the odd rescue or spot clean job.

[MommaLove]

Both of my dogs (rough coats) can go out and play, get dirty, and by morning...voila!...they are clean as a whistle.

 

Juno, too! I love it - she goes to sleep filthy, and wakes up looking fresh and clean.

 

Jo&Tex - I'd also love to get some soap from you at the Kingston trials!

[BillieNZ]

Elsie gets bathed pretty regularly She is always covered in poop... cat poop, duck poop, chicken poop, regular bird poop... We use a gentle shampoo that doesn't have a smell, just enough to get that greasy green poop out of her fur! Luckily mud just falls off once it's dry. I think she smells lovely, and she is so soft and glossy. My partner (and one of our room mates) who has never had dogs before was worried about our house smelling like dog, but they will let her climb all over them and they don't think she smells at all. Our house probably does smell like dog to people that don't own dogs, but who gives a stuff?

 

People tell me all the time that their breed doesn't smell, or their dog doesn't smell like dog... It's usually not true, all animals (and people for that matter) smell, you are just accustomed to it! Working in a very large boarding kennels for years I was always being told "oh my dog doesn't smell because it's such and such breed, or eats such and such food"... Sorry, they all do smell like dog, which is luckily a smell I like (as long as it's not too strong or wet!)

[mbc1963]

Buddy only gets a bath if he gets sprayed by a skunk, rolls in something particularly foul (I just wash his chest/neck usually), or shortly after I've applied the tick meds. That oily residue DRIVES HIM CRAZY, and he itches like mad for a week. So, after 2 or 3 days, I use oatmeal shampoo to give him a break.

 

Regardless of how many months it's been since I've bathed him, Buddy always draws compliments on his coat and tail, and when people pat him, they always comment on how soft he is. (Seriously - it's like rabbit fur.) And he smells like sunshine and fresh air!

 

Mary

[rufftie]

Well while we are on the subject.....

 

Both of my dogs (rough coats) can go out and play, get dirty, and by morning...voila!...they are clean as a whistle. Their white is very white and very clean (this does NOT include when they roll in deer poop, which I have to remove and de-stinkify .)

 

So...do Border Collies naturally, miraculously become clean. I mean, really, does their coat in some way self-clean itself???

 

 

yes, my dogs also come in dirty at night and are miraculously clean in the morning. this same miracle though causes my couch and carpet to be remarkably dirty. ;-)

[mum24dog]

So...do Border Collies naturally, miraculously become clean. I mean, really, does their coat in some way self-clean itself???

 

Nothing special about BCs in that way. All my random collection of dogs self clean - even if they roll in stinky stuff (we don't hasve skunks though). I do admit to spot washing if they do though as it takes longer for the smell to go than for normal muck to dry and drop off.

 

I used to bath them once or twice a year but stopped years ago and our BC has never had a bath in the 6 years we've had him and his coat is sparkly.

 

I agree with this from Maralynn -

 

I try to stay away from scents on a dog - their nose is so sensitive that I imagine that some scents could be overwhelming to them.

 

If I want to smell something nice I'll spray it on myself, not my dogs.

[terrecar]

If the show ring was originally intended to select the "best" specimens of a breed to have offspring, then why are ear sets, coat colors, and other aesthetic things faked so much?

 

Short answer: money and prestige.

 

Professional handlers want to win. Wins get them more clients, and this is their livelihood. In my experience it was professional handlers who lead the way with fixing.

 

Then again, I know breeders who did it as well. You've got a dog that is 'breed worthy' in every way except, except...

 

One well known breeder from whom I got a dog was penalized for fixing. Another small time breeder with whom I traveled to a couple of shows used Clairol on her dogs to deepen their coat color.

 

Ears are a big thing. I once knew a handler who could allegedly fix Fox Terrier ears by punching tiny holes through the cartilage along the area where there should be--according to the paper standard--a marked fold.

 

Some of the most popular dogs--owned by some of the most prominent and wealthy exhibitors--are rumored to have been fixed, and judges continue to put them up.

 

I once transported a judge from the airport as a courtesy to the kennel club, and we got to talking about Poodles. She told me how she would take her pen and move the topknot to find--get this--hair extensions on a Poodle. I didn't ask her if she put up any of those dogs.

 

But hey, none of those dogs were dirty!