This tireless , little
hunter is a very work oriented breed. One can be forgiven for
thinking that function is enough to carry him through in a show
ring. He is often seen as a no nonsense breed and the brevity
of the coat paragraph of the standard can be deceptive.
The show ring surely is
more than just presentation of a dog that can do his job. It has
been suggested that the show ring is the forum partly for the
evaluation of the parts of the dog and most importantly for the
whole of the dog - the type - the visual picture that fills your
eye of the dog as expected from the reading and hands on experience
of the breed.
So, it is expected that
one attempts to fill the eye with all the glory and majesty of
the breed when presenting at show time. Your breed may be small
and he may be a short coated fellow, but he is a terrific little
dog and ought to have all the assets of his breed highlighted
and showcased in that brief moment of spotlight time when the
judge turns his head to focus on him.
There isn’t any mention
of clipping, trimming or otherwise - some people do and some people
don’t.
If you do or wish to do,
then it is still minimal - just to sharpen the outline rather
than change it. After all, there isn’t enough hair to change
it.
A light neatening of the
tuckup with the thinning shears - same with the ridge of hair
on the back of the stifle. Just a light prune. The tail may need
some neatening too. A cigar shaped, well covered tail is the visual
appearance to strive for and you may need to snip the strays and
round off the tip.
The coat ought to have
some weatherproof attributes and not be soft. He is after all
a working hound. You need to be selective in what to use and what
not to use so as not to artificially soften the coat yet give
lots of moisture to maintain health and vigour.
I recommend you select
a shampoo that does not alter texture but gives good cleansing
and tone to the white areas. Use Plush Puppy Whitening Shampoo which does
not contain bleaching agents but has good tonal qualities for
that pearly white finish. Dilute 5:1 ie 5 parts water to 1 part
shampoo. If you need extra heavy duty cleansing on the feet then
use Plush Puppy Deep Cleansing
Shampoo at 3:1.
Should the coat be dry
and dull and shine of paramount importance, then use the Plush Puppy All Purpose
Shampoo with Henna at 5:1. This is a wonderful product
for giving rich depth to the darker colours and great shine to
the lighter colours and whites. You make the decision on which
to use based on whether toning for pearly whites is of greater
importance at the time than shine.
I do not like using conditioner
on this breed. It tends to make the coat soft and fluffy. You
do need moisture in the coat and yet cannot use anything conditioning.
So, the alternative approach is to use Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil. This is the
best stuff for that healthy coat bloom. Wonderful also for dry
scratchy skin. Use at the rate of 1 tbspn to 1 gal/4lt water.
Mix either in a hydrobath tank or in a bucket. Pour over the coat
or work well in with a sponge till saturated thoroughly. LEAVE
IN! DO NOT RINSE OUT. Now you have your well hydrated and oiled
coat without the greasiness one associates with coat oils.
Now blow dry. I know -
you think this is a wash and wear dog. Well, the reasons for blow
drying are that it gets ALL the dead hair out. The coat always
is regenerating and you don’t seem to get those holes or
patchiness with the coat when shedding. If the coat is a little
sparse due to shedding, after oiling try Plush Puppy Volumising Cream 1 tbspn to
1 cup water and work that all into the coat and then blow dry.
This will coat each hair and give the illusion of more hair. It
does not have any hold factor so won’t stick the coat up
in the air - just helps fill in the gaps.
Of course protection during
the week does not go astray either. Plush Puppy Sunshade used across the topline
and head every couple of days helps to keep the depth of colour
to the coat and keep the bleaching aspects of the sun at bay.
No pun intended! This has a dual action dispensing nozzle - will
spray or dispense as a lotion depending on how far you depress
the nozzle. Clever little gadget.
On show day should you
need any extra whitening to any area, apply Plush Puppy Coverup Cream with a barely
damp sponge. I use kitchen sponges as they are readily available
and cheap. I just chop them up into workable pieces about 4”
x 4” - not too damp as it will then take forever to dry.
Damp days delay the drying too so apply a little loose chalk on
top and let it dry - usually a few minutes and then brush to remove
excess chalk. If it takes too long to dry, you have applied too
thickly or the sponge is too wet. I like to layer this product
when applying. A light application and allow it to dry and then
another on top etc. It will last all day and will wash off with
water and shampoo.
I also keep Plush Puppy Wonderwash handy with this
breed - they are busy little people and prone to oops moments,
usually just prior to ring time. This self rinse shampoo foams
and doesn’t stay there looking at you hoping your elbow grease
will make it work. This really does the trick. Spray, foam up
with fingers and then towel dry off. Leaves whites really white.
Okay so it’s now your
turn for the ring and your supermodel is ready to strut his stuff.
A light spray over with Plush
Puppy Shine & Comb which is a water soluble shine
- just bliss.- non greasy and a good low level shine that appears
natural but very effective. Run your hand over the topline to
even out the application.
Last but not least is the
fragrance. I like a dog to smell good. I like all my men to smell
good! Well, I do mean the girls too. Plush
Puppy Odour Muncher does more than just smell good. It
is a deodoriser as well as a fragrance, eating up the nasty odour
and leaving a good fresh smell that won’t asphyxiate the
dog or the judge.
Want to stretch it and
go the whole hog? In for a penny and in for a pound? I just love
a sprinkle of Plush Puppy
Pixie Dust. Used judiciously this stuff is wonderful.
Apply a light dusting to your brush - usually an oval cushion
½ bristle ½ plastic Plush Puppy Porcupine Brush for this dog
- and touch lightly along the topline and pants and up under the
tail to the tip to work the powder down under the top layers of
the coat and leaving the shimmer behind. You would apply this
BEFORE the shine spray.
So, what have we got now?
You have one of the showiest breeds in the dog ring on that leash.
His little white tipped tail standing up like a beacon for all
to see that he is here and frankly, here he is, gleaming in all
his glory for everyone to envy and admire. This is such a tempting
breed. CHERYL LECOURT
