Grooming I think comes
under the heading of evolution. Like all things, it must change
as our lifestyles and affluence change. Do you wear the same hairstyle
you wore 15 years or 30 years ago or wear the same clothes? Well,
maybe you do and perhaps you live in a time warp and not where
the rest of us do.
Many years ago when I was
rocking around the ring with some of the first Siberians in Queensland,
it was the norm to run a dog under a hose and let him shake and
dry overnight. Just a quick brush and he'd be right Jack. There
are some that still do just that and still some breeds where the
purists don't believe in bathing at all.
A couple of years ago in
Denmark I had occasion to chat to a man with a rather good looking
dog whose coat could have done with some attention. He assured
me that this dog had never been bathed and I thought at first
he hadn't understood my query. He took great pains to tell me
it had never ever been bathed since it came from it's mother.
Oh dear! I know it gets cold up there and maybe dogs don't smell
as bad, but I was horrified.
I kept thinking of how
the judge must feel touching a dog that had never been bathed.
Can you imagine a doctor having to perform a medical examination
on someone who hadn't showered that day? Yuk! I also remember
starting hairdressing 30 something years ago and people would
have their hair dry cut - no shampoo. I kept thinking about where
their head had been previously! Nasty thoughts but relevant.
The follow up to this exhibitor in Denmark was that the very next
day, the lady judge gave this man a good public dressing down
and told him to never bring an unclean dog into her ring again.
Needless to say the dog didn't win and that was a shame as it
was a very nice dog and she told him that too. This man had shown
the dog previously and hadn't learned anything. He was quite insistant
that it was better to leave this coat natural. I am still figuring
out what was better about it and for whom.
Well, as I say, things
change. People now have their hair shampooed instead of using
Velvet Soap as in my grandmother's day, they now wear deodorant
and blow dry their hair and generally shower at least once a day.
Back in the 40's and 50's Jon, my husband, tells me that it was
the rule in English boarding schools to bath only twice a week.
Thankfully things change.
So, if indeed the lack
of washing and titivating facilities had been the reason for hampering
our pursuit of regular ablutions, then none of us have any excuse
anymore and none of us have any reason to not wash our dog either!
Have you ever stuck your nose near some of these tradtionally
"unwashed" breeds? Pongey little devils. If the Komondor
owners in America can manage to bath and dry and keep sweet smelling
these haircare marathons, then anyone can.
Just as availability of
hygiene preparations and home haircare and equipment have become
regular every day items for us, then so have the opportunities
to glamourise our dogs. I can't tolerate the notion that a breed
should be shown natural because it's always been traditional!
What rot! That would be like saying Miss World is a gorgeous natural
beauty and we should send her out for the competition without
make-up, her hair not done and wearing a day frock.
It's different if your standard specifically states that no fluffing
around is allowed with this particular breed coat or you live
and show in a country where the "thought police" are
out and about and it is a mortal sin to even think to attempt
to alter a dog's coat texture - technically that could mean no
conditioner or shampoo as both of these items have an effect on
coat texture. What do they suggest one washes the dog's coat with?
Scotch mist? Amazing how many cans of hairspray I saw on the grooming
trollies in one of these countries.
Of course one can ask,
"when does a hairstyle overtake the dog?" Does a hairstyle
then become the dog? Just how far can you push the envelope? When
does reason go out the door and we lose perspective?
It's all about enhancement
- using what is available and making the very best of it. You
can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear but you can sure make
a darned nice dog look a million dollars if you present it well.
No one is suggesting that one should present a poor specimen and
then doll it up to try to fool the judges. Who's fooling whom?
The Americans generally
seem to have this grooming routine well in hand. Again I hear
purists who think the American exhibitors over-do it. Do they?
Or have they just evolved like the breeds have? Ever checked out
an old Kennel Club year book from around the 30's? Pugs for instance,
don't even resemble what is shown today. Time marches on.
I see breeds trimmed that were not traditionally trimmed in the
past even though their standards make no mention whatsoever of
trimming. Now surely if the standard does not say one shouldn't
or must not trim, then that means you could trim if you chose
to? Does it or doesn't it? I overhead a couple of irate exhibitor/breeders
in the U.S. who go back aways in dogdom and were very loud in
their opinion that this particular breed that was being shown
ought never to be trimmed. Now, armed with my trusty standard
which I make it my business to carry if possible for whatever
breed I am watching in the quest to learn, I was thoroughly perplexed
as there was absolutely no mention whatsoever in regard to whether
one should or should not trim. So, how could these experts say
it must not be done. Tradition? I must confess I thought the breed
in the ring looked fantastic trimmed a little here and there.
Perhaps this breed's club should petition the AKC to make changes
to disallow trimming if it is so contentious?
Well, my own breed standard
does not allow trimming and I for one am thoroughly delighted,
as being a hairdresser I have trimmed more heads of human hair
than I like to remember and the last thing I want to do on weekends
with my hobby is to have to start trimming the darned dogs. However,
I am thrilled to bath, shampoo, condition, blow dry, brush, shine
and titivate my dogs each and every weekend. I love to see how
good I can make them look, how great I can make that coat look
and to look as healthy and shiny and spark-a-larkling as I can.
We are working I believe,
with canine athletes to bring them to their very best performance
and presentation. If you have a good dog conforming as closely
to your standard as possible, you have fed and conditioned him
and trained him to your very best, then it is down to the wire
now with good, immaculate and state of the art grooming. If you
don't know how, learn. Life is a university, every day. Heaven
forbid we should deny ourselves the opportunity to learn something
new, evolve and improve.
The judges will thank you.
The judge won't need to wash his/her hands after every dog and
perhaps your dog will look the better for it all.
