The Maltese coat being
quite different from my own double coated breed I sought specialist
help from a wonderful presenter here in Queensland to guide you
through this particular grooming process. If any of you have seen
the remarkable presentation done by Dale Raeti, then you will
appreciate her generous contribution to the sharing of knowledge...
The Maltese coat is long
and silky and requires much care and good quality products to
keep it in optimum show condition. From the very start, a puppy
coat ought to be groomed with a soft, cushioned pin brush and
bathed weekly. When bathing the puppy, use a gentle shampoo Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo
at 5 parts water to 1 part shampoo) and a light protein conditioner
Plush Puppy Silk
Protein Conditioner at 5:1 and then carefully blow dry
on a medium heat.
The biggest mistake is
to cook the products onto the coat by using an overhot dryer.
Even in winter, a cool to warm dryer is all that is needed. Warm
the room - not the dryer. As the puppy grows through the coat
change stage (9 - 12 months), groom daily, being careful to keep
the coat mat free. Use a Spray
Bottle with 1/2 PP
Reviva Coat to 1/2 water to dampen the coat slightly prior
to brushing. PP Reviva
Coat is a good quality moisturising product that will
protect the coat against splitting and breaking. At this stage,
the coat needs to be bathed twice weekly using the Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo and Silk Protein Conditioner
and leaving quite a bit of the conditioner in the coat when rinsing.
Before commencing blowdrying, use a large handful of PP
Reviva Coatand cover all the ends of the hair especially
near the rear end.
From 9 months to Adult,
bath in PP Whitening Shampoo
and condition again with the Silk
Protein - rinse thoroughly on show day. Pour a mixture
of PP Swishy Coat
(1 tspn per 2 litre jug of warm water) through the coat and leave
in. Squeeze water out and lightly towel dry. Add a handful of
PP Reviva Coat
and blow dry. Coat should be totally dry and combed through with
a wide toothed comb. Facial hair should be combed with fine toothed
comb and whiskers and beard tied back with latex bands. When coat
is full length, it can be wrapped to protect ends and promote
growth. Use PP Seabreeze
Oil.
A final suggestion for
Show Day - use a light mist of PP
Shine & Comb for maximum sheen and static control
just before going into the ring and Dale said you must try the
Plush Puppy Cover Up Cream
for any face and tear stains. Dab on with a small damp piece of
sponge.
Dale has kindly offered to contribute some further info on coat
wrapping down the track. This fearless little breed is such a
glamour dog and with careful attention to coat care, is very hard
to go past in the show ring.
We at Plush Puppy hope
our input to grooming has encouraged and excited a lot of you
to enjoy this wonderful sport of dog showing. I thank all those
specialist people who have given us insight to their breeds and
have given of their many years of experience unstintingly. It
is a sport of Kings available to everyone.
