Lately there seem to be
a cast of thousands of these wonderful little dogs at the shows
I have been to - almost a Cecile B DeMille production at times.
Indeed I think there were around 120 Staffies at a recent weekend
and I got a terrific chance to check a lot of them over whilst
manning the Plush Puppy stand.
What nice little people
they are too. I really can't hear a bad word about a Staffy since
one surrogate mothered my litter of "Seven Little Siberians"
some years ago when the mother rejected them after a C section.
The value of that litter was incalculable and it was a testament
to the Staffy breed that the good nature of this little surrogate
bitch allowed her to take on board such a monumental task and
do it so willingly.
Naturally my grooming fingers
just itch to try what is possible on every dog I get my hands
on and I love the challenges this little breed present. Such a
no nonsense, courageous little fellow he has oft been labelled
as a "macho/butch" dog and owners have tended to present
him accordingly with little fuss and ado about his grooming.
So, his standard calls for his coat to be smooth, short and close.
That's fairly no nonsense and concise. However I subscribe to
the theory that if it says you can you can, if it says you can't
you can't and if it doesn't say anything, then it's open slather.
Oh, I love the Staffy standard because it says so little. You
all have open slather to do as you will.
Everyone I speak to with
a Staffy has been astounded as to what can be achieved to make
their dog a glamorous star. Tradition has ordered that you just
give him a wash and that is good enough. Owners are gobsmacked
that for very little effort, you can do so much more. We can't
have those flashy Afghans and glamour Poodles having all the glitter
and razzamatazz to themselves, now can we?
Now though your standard
doesn't say this, the Am Staff and Bull Terrier standards do call
for the coat to be glossy and frankly, I am partial to shine on
a Staffy. It looks fabulous and just gives that extra something
to stand out from the crowd. So, how to achieve it? Apart from
the good diet and conditioning you do with your dog, this little
outdoorsy person does need assistance.
Every day you ought to put a handful of the Plush
Puppy Revivacoat, a wonderful moisturising mousse through
his coat. This keeps the moisture content up and prevents sunburning
and brittle dry coats. By keeping the condition in this coat,
you will also help to retain colour. Absolutely wonderful for
reds and black coats.
Now which shampoo to use?
Depending on your coat colour and the state of the coat I would
suggest you use the Plush Puppy All Purpose
Shampoo with Henna at a ratio of 5:1 (i.e. 5 sparts water
to 1 part shampoo) - all Plush Puppy shampoos are quite concentrated.
That is good for most coats and most situations and really brings
up the coat colour. Should the coat be black or blue and exhibiting
colour fade, I would use the Plush Puppy
Whitening Shampoo with Ginseng. This is a a purple shampoo
and kills all unwanted red/orange reflects in the coat plus will
enrich a blue coat.
The fun part is the grooming.
You can use makeup on your dog. Plush Puppy makes a terrific product
for white areas called Coverup Cream.
This is a white paste that is applied with a damp sponge (any
piece of kitchen sponge will do). Just dabbed onto the area that
needs to be covered such as an unevenly pigmented muzzle area
etc and then some loose white chalk or chalk block applied over
the top to thoroughly dry it. Bingo! Boy, is he beginning to look
glam? You can even mix a small amount of Plush
Puppy Pixie Dust which is a shimmery white powder in with
the chalk and then a small sprinkle of the Pixie Dust along the
dog's topline. Brush into the coat well. This really adds some
gleam and picks up all the sunlight or indoor lights. Works well
even on black dogs as long as you don't overdo it - we don't need
to turn them into the glitter fairy!
For the final flourish, you spray with Plush
Puppy Shine & Comb, a magical shine spray that is
non greasy and water soluble. This is the piece de resistance.
A light burst onto the coat or onto your hands and smoothed over
the top and flanks just works like a charm. Try spraying just
one side first and see the difference. It's amazing. Your black
dog especially will just glisten with glowing good health.
Don't ignore the olfactory
senses of your judge. They all have a nose! Nothing pleases more
than a good smelling dog. It tells your judge that you care about
your dog and have made the effort to groom and present. No matter
how much you bath some dogs they still smell doggy especially
if you have to travel to get to the show. Mine seem to have peeing
competitions on each other and it was from my own problem solving
we developed Plush Puppy Odour Muncher
a fab product that literally munches the odour - works great in
smelly shoes too- and leaves a light fragrance in it's place -
Not too much and not too little.
Stacked up on the three
quarter stance in the show lineup, the indomitable Staffy has
character and class. Groomed and presented properly he is a formidable
opponent to any breed exuding his courageous, real dog personality
with all the glitz and showiness required to win the most prestigious
of shows. Let's hear it for the Staffies!
CHERYL LECOURT
Plush
Puppy All Purpose Shampoo with Henna
Plush Puppy Whitening Shampoo with Ginseng
Plush Puppy Shine & Comb
Plush Puppy Reviva Coat
Plush
Puppy Pixie Dust
Plush Puppy Cover Up Cream
Plush Puppy Odour Muncher