Thanks, Shane, for providing below the very informative post on the care of show dogs’ coats. Shane’s post is full of very useful information and covers all stages of grooming for show dogs in the Spitz category. But the product list and procedure is also useful for all breeds.
And that is Shane’s Chow Chow in the show ring in The Bahamas. 🙂
In Barbados, from the Spitz category, we only have the Japanese Akita and there are now very few of them in the show ring. We now also have the addition of a Shiba Inu which is still a puppy.
In the tropics, it is more challenging to maintain these coats and the harsh type double coats which UK judges might be accustomed to feeling and seeing might not be there unless the dog has just been imported to Barbados. That is something which I feel an experienced judge will allow for.
I believe a lot of us would have watched Westminster and admired the coats of the dogs in the Spitz and other categories, and those coats were the result of regular maintenance, as well as the skills and knowledge necessary to really show the coats at the best. Crufts, from the UK, will soon be taking place. And again, enormous time will be spent on the coated breeds.
Even the dogs who don’t have long coats can look better after a bath with the correct shampoo for their type.
