# Supplies For show Grooming



## Miki the aussie owner (Mar 4, 2012)

I have a show dog, an aussie. I have lots of grooming items but it seems i always need something else. 

here is a summary of what i have-
table and arm
blower
shammy
pin brush
towels
slick brush- small and large
greyhound comb
under caot rake
shears-straight and thinning
grooming apron
shampoo
chalk
cholesterol
and i will be getting some mouse soon.

Do you think i would need anything else? I know it is a lot but people are always telling me to get this get that.

thanks!


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

"chalk
cholesterol"

Get rid of these, you don't need them and they are illegal to use on your dog in the ring. The rest of your choices seem to be exactly what I use for my aussies.


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## samshine (Mar 11, 2011)

Sounds like a very good list, identical to my supplies for showing my Samoyeds. The only thing I can think of that you did not list was a brush for applying chalk. What most people use is one of those brushes that are meant for applying shoe polish. I think you can still find them at Walmart next to the polish and shoelaces. If you google "shoe polish dauber" you will see what kind I mean. Small round head of bristles with a handle. Here's one http://www.amazon.com/FootFitter-Shoe-Dauber-Brush-6/dp/B00150HRH8 

Are you new to showing? Been in the ring yet?


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## Miki the aussie owner (Mar 4, 2012)

I forgot to add the chalk brush, and nail grinder to the list but i have them. I know chalk in cholesterol are illegal but i have watched a few top-aussie aussie breeders groom, and they use chalk! 
I have been in the ring a few times with my aussies but my breeder or trainer helped me groom her. I have shown my lab in jr. show for over a year, but conformation is something new to me but i'm getting the hang of it. Thanks so much for the help!


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

Miki the aussie owner said:


> I forgot to add the chalk brush, and nail grinder to the list but i have them. I know chalk in cholesterol are illegal but i have watched a few top-aussie aussie breeders groom, and they use chalk!


Lots of top breeders and handlers do it doesn't mean you should. I NEVER use product on my dogs in the ring, I don't like to win with a fake dog on the end of my leash. And I know LOTS of champion dogs who have also never been chalked. My biggest pet peeve is when people brush up the fur on the legs on this breed, it makes no sense to groom the dog so that it appears to have an incorrect coat.


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## Miki the aussie owner (Mar 4, 2012)

Is there any other product out there like shampoo to make to coat whiter? My aussie like to have some fun in mud..... That is why i use chalk because my whiting shampoo dosen't get it all. I would love to learn other techinques to groom aussies.
thanks!


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

What shampoo are you curently using? 

When I was showing my Cavalier I used Chris Christensens whitning shampoo and was very pleased with it. Whitning shampoo is very harsh on the coat and can damage it if used too often. I found with the Chris Christensen shampoo it didn't dry out the coat and it didn't turn my dog blue like many whitning shampoos do. IMO the white markings on dogs sould look natural and not some crazy bleached ultraviolet white. 

With my Afghan she's a red with light red feet, so her feet turn black as soon as walk her on asphalt or thru any dirt. Most of the dirt will fall out on it's own, but if they're really bad I'll use dawn blue dish soap to get out all the dirt. The dawn works wonderful at getting those stains out, but it does toast the hair so I have to condition throughly after using it.

By the way I wouldn't worry about what the "top" breeders are using. There's other reasons for them winning besides the use of chalk or any other "illegal" grooming product. If you have a quality dog that's nicely groomed and presented in a professional manner then you will do well.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

Everyone has a favorite shampoo, but I liked to use a good degreasing shampoo on their ears, to make trimming them easier to do. Depending on the dog's coat a 'swimsuit' is handy to flatten out/straighten out curls and flips, depends on the breed/dog and how fussy you are about that.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

I have used Freash N Clean brand whitening shampoo in the past and liked the results tho I have heard rave reviews for CC. And when it comes to thinning shears, you CAN'T go cheap, When I started showing I had a $5 pair of thinning shears they were a piece of crap. Now I have a slightly better set for $20 but they still aren't very nice. I'm saving up to afford one of those $80 pairs.


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## samshine (Mar 11, 2011)

Miki the aussie owner said:


> Is there any other product out there like shampoo to make to coat whiter? My aussie like to have some fun in mud..... That is why i use chalk because my whiting shampoo dosen't get it all. thanks!


I find that certain areas on my Samoyeds will not look as clean as the rest no matter what you do. Elbows and the backs of the hocks will always look a bit gray. Now, Sams are not actually a true white, they are varying shades of off-white or cream. So I would guess that those areas on a dog with truly white parts like an Aussie would be even more obviously not-as-white. So that is one reason I usually use some chalk on the legs.

I would love it if they had great policing at dog shows about using products on the dogs. I dream of dog shows where you have to bathe your dog on the premises and the only thing you can use is a dryer. But that's not the way it is. If pro handlers are using chalk then I am certainly not going to unilaterally disarm. They have enough advantage already, I'm not going to give them another one. In my breed, and especially my area, the trend in Samoyeds is for dogs with more bone and more coat. I don't think this is proper and I've always preferred a dog with moderate bone and coat, a more athletic dog. Some of the dogs in the ring look like they have tree trunks for legs. This is what we have to compete against. We do okay but it is difficult. So we chalk and brush the leg hair up to make it look like my dog has more bone and coat. In my mind, it is preferrable to "fake it" than to actually break down and breed dogs with more bone and coat than a working dog should have. 

Not a perfect world, these dog shows. But I will hang in there and hope that the styles change back to a working dog instead of a puff ball. 

I'm currently showing my fifth Samoyed, and she is well on her way to her AKC championship. Three of the four previous dogs are/were AKC champions, the fourth was major pointed when he decided he didn't like shows. All owner handled and groomed.


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## Miki the aussie owner (Mar 4, 2012)

I currently use the tropiciclean apupie whiteing shampoo, i like the company so i thought i would try the product. I have heard christeine curties shamppooo works good, 

I have a very nice pair of thinning shears, $60 off petedge, but regular price is about $100. they are geib gators. I have to go right now, so i will post more details later. thanks guys for all the help! i appreciate it!


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

samshine said:


> But I will hang in there and hope that the styles change back to a working dog instead of a puff ball.


Nothing will change as long as people continue to follow the status quo. If you want to see change YOU need to be the one to enact that change, suck it up and do what you think is right.


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## Miki the aussie owner (Mar 4, 2012)

i have heard that thinning shears do a lot to the texture of the dog, i wonder if it true since a salesman told me this, he wanted me to buy theese $300 shears. My shears i would say are rather nice, but there are always bettter ones. i spent like $120 for thinning and straight shear total. 

Ok so i guess i will try the christien curties whiteing shampoo. Also have any of you heard of the mars coat king? I have heard of them, and my undercoat rake is half broken and needs to be replaced. (i dropped my rake, and it cracked, advice-don't buy one with a plactic handle) 

Thank you so mush for all the help!


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Miki the aussie owner said:


> i have heard that thinning shears do a lot to the texture of the dog, i wonder if it true since a salesman told me this, he wanted me to buy theese $300 shears. My shears i would say are rather nice, but there are always bettter ones. i spent like $120 for thinning and straight shear total.
> 
> Ok so i guess i will try the christien curties whiteing shampoo. Also have any of you heard of the mars coat king? I have heard of them, and my undercoat rake is half broken and needs to be replaced. (i dropped my rake, and it cracked, advice-don't buy one with a plactic handle)
> 
> Thank you so mush for all the help!


I don't show, but I have 3 separate Mars Coat Kings and it actually cuts the hair as you rake, probaly not what you would want. I've found nothing beats line brushing/combing with a regular greyhound comb when it comes to undercoat, and the HV dryer will help a lot 
And chalk...pfft.... x.x


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I have one MKC and sold two others that didn't work. I love the thing to thin out Max's undercoat and don't see cut hairs but I am no pro at this. I don't think it has much application for a show dog's coat though. Don't you want all that hair? I also have a metal flea comb that can pull out a lot of undercoat, you could try that if the coat is too heavy in certain areas.


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## Miki the aussie owner (Mar 4, 2012)

Yes you want all that hair. but some aussies have too mush hair, mine is on 10 months so we will see how much fur she will get. her mom had moderate amount, and it looks like her sire had a lot. My trainer showed me a way to pull out undercoat with a greyhound comb, and i was wondering witch would be easyer to do. Thanks so much everyone for all your help!


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