Pump up the Volume – Coat-Wise that is!
If your dogs are like most, they seem to know just when a really important show is coming up and decide to blow coat and it comes out in handfuls!
So then you are faced with your previously glamorous Sheltie, your once magnificent Malamute or your severely ‘out of coat’ Samoyed. You’ve got the picture. Lots of breeds blow coat and it seems to take forever to get them back to show bloom despite every coat growing product known to man. What to do?
Well you can’t wait for nature to take its course and instead you require human intervention. There are ways and means to get that ‘out of coat look’ excuse for a coat to look remarkably better. Firstly, get rid of the old coat as quickly as possible. Strip it, wash it, blow it out – whatever! The best and easiest way is whilst you still have shampoo on the dog to brush and comb it. The extra drag caused will help loosen the coat and help get it out quicker. The same can be done with conditioner.
To help remedy the ‘out of coat’ look and make the very best of what you have is to bath the dog with a 1 part shampoo to only 3 parts water a solution of Plush Puppy Body Building Shampoo; the added natural ingredients including wheat germ are designed to maximise the diameter of each strand of coat to maximise each and every hair. Apply & allow the ingredients to work for a minute or two and rinse. The aim is to boof this coat up and bodify it WITHOUT making it stiff and unnatural.
Next step is NOT to use conditioner. Conditioner will flatten and lay down whatever coat is there. We want it standing up and looking at us! If you must have some moisturising product in the coat then use something that disentangles and moisturises yet doesn’t soften or flatten, such as Plush Puppy Reviva Coat. You put this through the coat to allow hydration yet not to soften. Apply by dilute at 1 golf ball amount to each per 250mls of water mix through to the area and then rinse.
Now here is the true magic of the whole thing to maximize what we can. We want to dry this coat so it will make 3 hairs look like 3 thousand. Plush Puppy Volumising Cream and the Plush Puppy Volumising Spray. This is what makes the difference! Depending on the dog you have 2 options: Cream or Spray. We suggest for dogs that have very ‘out of coat’ areas to use Plush Puppy Volumising Cream. This used at 1 heaped tablespoon of cream to 500mls of warm water (the amount can be increased accordingly for larger dogs). The key is to mix well, then apply all over the dog and sponged right into the coat. DO NOT RINSE!!! The coat will have a similar look to have forgotten to rinse conditioner out, don’t panic that’s the look you want.
Then I use a strong force dryer (there are various cool air, forceful air type dryers around) and literally blast the coat to stand up on end. Blow the coat from the rear end, forwards to the head, against the growth of the hair. You will want to achieve as much root lift as possible as once the coat is dry and the dog has a good shake, it will settle down into its rightful place, but amazingly with a lot more oomph and volume. Due to the magic properties in this it may take a little longer to dry but the extra time is so worth the result.
Plush Puppy Volumising Spray is the other way to either target a specific area or just spray the entire dog. A good coverage spray then brush and comb in taking care to get right down to the roots. Then dry as described above. The beauty of the spray is you can just do a specific area such as the rough of a neck or use over the whole dog. This is also perfect at shows to refresh all the work you have previously done using either cream or spray, a light mist and brush back up. Please note this spray can be used on any breed and coat type where you require that extra coat look i.e. dogs hocks, ears – wherever!
When drying best to use the Plush Puppy Ultimate Pin Brush to start. The pin brush will get through the coat without extra drag. If a slicker brush is your preference, then use the Plush Puppy Ultimate Slicker Brush.
Look at the silhouette of your dog. It may not have as much hair as it should but with judicious balancing of the dogs body weight leading up to the show – just stack a touch extra on him – he will most likely cut a rather nice figure. The judge will see he doesn’t have as much coat as he would perhaps like but if the shape and silhouette is there then you have a fighting chance when up till then you had none.
The last of the Plush Puppy “bag of tricks” is Plush Puppy Puffy Dog. This mousse has an excellent hold factor to make the coat appear much fuller and thicker. Apply a golf ball sized amount to an area, massage in and the dry, repeat to the needed areas. A great product for hocks, terrier legs or heads, cheeks or just areas when you need more.
For breeds that chalk is normally added to legs and white areas be sure to use Plush Puppy Chalkestral. This product applied as a prechalker allows the chalk to be held more into the coat therefore bulking it up more. This gives a fuller appearance to the area/s.
At times to keep the coat sitting up even more try Plush Puppy Hold. This is a strong sculpting spray scientifically formulated for shaping all types of coats on Show Dogs. The quick drying formulation won’t become sticky and will not build-up. It contains Pro Vitamin B5 to improve elasticity, moisture retention and flexibility in their coat hair. HOLD can be removed with ease by simply shampooing the coat. A light spray to the area needing shaping will do the trick perfectly.
We truly hope you get to win a few more awards than you might previously have done. Plush Puppy is proud to offer solutions to coat preparation issues. Our range is extensive using the latest of technologies and providing answers to every problem.
After all, what would our weekends be without going to a dog show?
Plush Puppy Australia
