Washing Whippets

[neave]

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i was wanderning when is the best time to wash a whippet before a show? I tend to wash keano a day or two before. But was told to wash him a 5 days before to allow the oil to get back into his coats. What is best? :cheers:

 

[05whippet]

i was wanderning when is the best time to wash a whippet before a show? I tend to wash keano a day or two before.  But was told to wash him a 5 days before to allow the oil to get back into his coats.  What is best? :cheers:

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If I was to wash my lot 5 days before they would have to live in bags until the show as they would be filthy again!! :lol:

Mine get done the night before.

 

[neave]

That would make sense and save you alot of money on bags (w00t) (w00t)

 

[dessie]

I try to limit bathing to about 4 - 6 times a year maximum and certainly not before every show, if it has been particularly wet and muddy I might just do their legs and undercarriage. Otherwise, it is the night before. I only ever shampoo once as well and I mostly use Johnson's Flea shampoo or Animal Health products, which do not have salt in them (I think Groomer's are as good).

 

[wildhare]

here is something I posted on whippet discussion - depends on how many

times you want to go through this as to the number of times you bath them -

we use no tears baby shampoo diluted 3 to 1 then use Show Sheen (horse

product) to really shine em up good -

anyway here is the tale of the bath -

Ok going to a show this weekend - have to leave right after I get home from

work tomorrow and will still get to the motel sometime around 10 pm so no time to

bathe the pups tomorrow evening and paula didnt want to be the first one to do it -

besides he is too big and heavy to hoist up into the kitchen sink like the girls -

so the bath tub it is - he sure was interested in what I was doing with the water

bucket and that bottle of sweet smelling baby shampoo - the scrub brush he

promptly stole and was carrying it proudly around the living room with me yelling

at him to give it back so I could get him in there too - the only way to get just

him in the bathroom without the whole herd coming along to "help" was to pick

him up and carry him - geeze males weigh a ton and really an arm full - take him

in the bathroom - boot all the girls out - shut the door - set him down in the tub

and he spies the brush again - let him chew on that while I get the water temp set

and fill a gallon pitcher with water - now one would think since I have been showing

and grooming for 30 years or so (guess its closer to 40 than 30 years) that I

should know not to pour water over the head first - bad mistake - he doesnt know

yet what "dont shake" means yet - so now water is streaming down my glasses

and he looks really runny - guess thats enough water - time for some suds

squirt some on him - find that while shaking the brush in his mouth has flown over

under the sink cabinet just out of reach - turn loose of puppy - reach for brush -

dogs out of the tub with a trail of soapy water - then the BIG shake - now I have

streams of soapy water running down the mirror above the sink - dang he can

sure carry a lot of water!!! - grab him back up because he now knows what is

gonna happen and he has his brakes on - dump him back in the tub - turn the

water back on - and commence to scrub - that he thought was pretty cool and

just stood there with his eyes rolled back enjoying the brushing - pick up the

water bucket to start wrinsing - he's outta there - now all the walls, shower curtain -

cabinets, me, the floor, the sink, the mirror and even the fancy light bulbs above

the sink have baby shampoo bubbles dripping off of them - grab a dog again -

this time a little bit slippery as was the floor and walls - so by this time while

leaning over and getting all those legs and feet back in the tub I slip and I'm

in the tub under him - and he's still sloppy soapy suds and lovin' every minute of it

now - its a grand game - finally get him off which means out of the tub - I slither

over the side (because by now I sure cannot stand up in that slick thing) - then

glory be he jumps back in the tub - this is grand fun - I grab that bucket full of

water and dump it on him - then catch another and dump that on him - he's just

shaking and splattering everything everywhere - I just open the door and let him

out streaking water through the kitchen and in a coupla bounds in rolling wildly

from one end of the couch to the other - me - I take the dog towels that I had

carefully stacked by the end of the tub and comenced to dry me and the walls

and clean the mirror. shower curtin, sink, stool & floor - everything sparkles

except me and I feel like a wet cat -

dwight

teller of tales and spinner of yarns

 

[oakmoorehill]

With mine it depends on when they last had a bath for the 2 brindles but the 3 that are mostly white tend to have a bath the night before unless they have been to several shows close together then they just get legs and bellys done.

I remeber last year for crufts we were in the middle of having a new bathroom put in and I got banned from putting William in the bath . He went to a friend who was a dog groomer but she could only fit him in3 days before crufts. The next day he cut his tail and I got up to find a lovely bright red dog so had to do him again anyway

 

[aslan]

Layla often gets away without having a bath because she's the princess in the tower and the only part of her to get dirty when she goes outside to tip toe around the yard to find a place to squat is the soles of her feet. Unless of course she finds something disgusting to roll in and then she loses the princess tag and becomes the bag lady. (w00t)

The others all do a fair bit of running and rolling in the yard so they are bathed before every show, usually. I use Equinade "Glo-White" horse shampoo and I never have trouble with coats.

PS - Dwight that's funny and I have been there!

 

[saraquele]

as i dont do a lot of shows mine get bathed the night before a show . no way could i do mine before as they would just go get filthy again (w00t)

i remember the first show i went to , bathed jan the night before , made sure she didnt get muddy in the morning then left her in the living room while i went to get dressed , came ack down 15 mins later and her front white socks were purple (w00t) she had got one of the kids gel pens and chewed it up :lol:

had to do a very quick scubbing session on her white socks (w00t)

yes it did come off :sweating:

so you can never know what to expect lol

love the bath story :lol:

 

[zilloot]

I bath my dogs about 4 times a year but if they look grubby I do bath them for a show. I do it about 3-4 days in advance and use Johson's no-tears baby shampoo. When they're dry I rub coat oil into my hands and massage them all over - it gives the coat a good gloss without being greasy.

Finally they always get a tin of sardines for dinner the night before which puts a good gloss into their coats - I notice if they don't get this!! I also give the dogs a good brush and rub-down before going in the ring because it wakes them up and gets the blood flowing :lol:

There, that's all my trade secrets!!! (w00t) ... but I HATE to see dirty dogs at a show ( are you listening all you BASSETT people and PGBV and GGBV people!!! with your SMELLY dogs and ILLEGAL chalking and spraying!!!!!)

 

[beaker]

i generally bath the "white's and light's" the night before a show using johnsons baby as it is mild and doesn't upset the skin (and they smell oh so scrummy after )

black boy is different, he needs to be bathed around 72 hours before a show to give any lifted dandruff time to settle, this way he is at maximum shine the day of the show. his body gets washed in Carr,Day and Martins 'black coat' horse shampoo, while his head gets done with johnsons baby :thumbsup:

while they are still stood in the bath and soaking wet i put a little oil on my hands and smooth over their coat, then give them a quick rinse off.

this gives them condition without the greasy look

i've got towel jackets for them and they dry in these naturally to minimise roughing of the coat

except Otis who is a big poncy whippet and loves the hairdryer (w00t)

for that extra sheen i've a super soft goat hair body brush for buffing them up before going in the ring :thumbsup:

 

[sharron]

Althoght i dont show zeb, i wpuld like to know what oil you use in there coats. As zebs a brindle i like the look of a shiny coat. I use groomers shampoo,cucumber. then brush with a bristle brush and hound glove.

I only wash the top of his head and use water on his face, as im not sure about the shampoo and eyes.

any advice.

sharron

 

[therpan]

I bath my lot the night before a show ( not if we are at shows every week). I use Bio-Groom Protein Lanolin as it is tearless or Bio-Groom Natural Oatmeal I think you should bath your dog as often as you feel is necessary as most good quality dog shampoos will not strip the coat of natural oils OMO as a dog groomer

 

[Macha]

a related question - what bits do you trim?

I would be a minimalist - leave whiskers be, and only use thinning sheers on tail and maybe hindquarters and neck ruff or maybe leave them alone. I hate the unnatural look of shaved tails.

but what do you do?

would you file nails the day of/ day before the show?

also -

how much difference does grooming and presentation make to judges' decisionss?

and

Would a whippet whose dew claws weren't removed be discriminated against in the show ring? (a question I came across on www.whippetlovers.com)

 

[neave]

see the oil you rub into the coats, is it coat oil or does baby oil do the same thing?

Fiona youve let us know all your trade secrets thank you (w00t) (w00t) .

I tend to leave Keano till the night before a show. But will trim him up a few days before. When trimming i shave and trim his tail, i hate seeing whippets with untrimmed hair on tails at shows :rant: I'll also give his whiskers a trim, underneath (bedside his crown jewels (w00t) )and any other areas that may need a small trim.

Keano hates getting his nails done but its got to be done i also file them down with sand paper. I used Johnstones velvet coat shampoo and coat condition. But a tip is if you have a pieace of velvet clothe used it to rub your dogs coat, it gives them a beutiful shine.

Ave seen someone use chalk to make thier whippets white bits more white, is this aloud?

For my trade secrets that will be £20 each (w00t) (w00t) kindding

 

[dessie]

a related question - what bits do you trim?
I would be a minimalist - leave whiskers be, and only use thinning sheers on tail and maybe hindquarters and neck ruff or maybe leave them alone. I hate the unnatural look of shaved tails.

but what do you do?

I only do tails, usually with one edge thinners on the dogs shown regularly.  If one has been out of showing for a while then I will use a battery operated clipper about 2 weeks before the show & then tidy up with scissors a day or so before.  Never, ever ever touch whiskers.

would you file nails the day of/ day before  the show?

All my dogs have their nails done regularly every week/fortnight anyway so for a show I would do them the day before.  Clip & dremmel the hind nails, dremmel the front.

also -

how much difference does grooming and presentation make to judges' decisionss?

Speaking from my own point of view, with a judge's hat on, not a significant amount.  I would probably notice untidy/long nails but I doubt that I would penalise it.

and

Would a whippet whose dew claws weren't removed be discriminated against in the show ring? (a question I came across on www.whippetlovers.com)

Again, from my point of view .................. No!!

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[doris]

oh god, I'm such a slob!! I hardly ever bath my lot but when I do I use that lovely dorwest mint shampoo.

what oil is everyone talking about? hurray, something else to add to my crufts shopping list :cheers:

guess I'll have to start regular bathing sessions if and when Monty finally decides he's going to be a show dog

right, I'm off to do it now - wish me luck :luck:

 

[louisetope]

A little tip from me (I've been a pro groomer for 18 years!)

When you bath a black or blue or other dark dog, when you do a final rinse, for a split second at the end, put the water on as cold as you dare and give them a quick swish with it. It helps to stop the scurf from rising!

I will probably bath Stan tomorrow (Weds), but will do his feet/legs and undercarriage again on Friday evening. Chances are, he will find something gross to roll in.

The worst situation I had was at Bournemouth champ one year. We were early arriving, so we stopped in one of the forestry places on that long stretch of road leading to the showground. I let mine off into the woods for a quick blast around, and Reg came back covered in s**t

Aww, bless 'em!

Louise

 

[doris]

oh god, I'm such a slob!! I hardly ever bath my lot but when I do I use that lovely dorwest mint shampoo. 
what oil is everyone talking about?  hurray, something else to add to my crufts shopping list :cheers:

guess I'll have to start regular bathing sessions if and when Monty finally decides he's going to be a show dog

right, I'm off to do it now - wish me luck :luck:

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it wasn't so bad :- "

 

[zilloot]

The oil I use is a dog product called 'coat oil' ... I think it's 'Shaw's' but I can't remember.

Sorry if I'm stirring a hornet's nest here but I think trimming the whiskers is cruel. The dogs use those to navigate their noses and, like some horses I've seen with trimmed whiskers, it's just sad to see them bumping their faces into things.

If I were judging I'd not be impressed at all by trimmed whiskers.

p.s. I've not given away quite all of my trade secrets...... I've still got a few cheeky ones up my sleeves re muddy car-parks (w00t) :lol: :thumbsup:

 

[neave]

I'll also give his whiskers a trim, underneath (bedside his crown jewels (w00t) )and any other areas that may need a small trim

didnt mean to upset anyone about the trimming of the whiskers thing, Keano has a couple of whiskery looking things which are hard to describe where they are, but they are not on his face (kinda underneath) and i think they are of no use to him (but if they are i wont do it again) so i give them a trim and nothing else. I would never do anything that is cruel to him :wub: cause he is my little baby :wub: