Crufts Dog Show - Love it or hate it

I decided December 2017 that I was going to enter Travis for Crufts and show preparation started then. General good coat maintenance was needed throughout that time, followed by cutting him into shape, enhancing his best features watching his weight and making sure he got his exercise through the winter, and through the mud and rain but keeping on top his coat all the time.

 I kept on top of Travis’s coat by regularly bathing Travis about every two weeks then down to ten days and then down to every week about a month before the show. I bathed Travis in Wahl’s brilliant Dirty Beastie shampoo my go to shampoo in the grooming salon, which is great for fetching the dirt and filth out of the coat. The great thing about Dirty Beastie is that it really cleans the dogs coat but doesn’t dry out the skin at the same time and also doesn’t cost fortune which is a bonus.  Also by combing through Wahl’s Easy Groom Conditioner on Travis’s back this helped to remove any dead coat, I would do this after the shampooing while he was still in the bath then rinse the conditioner off. Depending how much dead hair needs to come out I like to rinse the conditioner off and comb at through at the same time as rinsing the dog, there is a knack to it but it works well. I’ve used this method with the conditioner for removing the dead thick hair on every Show Champion when they need preparing for a show and have dead hair to remove. I find this a far better way than using a banded comb on a dry coat.