I know we have this wonderful wash and wear breed, but what grooming do you do for a show? Other than bathes and nails, of course. Does anyone do any scissoring? Blow drying? Trim whiskers?

NO.

I know our dogs don't look as nice when they are freshly bathed. However, people, if you're dog STINKS, PUHLEEZ bathe it before you come to a dog show!!!!!!
My doG there are some "breeders" out there whose dogs stink so bad ringside you can't even STAND downwind of them!!!!
It's called soap. Utilize it.

Please- if you bathe correctly, they look just fine. It's the fluffy shampoos and blow drying that makes them look bad. Smelly dogs are evidence of rancid coat oil, which shows the dog is not being properly brushed. There is no need for dirty or smelly dogs in the show ring. No need to smell like a kennel.

Susan...I don't do much of anything, other than run a curry comb over them before they go in the ring. My girls get a bath once a year for sure, maybe twice a year. I may rinse them off in the booster bath a day or twoo before a show, but never bathe them. Their toenails are trimmed weekly, shown or not. They get marrow bones regularly so I do not brush their teeth either (had many judges comment on how white their teeth are and how healthy thier gums are).

NO scissors
NO Blow dryers
No cutting whiskers

Wash the dog a week or two before show with a hard coat shampoo or Very diluted Dawn

While I trim nails and rinse off the coat(I don't personally do whiskers anymore, but they're done sometimes if the dog is out with a handler), the only other thing that I do is trim the hair around their feet. While it's not a big thing at outdoor shows, it does give the feet a cleaner look for indoor shows!

Nobody likes a stinky dog...yes this is a wash and wear breed with minimal grooming, imo. Dawn will strip the oils out of your dogs coat, no matter if it is diluted or not and I don't suggest using it on your dog before a show. Use a "hard coat" shampoo, one that is for coarse coats. Bathe at least 2wks prior to the show. Nails AND ears!!! Trim the hair between the pads if indoor, it looks better. LEAVE THE WHISKERS ALONE!!!
GOOD LUCK!

I do alot of field training so I rinse the coat periodically with Murphy's Oil Soap, very little is used and I really don't work it in more of a top coat rinse. I brush and go!

What about tails? I've seen handlers trim the very end of the tail to give it a flat look?

Depends upon which dog I'm showing.....Leon requires a cool water rinse a day or two before the show just to get the "dust" out of his balck coat, and I'll spritz him with listerine and water. Then it's brush and go. Katie, on the other hand, does better if I do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Both have tight feet and wear their nails down without trimming. I've had others that needed more brushing and "phoo phooing" before the ring. It all depends on the individual dog.

I'll do the bath & nails about 5 days before the show. Depending on the weather they might need a cold rinse . My friend shows Goldens & when I hear all the prep she has to do I tell she should switch to Labs

Hi-
Because I live in the mountains and the land is rocky, I do not trim between their pads. I had to learn this lesson the hard way. The hair is there for a good reason. I check their nails weekly but usually do not have to do much becuase of the terrain. Bathing depends on the season. Right now we are in a snow and melt cycle, which means mud and lots of it. So I may have to bathe my puppies who love to roll/loll in the mud before their show, but I would do it with a mild shampoo that does not strip the oil in their coat and I would do it two weeks or so before the show and keep them more confined with long walks so they do not re-roll. Sometimes I can get away with just a really good rinse since their coats are stink free and the dirt/dust just falls off. I do a listerine spray before I go into the ring, but they really do not have a dander issue per se. It really is what you need to do for the individual dog and for you area of the country and the season.
HTH
A

My dogs live in my house and sleep in my bed. They also run-a-muck in the woods and streams where they encounter malodorous critters and lovely dead things that demand attention and rolling.

I have a tiled dog bathroom equipped with booster bath and dryer (in fact, I have a portable one that I take to shows to blow off the dust and a large one for home). Sometimes I use oatmeal shampoo, and sometimes I use whatever it takes to get off the odor and stains from deer poop, entrails, and skunks. Sometimes I use a soft brush, and sometimes I use a Furminator. I always use a Dremel tool to round off those sharp edges that damages my furniture. I clean ears regularly so that they don't smell like fungus, and I brush the teeth of dogs whose teeth need it. I clean eyes and the stains around the eyes with suitable solutions to avoid irritation. When I wake in the morning to a doggie grin, their breaths usually smell better than mine.

My daily efforts have virtually nothing to do with dog shows. Generally if my dogs can sleep in my bed, they won't offend a judge either. But just in case, I have a grooming table, a dryer, water spritzer, and self-rinse.

Clearly you folks who do very little (or no) grooming must be more tolerant of dirt in your bed than I am and/or sleep the dogs in a kennel and/or never let your dogs outside unleashed and/or you don't really appreciate what other people, including judges, think of your dog's grooming. Your choice, but I wouldn't be bragging about it.

What does the listerine spritz do ? I have never heard anyone use that before , so was just curious.

Hi-
If you have a black or choc dog with a little dry skin and you have bathed you dog with a shampoo that is drying too close to the show the listerine spritz will keep the dry skin/dandruff from popping to the surface when the judge goes over you dog. Some dogs need this, some dogs don't. I bring some along just in case.
HTH
A

Clearly, you don't know my girl that gets little to no grooming. She's with me MOST of the time....goes to work with me EVERY day. Yes she has a big back yard to romp in. Yes. She gets a little dirty occasionally. Thank goodness she is easily kept clean. Most everything will brush out when it dries. I don't know why you think she stinks or is dirty.....or for that matter why you think you know so much about everyone else's daily routines and accomodations. Sorry for the vent. You pointed straight at me, so I felt the need to defend my practices. I'll get off of my high horse now.
Oops. Forgot to add.....apparently the judges don't think too badly of my girl's grooming. She received her championship at 2 years and 1 month of age breeder/owner handled handled.

Oops. Teehee. Guess I got my dander up. That should have read, "breeder/owner handled". No double handling here.

trim feet, take lumps of coat out if in that weird mid-state between coat and blow. that's about it. make sure they're clean, for godsakes - I swim mine.

I have the "pleasure" of being in the ring next to a very smelly dog. I can't fathom why anyone would show a dog in that condition! I've heard it's because folks figure a dirty coat feels more "proper." Yuck! Have some respect for the judge, fellow competitors, and yourself. Why would anyone want to be known as the person with stinky dogs?

I get that you don't have the time or inclination to groom your dogs, and I get that you have a high tolerance for doggie smell and dirt. I even get being defensive when someone else grooms. I don't get bragging about not grooming your dogs.

I think maybe the difference is between grooming and shampooing. I for one almost never shampoo my dogs. Before you go off on me, I do groom them. I brush them with several different combs/brushes, then spray them down with no rinse cleaner, towel them briskly to remove any dirt, then finish them with Miricle Coat leave in conditioner. Their coats look great, they smell wonderful, and shedding only occurs once a year. This is the way I was taught to care for a Labrador. I was taught never to put shampoo on the coat.

So I wonder what do you do for your yellows that turn a lovely dingy grey from playing outside in dirt? The only solution I have found is a bath with soap and water

I use the spray on rinsless cleaner and lots of terrycloth towels. I have used a garden hose on them as well , and just rinsed prior to the grooming.

This is not an easy way out, its work. But it maintains the proper condition of the coat.

I just tripped over this recipe for rinseless shampoo on a Labrador site, which reprinted it from a newsletter.
I have used vinegar and glycerin rinse, years ago, for grooming, for flattening Cavalier back coat and adding shine.
Has anyone used the recipe on link below?
Note that it contains a detergent, as I believe most rinseless shampoos do. We rinse the rinseless shampoos here, on Cavaliers or Labs. Use them a lot on Cavalier feet! The purple Self Rinse Plus seems to leave a harder Lab coat or a fluffier Cavalier coat than Biogroom's waterless shampoo, which also has lanolin in it and is tearless, so good for faces. The Proline Self Rinse Plus may have alcohol in it.
http://www.melanchete.com/shampoo.html

Yes, I used that "recipe" for years, it has such a small amount of diluted detergent in it, that it does not attack the coat.
I use Self Rinse Plus out of convience now. Both work very well.

Jamie K - I have been around your dogs, and they definitely don't smell. They look very well cared for, and look great in the ring!

Brushing has its place. But it doesn't do anything for deer poop, blood and guts or skunk smell or nasty smelling puddles, for that matter. Perhaps your dogs don't have access to woods and wildlife and creeks--and your bed. But mine do. Dogs will be dogs. Shampoo is great!

Thank you, Sandy.