What can I use to make the coat of my black boy more shinny? He has a great coat, but it looks dull.
I have him on premium Eukanuba and he is all healthy.

If you're showing in conformation, an extremely shiny coat isn't proper.

Blacks come in different coat colors...yes, not all blacks are the same "color" of black. Over the decades, I have noticed that blacks which carry yellow are frequently a very shiney black (like satin). Blacks that carry chocolate tend toward non-reflective black (like black denim). Blacks that don't carry recessives tend toward a velvet black. There are many shades (degrees of reflectivity) in between. If the coat is healthy and well-gromed, the shine - or lack of it - is genetic and can probably only be changed with "unapproved" grooming products to alter the appearance.

Good, glad some are saying coats don't need to be shinny. They need the proper feel to the coat. Some things that give a shinny look also make the coat softer. Know the judge would like a clean coat alot more than shinny.

It's tricky getting a dog clean and still feel like they have oil in the coat. I don't care for shiny at all but I do prefer a rich clean feel to the coat witout grime. I do like a sheen to the coat. I have heard big long time breeders at shows criticize a coat because it was shiny.

if the dog is eating well, then I find the best way to know what the coat is really supposed to be is by keeping it clean through clear water rinses. My show grooming entails hosing off with cool water and a good brushing. When we are not showing (typically the winter) we do condition the coat, but it will make it VERY soft....and typically very shiny too. A judge should be able to tell a proper coat when it's clean and healthy, regardless of shine.

Wow, I'm glad I asked. I was under the impression that blacks should have a shinny coat. Thank you all.

Black coats should be SHINY. Shinny is a way to climb a tree. Shiny has nothing to do with what other color they carry. Dull coat is due to not enough protein or they are ready to shed or they are shedding. Eukanuba used to be the best diet for coats but the current formula doesn't seem to be as good as other dog food. Try higher protein and wait for the new coat to grow in and it should be nice and SHINY.

ok, shiny

Never shiny - no way!

When I'm judging and look down the line, and see a shiny black coat, I know I will be challenged to include that dog in my final lineup.
Correct double coat is rarely shiny, it is deep, it is course on top, and it allows my fingers to be lost when gone over.

Since we are on the topic of shiny - what about wet?

Man, I wish you would use your name so I would not show to you!!!! I have 4 Blacks right now with lovely double coats. I have been doing this for 30 years, all 4 have "shiny' coats. Oil reflects light!
You have to really try hard to get these dogs wet!
That is what the coat should be. A clean Labrador coat will shine. A VERY popular breeder with top
Specialty dogs told be years ago the coat should not shine. I laughed out loud, her dogs were so dirty that they came to the ring with pieces of straw in their coats and you could SMELL them coming! She sold
a young dog to a Breeder that finished him, his coat was so lovely and "shiny" she just kept him clean.
Great coat is great coat, clean or dirty! Shine comes
from a clean coat, in fact if you wash the dog it will
strip the oils and dull the coat. Just keep them in clean conditions, hose them off with cold water and brush out the dead coat and dander once in a while.
I still can't believe the poster really is a judge!

I agree. I know the dogs of the breeders who say labs should not have shiny coats. They are filthy and they stink. And I mean STINK! You gag just walking by their vans. BLECH! Healthy lab coats don't require a lot of bathing, but hosing and brushing and good nutrition. I am proud of my shiny labs with correct, oily coats! They swim, they shake off, and they are dry. Perfection!

COARSE doesn't mean dull. From Websters "3.not fine or delicate in texture". SHINY from Websters 1.full of, or reflecting, light; bright; shining 2.highly polished; glossy." Correct coarse healthy outer coat should be shiny.

I have a chocolate with a very shiny coat. It is also hard to the touch, nicely wrapped with an abundance of undercoat. Shiny has nothing to do with whether the coat is correct or not. I have never seen a shiny yellow coat and almost all of them are soft.

Making judgments about coats without actually putting your hands on the dog is silly.

When I posted originally, I stated that "an extremely shiny coat isn't proper". By that, I meant that you shouldn't need sunglasses to look at them. Of course there is going to be some shine due to the oils, but overconditioning the coat and putting some sort of schlack on them to make them shiny before they hit the ring isn't necessary or appropriate. I wasn't trying to say to the OP that her dogs should be dirty, gross and smelly...just that there is a happy medium to the shine factor. If OP is new, she should go to shows and see what the blacks that are winning look like. She may in fact see that her dogs look much like what is in the ring, coat-wise, and not need to do anything about it.

I have always heard not shiny. Having said that I know sometime mine are shiny and alot of the time they are not. And they are clean. They are on high protein food. Most chocolates are not, yellow are not and I guess if you shampoo your black and spray some mink oil you could really shine.

Slick is definitely out.

BIG difference between "slick" and "luster" a clean healthy coat will have "luster" !!!!!

Apple cider vinegar & water will put a nice clean shine. Try adding 3 tablespoons ACV to 1 quart water and use as a rinse on a clean coat... do not rinse out with more water. Towel try.

I've also done a 50/50 of ACV & water in a spritzer for in between freshen ups... spritz dog, then take a damp hand towel and wipe down.

Yea it has a little odor when first done, but doesn't linger long.

Above poster mentioned "luster"... exactly. Apple cider vinegar has other benefits/uses too besides improving health and luster to coat. Google on "vinegar dog" will find lots of info. Here's one link:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2066146_use-apple-cider-vinegar-pets.html

I see no where in the standard that a labrador coat should be so dense that you lose your hand?? It's supposed to be short and dense. I think the trend toward the longer coats is wrong. We're not breeding small newfies. Just look at what the UK judges think of some of the coats in the States.

I never bathe my Labs... if they get really dirty I rinse their coat with cold water but that is also very rare... They are out side allot and they swim allot too.. They live in our home and they do not smell at all. My black girl's coat looks really nice and when she's in full coat it does shine when she's out in the sunlight.
I think if you shampoo your dogs allot their coat will get damaged and you will have all kinds of coat problem.
The dogs that you are talking about that smells allot, are they kennel dogs?

I too am ashamed of the way some people show their labradors. Smelly ears,dirty coats in the name of texture and elbow calluses, where is our pride. Then to boot they wet them down when they are not clean and all you have is a smelly wet dog, yuck!!!! Recently a breeder stood behind me at an indoor specialty whose dog smelled sooo bad, I had to move. I truly believe this is why some labradors are overlooked in the Group ring. Surely a clean dog's good coat is just a recognizable to a judge as a dirty one. JMO

We will always have a few that do not seem to realize the dogs smell. But in many years I have only been around two breeders where the dogs had that kennel smell. It is awful. Just don't think it is a big worry out showing these days.

[It could be that dogs held in Kennels smells worse than dogs that are house dogs... I have had people that have commented on that my dogs don't even smell... LOL[/quote]

Of course and that would be because "kennels" who have good numbers of dogs don't normally bathe them as do people who keep two or three dogs inside. I rarely ever bathe mine but they do swim many times daily most days.

On another breed I had I would put a cap full of glycerin in a large dog bowl of water and use that as the final rinse. I don't rinse it out and it really makes the dogs shine.

Some of the critiques. Also, ask them.