Re: [pyrnet] Re: Bathing (long!!)

[Jack & Charlotte Perry <pyreau@erols.com>]

    Welcome back Jan.  How was the conference....I would have loved to have been
there! Were there lots of people attending?  Any controversies?  What was most
interesting to you?
    I  agree completely with you about bathing before a show.  I want my dogs to
look their best and think that is just after being bathed and brushed out..   I
also agree that a dirty dog is better than one that is full of chalk and
hairspray.  We once took one of our Pyenean Shepherds to a French judge who said
her coat was too soft.  Two years later the same judge returned.  That time I
didn't bother to wash or groom her (she was stinky).....he thought she had a
"very good" coat texture.  Now that texture may have been great, but she
certainly would need to be an 'outside dog" if I kept her that way.....guess
that would be called "a natural state"  I would think that the French judges
could tell the difference between a correct coat and an incorrect one even if
the dog had been bathed....I can, can't you?
Charlotte

ARIEGE wrote:

> We've been down this road before I know but having just returned from
> Melbourne where the Pyr Conference was with overseas visitors I seek your
> opinions on what I am going to say here.
>
> Talking to a visitor from the UK( who has French stock)  I made the comment
> that I would be going home to bath 4 Pyrs for our Pyr Ch show down South
> next week.  The response was "why are you bathing? Why are you not just
> grooming, if you were in France (Pyr spec show I suppose?) you would be
> thrown out the ring for having bathed your Pyr(s) by the Judge.  The coat is
> supposed to "crackle" and a bathed coat wont crackle because the oil has
> been removed by bathing"
>
> My reply was " I am not in France, I am not being judged by a French Judge,
> I live in a semi rural area, my Pyrs get grubby, I do groom but for shows I
> BATH"!!  I also stated that when I go to a dog show in New Zealand I am not
> only interested in gaining the CC and BOB but I am also aiming toward BIS.
> I gave the scenario of being in the Group line up with a grubby Pyr next to
> a sparkling Samoyed but I felt this fell on deaf ears.
>
> Obviously in some countries where numbers are greater and there are more
> Specialties with more French Judges then I could be penalised for having
> bathed dogs.  If I lived in an area where I could keep my dogs cleaner then
> that may well help but I don't and my dogs just love getting grubby!!
>
> I prefer to bath rather than use heaps of powder and chalk .The shampoos of
> today are formulated not to strip the oil out of the coat and I don't use
> cheap shampoos either. I do not bath for every show, not at all but these
> dogs haven't been bathed for over 2 months and they sure need it.  I don't
> want to be the only one out there with gray looking Pyrs and neither do my
> Pyr friends here either.
>
> It's hard to try and explain to those people who do not like the idea of
> "soft coats" or regular bathing but it's what we do here (most of us anyway)
> and the ones who don't bother are the ones whose Pyrs don't look good out
> there grooming wise.
>
> Come the day a French Pyr Judge comes here then I may rethink what I do and
> what Pyrs I show but in the meantime I'll just keep on bathing every couple
> of months (except if you are a Puffin Pyr mud baby!). What do the rest of
> you Pyr showers do????
>
> Did you get home okay Ruth?? Just so wonderful to meet all the overseas
> visitors and to hear Bob Brown talk.  We really enjoyed ourselves and are
> looking forward to the next Conference one day.
>
> Jan Chaplin.
>
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