Hi all! I have a big show coming up in a month with my 1.5 year old female sibe, Nali. We did a bunch of puppy shows, but I just never got the hang of getting her coat ready for show day. Now that she's an adult and actually going into the open class for the first time, I really want to get it right.

What products do you use for the day of (or night before) a show? I've been using Chris Christensen, since everyone seems to swear by that brand, but I think I've been using the wrong stuff. I know about white on white and know I need to be using that to keeps her whites looking actually white, but what about the rest? Should I really start with clean start? And then what about adding body? I was using thick n thicker, but should I be using spectrum 1 substance builder instead? I have the feeling thick n thicker is meant to add volume to soft-coated breeds, and not harsh husky coats. Or how about lift for sure, which is supposed to lift the roots? Anyone use that? My girl's fur is not good at standing straight out like I know it should to be competitive.

Do I need a conditioner, or will these leave her coat too soft? CC recommends coatlink coat dressing for sibes as a conditioner, which I haven't tried. I used another generic CC conditioner and it left her fur very very soft, but isn't soft a bad thing in a sibe?

Then after the bath, any more products? I have the Kool dry air dryer and love it to pieces. I know there are sprays you can add that spray the coat while you're drying it, including one that volumizes. Anyone use anything like that? I was using ice on ice detangler, which I now think is completely unnecessary as a husky coat doesn't ever really tangle. I once used some intense human hair spray to try to spray her coat to stand up instead of laying flat (like it always does). It kind of worked, until you touched her and realized her fur was all stiff and sticky.

Then at the end I know to use cholestral on the legs with white chalk. I've never done this before though. Are there any tutorials on how to actually apply this stuff to the legs? Like do I just rub it on with my hands? Brush it in? :/

Ok, last thing I promise! I read that to make a coat look good on show day, I should be giving her a cold bath twice a week for a month before the show. Ugh, really? That is just SO much work. The bath isn't terrible, but man blow drying takes about an hour. That's just a lot of effort for one show where I easily might not get any points. Is this many baths really necessary? If it will make her coat fluff up, I'll do it of course, but man I am really not looking forward to that. But if I have to, what products should I use for these "maintenance" baths. Should I still use a shampoo like clean start, or it is really just all about conditioning? What conditioner should I use for these? Any other products, like white on white?

That's all! So sorry for the loooong post. My breeders are very nice and knowledgeable but they don't like email/facebook or anything like that (they just want to talk over the phone), and to be honest when they call, no matter what, I somehow just can never ever hear them or understand what they are saying. You can only say, "what? can you repeat that?" so many times!

Thanks for the help!

I use blue minx for whitening, cowboy magic and mane and tail for basic shampoo and conditioner, a greyhound comb, and an HVD. This breed doesn't need much

100% honesty here....I bathe in an extreme diluted Dawn Dishsoap + Tea Tree Oil solution. Whitens, cleans, and doesn't leave their coats feeling too soft in texture.

This is great info, guys, thanks! Anyone do the thing where you give them lots of baths for like a month before shows?

Oh yeah, I will do weekly baths up to the day before the show, and on long show stretches we'll bathe between days too if need be.  Really depends on how the coat comes clean and how it blows out.  If it's still trying to bunch, bathe and blow again in a few days. Lots and LOTS of line combing between as well for those dogs who have a plusher coat-

I just read this not because I show but because I like to have my guys coat look amazing.
Now for show dogs wouldn't all that bathing dry out there coat? Because I feel like that is the opposite of what you would want to do.

Ugh, I was reading thru the threads and my finger touched the screen to hard I guess and it gave mbernard a "bad advice" can someone fix it for me please?!!! It was completely unintentional

I apologize Megan! It was totally an accident. All I was doing was scrolling down and then a "your vote has been cast" showed up on my screen and I'm like wth! What did I vote for?!!! I scrolled back up and saw the red thing next to your post, I feel so bad, I'm sorry.

Healthy skin and coat first and foremost start from within. A healthy coat and healthy skin should be able to withstand frequent bathing. Ultimately you have to, have to, have to (can't stress enough HAVE to) use quality products when you are bating frequently. Sub-par products will ruin a coat quickly. Part of the reason we add Tea Tree oil to our shampoos and even the Dawn is to put oil back plus it's natural parasite and antiseptic properties- I will not show a dirty or even dingy dog, I think it's disrespectful to the judge...though I have seen my fair share of dirty and non-groomed dogs in the ring. It just won't be me or my dogs LOL

I just wanted to post this on one where a lot of the show people where on. I think a lot of us would love if any of you did a grooming video. I just think it would be cool to watch what it take to make a husky show ready.