# Coat styling



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

ok, I am just as new to this so I will share with you what I have learned...but I sure don't claim to be an expert, ok?
yes, it is possible to get the coat totally straight. When I blow dry Tito (this is what works for him, not sure if it works for everyone), I start with his topline, and I hold the dryer nozzle almost level with his back and move it from side to side about 6 inches while working down his topline. It's what the gal that grooms him showed me to do, and it works perfectly for him. She also told me always start on the "judge's side" in case you run out of time!
The most important thing in avoiding flips is to be sure she is completely dry, and once you are sure she's totally dry, then dry her for at least another 1/2 hour. The flips come from places that weren't totally dry. 
When I dry Tito, there are 2 or 3 places on him that I finish with a human hair dryer because no matter how dry he is, they just don't seem to be dry and I think where you're describing is one of them. 
Right above his tail, I take a rounded brush (human) and my human hair dryer and I blow dry it so that it lays very flat by drying it over the brush.
Hope that makes some sense!


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## Sawyer4me (Jul 25, 2009)

I just washed and dried Sawyer the other day and he seems wavier than ever! I am definitely going to need to be practicing this!!! Thanks for posting it.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

You didn't mention the age of you pup but the back are is often very rough and curly when they are 6 mo to 14 mo old. As for the curls I have seen goldens that range from my Caue with a very straight coat to my sisters golden with a very curly coat.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

I'm no expert in this, but I was curious if you have a drying coat? You still need to be pretty handy with a dryer... it's not really a shortcut, persay... but it can definitely be a huge help in getting the coat to lay flat (if you're very careful when putting it on). There's a big difference in how Jersey looks with and without his drying coat... and I assume my skill stays relatively the same from one instance to another. 

Julie and Jersey


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

I don't think I could ever get Jacks curls under control, good luck to you!


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

I also do exactly what Hotel4Dogs does; I have a section on my golden, just above the tail that is wavy and if it doesn't lay perfectly straight, it poufs up and makes my girl look high in the rear. When I wash my golden, I put conditioner (like a Mane 'N' Tail) on that one section to give it some weight to help in lay better--of course, I wash it out. I really don't condition the rest of my dog's coat as she doesn't need it. That section, for some reason, is coarser, and since she's not yet two, it could still be the remnants of adolescent coat. So that's the way I choose to deal. 

The more you blow dry, even if it is a half-way job, the better the waves will get. I'm not a good groomer at all, so for a show, I bring in my buds for help, but in-between, I focus on the problem areas. I don't know if it's practical for you or not, but one suggestion is to to a spray bottle and spray a fine mist over the problem areas and blow dry just those areas--even if you do it twice a week or so (but to be honest, every day is better). And just work on those problem areas. If you only tackle the problem areas each month, you won't see much of an improvement (IMHO). You'll see a change, but it will be sooooo much sloooooower.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

She is 6.5 months and I am aware that it is her adult coat coming in. She gets her weekly baths but also swims several times throughout the week. I don't have a forced air dryer yet, but since I am blessed with a wavy girl I am looking at getting one to aid me in this battle. I've been blowing the topline dry with my hair dryer on the cool setting and have been successful at the least with getting it to lay flat, but not straight.

I've considered getting a drying coat. Right now I have tested a towel wrapped around her without any success, but I can't say that the thing fits real well and if the towel were heavier maybe that would make a difference.

So hopefully with time and help we can get this tamed. I brought her to the show grounds last week wet for her first show. I was borrowing a friend's blow dryer and one quick look at Scout (and her damp hair going in several directions and sticking up a few inches off her back) and Iwas told I was not getting all those waves out that day  Which I do love the waves, but if we are to be competitive and play the game they must go....


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

I don't have the patience to do this all the time, but my handler had me place a towel over the section of my golden that had flips, and blow dry over the towel. Since you don't have an air dryer yet, you could use a hand held hair dryer on the cooler setting. Anything to tame the hair and get it to learn to set in a new position.

Today my golden was in the pool twice, and I didn't blow her out (or at least that section) either time, and one small section has flipped up a good inch. Since your golden swims a lot, just be prepared--each time you don't blow her dry (or blow dry the problem parts) that's one lost opportunity to train the hair. I don't blame you because I don't do it myself--and I really have no excuse as the grooming table is right outside, beside the pool, and the air dryer is just in the next room. Sigh. . .I agree with you, I also like the curls and waves, but from a judge's point of view, they are looking at the outline of the dog, the topline and movement, and those waves can distract them, unfortunately.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Her age and your equipment definitely put you at a disadvantage... so I wouldn't worry too much that you won't be able to straighten her out in the long run. As for using a towel... I can't imagine any way to get it tight enough or to stay put well enough (just running through visuals in my mind). Here's a shot of Jersey wearing his (not great, but to give you an idea)... it's not a thick material at all, but it's quite stretchy... and with the aide of 3 big safety pins, it isn't really going anywhere (unless he gets really feisty and knocks the hood off, but he never did it much and hasn't at all in years). It's the firm, consistent pressure and molded fit that do the work.

Julie and Jersey


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

I have found that if I blow dry Tucker after his baths, his coat always comes out pin straight. It I just towel dry him, his coat ends up being much wavier when he dries, especially on his back and rear end. He even gets little cowlicks in some spots. He is almost 15 months and doesn't have his full adult coat yet, so that's to be expected. I now blow dry him after every bath, brushing him while I do this, and his coat always comes out nice and straight.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

There's Scout in her styling towel. I found that safety pins don't work for us as they came out and poked my little girl  Instead I bought some elastic and put holes in the towel and ran it through. Not perfect....instead of buying a drying coat I think I might try and make one. My grandmother knows how to sew and would probably help me...do you guys think that might work? I could make a custom fit for Scout that way. Suggested fabric??

Jersey's Mom, how do you use the drying coat. Do you put it on when he is wet and wait until he's dry? Do you try blow drying before/after? I just ordered an air dryer, so I am excited to have that to work with, it will probably help a lot!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

GoldenSail said:


> There's Scout in her styling towel. I found that safety pins don't work for us as they came out and poked my little girl  Instead I bought some elastic and put holes in the towel and ran it through. Not perfect....instead of buying a drying coat I think I might try and make one. My grandmother knows how to sew and would probably help me...do you guys think that might work? I could make a custom fit for Scout that way. Suggested fabric??
> 
> Jersey's Mom, how do you use the drying coat. Do you put it on when he is wet and wait until he's dry? Do you try blow drying before/after? I just ordered an air dryer, so I am excited to have that to work with, it will probably help a lot!


 
Go to a fabric store and purchase blanket pins. You will be able to get a tighter fit, and the elastic is going to leave lines. I bathe, towel dry, and comb the coat into place without drying it, and then apply the towel. Take the towel off, lightly mist with water and Isle of Dogs, then blow dry.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

With a 6 month old pup I would not worry about this at all.
That being said I do not use a towel or drying coat. Well I USED to use a towel around Fisher's neck/shoulders to try to get it to lay down. It sorta worked. You know what REALLY works? THINNING SHEARS
Have at those cowlicks with thinning shears and they get scared and go away.
There's my tip of the day!
I use thinning shears for just about everything


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Pointgold said:


> Go to a fabric store and purchase blanket pins. You will be able to get a tighter fit, and the elastic is going to leave lines. I bathe, towel dry, and comb the coat into place without drying it, and then apply the towel. Take the towel off, lightly mist with water and Isle of Dogs, then blow dry.



Thanks for the tip! I'm headed to the store tomorrow and will try again in a week (I bathed her today, so gonna wait again for the weekend for the next attempt).


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

K9-Design said:


> With a 6 month old pup I would not worry about this at all.
> That being said I do not use a towel or drying coat. Well I USED to use a towel around Fisher's neck/shoulders to try to get it to lay down. It sorta worked. You know what REALLY works? THINNING SHEARS
> Have at those cowlicks with thinning shears and they get scared and go away.
> There's my tip of the day!
> I use thinning shears for just about everything


Well, I am always looking for an opportunity to practice and get better, and I might as well work on it when she is young so that she and I both learn the process. And, so that when is really ready she will look fantastic! I may plan to show her to between now and her birthday and again, I want her to look every bit as good as those other dogs--despite her age.

And how to you angle those thinning shears when you trim the flips? That is something I will have to store in my memory, as Scout doesn't have a lot of coat so taking shears to the flips at this point scares me. In fact, I think that may be partly why she has them as the coat is not long enough to pull down and lay flat on the sides.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I don't show, never been to a show so these are probably stupid questions...

Are waves or curls not acceptable on a golden coat, period? Or are straight coats just in vogue at this time? Or is it a particular judge's preference?

Personally I like the wavy look.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Willow52 said:


> I don't show, never been to a show so these are probably stupid questions...
> 
> Are waves or curls not acceptable on a golden coat, period? Or are straight coats just in vogue at this time? Or is it a particular judge's preference?
> 
> Personally I like the wavy look.


Wavy is correct, however, since you only have a few minutes in with the judge you want your dog to look the best. A dog with a wavy coat gives the illusion of a soft topline. And given that you only have so many minutes time with the judge, you never want the thought to cross their mind that their might be something up with the topline on your dog.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

GoldenSail said:


> There's Scout in her styling towel. I found that safety pins don't work for us as they came out and poked my little girl  Instead I bought some elastic and put holes in the towel and ran it through. Not perfect....instead of buying a drying coat I think I might try and make one. My grandmother knows how to sew and would probably help me...do you guys think that might work? I could make a custom fit for Scout that way. Suggested fabric??
> 
> Jersey's Mom, how do you use the drying coat. Do you put it on when he is wet and wait until he's dry? Do you try blow drying before/after? I just ordered an air dryer, so I am excited to have that to work with, it will probably help a lot!


Bathing suit fabric seems to be the way to go. I will see if I can take the camera with me this weekend and take pictures of some dogs with coats etc... so you can have a better idea. 

Lana


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Okay- here’ my ignorant- “I have Goldens but don’t show them but still want them to look presentable” question: Since the breed standard indicates that a wavy coat is perfectly acceptable- why is everyone blow drying their dog’s coats straight? As a long time member of the horse show world, I totally understand that show grooming is whole “next level” but the breed standards for both CKC and AKC seem to be pretty clear in indicating that a wavy (not curly) coat is perfectly fine. Why are judges (possibly?) penalizing a wavy coat over one that has been blow-dried straight? This seems especially odd in a sporting breed. Thoughts?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

sevans said:


> Okay- here’ my ignorant- “I have Goldens but don’t show them but still want them to look presentable” question: Since the breed standard indicates that a wavy coat is perfectly acceptable- why is everyone blow drying their dog’s coats straight? As a long time member of the horse show world, I totally understand that show grooming is whole “next level” but the breed standards for both CKC and AKC seem to be pretty clear in indicating that a wavy (not curly) coat is perfectly fine. Why are judges (possibly?) penalizing a wavy coat over one that has been blow-dried straight? This seems especially odd in a sporting breed. Thoughts?


The really sad thing is 99% of the people on this thread are no longer GRF members....  In fact 1-2 responders, pretty sure do not own goldens anymore. 

If you are asking a question vs venting - what I understood from a breeder judge.... there is no penalizing based on correct coats. And many people competing in conformation have won with dogs who have "flippies".

The preference is for dogs to have naturally straight coats so you don't have to fuss or stress if the dogs get wet prior to showing. There in Canada + generally around the US in summer.... if it rains, basically people still go out there in a full downpour getting soaked to their skin while showing their dogs. Have been there and done it.

Should add as well, there was a show last summer where it was so hot that the judge(s) instructed handlers to soak the dogs to the skin to keep them comfortable prior to showing. Not sure if everyone did, but many/most gladly did.

Wavy or even borderline curly coats are more high maintenance because most people do not care to show a dog who has ring around the butts making him look high in the rear or curly/wavy ruffs making them look stuffy around the necks (short necked). Ways of dealing with coats like this are stripping more coat out, but then the dog obviously looks groomed....

Should add, the below example is what I've seen people refer to as wavy coats. But I will tell you those coats lie smooth when the dogs are dry, even if I let them air dry. If however they dried like that - it would never occur to me to show them that way. Because I take pride in my dogs and how they look with very little effort. A quick puff dry with a dryer for about 10-30 minutes per dog is all it takes. No product, no excess fuss. These are sporting dogs with no fuss easy care coats. *should add, my Jovi won his first ever AKC CH point with a wet coat (I ran a towel over him so he didn't look as rumpled as in the pic below).


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Thank you so much (and your dogs are lovely). Sad to hear that so many people who were on this forum are no longer. Yes- my questio was legit- I was getting the impression that wavy coats were a “no-no” in the show ring period and i would be sorry to discover that. What you say about “correcting” coats that create the illusion of a conformation fault makes perfect sense (we do the same sort of grooming with our horses). Funny- your dogs seem to have coats very similar to my two boys-our senior boy could easily have the coat on the right (if he were not three weeks away from his last bath and in the midst of a good shed🙄) and our 7 month old has a coat more similar to your dog on the left. Thanks again for the info.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

This is my 3 year old a 1/2 hour after the above pic. He's the one on the right. That's his coat. 











His baby brother (boy on the left) - again, that's his natural coat and what it can look like with the least amount of fuss. 










Showing horses - you probably know how rumpled they can look while showing this time of the year with their winter coats.  Lot of us would go through all kinds of bother with blankets to keep them from growing that coat - which was preferred to clipping it.


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Your boys are SOOOOO handsome. I just brought mine back from the groomers ($300 later). The puppy (7 months) is a mess. The groomer- who is certified, who breeds and shows Goldens (or at least claims to) insisted that she could not possibly blow flat the pup’s back waves. (Yes, should have probably seen the large red flag run up the pole at that point.) It is particularly the area over his hips that bothers me as it makes him look really bum high- and while he _is_ going through a growth spurt that does have him slightly bum high- the fact that he has a bunch of of pseudo puppy coat sticking straight up makes it hard for me to properly eyeball his conformation. Anyway, I made a specific point of asking her to do her best to blow flat this area. He now has two huge “cowlicks”- his croup looks like a whirlpool. Ugh. What a disaster! Arg. Need to find a new groomer- we recently moved and we were VERY spoiled where we lived with a groomer who actually ran a groom training program and who did grooming certifications- showed her dogs to many National C— super talented pro. I fear we have moved to a groomer wasteland. Attaching a “before the groomer” and an “after“ the groomer. Also added his puppy obedience nce “grad” pict. He definitely cheated- I would have failed him!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Baby pups have all kinds of flips while coat is transitioning

will get better as he gets older

300 to groom a 7 month old is highway robbery


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## sevans (Jul 18, 2021)

Megora said:


> Baby pups have all kinds of flips while coat is transitioning
> 
> will get better as he gets older
> 
> 300 to groom a 7 month old is highway robbery


Fingers crossed!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Megora said:


> there was a show last summer where it was so hot that the judge(s) instructed handlers to soak the dogs to the skin to keep them comfortable prior to showing. Not sure if everyone did, but many/most gladly did.


If you're talking about Grays Lake... There's more to that story. LOL It was more like one dog was melting so he got wet down and the handler didn't have time to dry him before going in the ring. They were showing to a breeder judge (Tom Schulz I think?) so the handlers banded together to show wet dogs to a breeder judge because they knew he would love it. He didn't actually ask them to do that, but he did get a huge kick out of it, the handlers had fun, and the dogs were more comfortable.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

ArkansasGold said:


> If you're talking about Grays Lake... There's more to that story. LOL It was more like one dog was melting so he got wet down and the handler didn't have time to dry him before going in the ring. They were showing to a breeder judge (Tom Schulz I think?) so the handlers banded together to show wet dogs to a breeder judge because they knew he would love it. He didn't actually ask them to do that, but he did get a huge kick out of it, the handlers had fun, and the dogs were more comfortable.


That was awesome of those handlers - even allowing that they probably wouldn't do that for an OH.


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

sevans said:


> Your boys are SOOOOO handsome. I just brought mine back from the groomers ($300 later). The puppy (7 months) is a mess. The groomer- who is certified, who breeds and shows Goldens (or at least claims to) insisted that she could not possibly blow flat the pup’s back waves. (Yes, should have probably seen the large red flag run up the pole at that point.) It is particularly the area over his hips that bothers me as it makes him look really bum high- and while he _is_ going through a growth spurt that does have him slightly bum high- the fact that he has a bunch of of pseudo puppy coat sticking straight up makes it hard for me to properly eyeball his conformation. Anyway, I made a specific point of asking her to do her best to blow flat this area. He now has two huge “cowlicks”- his croup looks like a whirlpool. Ugh. What a disaster! Arg. Need to find a new groomer- we recently moved and we were VERY spoiled where we lived with a groomer who actually ran a groom training program and who did grooming certifications- showed her dogs to many National C— super talented pro. I fear we have moved to a groomer wasteland. Attaching a “before the groomer” and an “after“ the groomer. Also added his puppy obedience nce “grad” pict. He definitely cheated- I would have failed him!
> View attachment 888726
> View attachment 888728
> View attachment 888727


looks like they charged you $300 to bathe and crate dry him (which is why his hair is ALL over the place in the after). Unless he was a complete disaster for them behaviorally — a puppy bath and blow dry shouldn’t be anywhere near $300…


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