# Getting Back hair to lay flat, Whats the trick?



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Hmmm.. My girl has curly fur on her back just behind her head, too. I just always thought it was like cowlicks and impossible to smooth. If you learn the trick.. do share! (Though I kind of like her funny little curls)


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I'm no help but I think that is just a phase all of our pups have gone through. Your Bentley is at the perfect age to have the beginnings of his adult coat coming in. That is just the though guard hairs coming in on his back. There will be nice soft fur coming in soon.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Do you mean curls like this:


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Brooks has that really curly hair at the tail end of his back


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Rookie is quite curly. The only time his coat is straight is when he comes back for the groomer and they have blow dried him straight. I think it's much like my own hair... if I want it to be straight, I have to blow dry it.


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## Svan (Mar 2, 2011)

A dog drying coat will smooth it out


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

It's suppose to lie flat with no waves?? I love Hank's curls/waves especially after a bath. I guess I just like the natural look.

Seriously, a blowing dryer and a brush will probably take care of it.


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## cprcheetah (Apr 26, 2009)

You have to force dry with a high velocity blow dryer to get the hair to lay straight.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Or the old-fashioned, low tech way is to simply "towel" him. You will need a towel big enough to meet underneath his tummy, and three or four blanket pins (like you get at a tack shop for horse blankets). Slide the towel onto him from head to tail when he is still damp. Pull taut and pin under the chin, one or two under the belly and one under the tail. If the first towel saturates, replace it and let him sleep wrapped. Coat will be flat in the morning!


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I literally have to wash one of my dogs in the AM, and then continuously dry her with the metro throughout the day. The whole time I am directing the fur with fingers or brush. I have seen drying coats which seem like a good idea to me.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Lycra drying coats can work really well, and are nice for the summer as they are lighter than a towel--they just have to fit the dog. I have made them for my own curly boy, my Cavalier, and for a few friends. Recently someone showed me something else they found-- Lamb Tubes or Lamb Sox. It is the same kind of thing but made to keep a show lamb's coat tight and clean, and way cheaper than the dog drying coats I have seen sold online.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

One thing I was wondering... if you use a drying coat to flatten the curls, do they stay flat? Or do they flip out again the next time your dog shakes himself? 

Our first golden had the curls on his back (shoulders to rump) and the "frizzles" around his ears. <- Given what I know now about grooming, I probably would have trimmed all of the frizzles out from the ears. But the rest of him was pretty hopeless. After all, he was curly even when he had a puppy coat! 

With Jacks I brushed him and toweled him until he was mostly dry after his last bath (last week). That kept him from getting any cowlicks on his sides. His coat is naturally straight though, so as long as it's dry it stays straight.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

If you keep towel or drying coat on the dog until they are bone dry or force dry with a STRONG dryer until the dog is bone dry (Erik Strickland says to keep working the coat even after you think it is dry as even the littlest bit of moisture will cause flips or curls) the coat should stay until it gets wet again. With the towel or drying coat it is working to "set" the coat, kind of the way a pants press sets the crease in dress trousers. When showing all you have to do is wash out the feet if they've gotten dirty, and spritz and brush out the feathering. None of this bathing every day of a show weekend business! I do this with my boys (my girls do not have much coat, and what they do have lies close to the body--not glamourous but correct!). For example with Win back in 2007 I was going to visit Breeze's breeder in NH before we went to the GRCC NAtional in Quebec. There was a midweek show in NH with a judge I liked so I entered him. He had his bath on Monday, we travelled on Tuesday and I showed him on Wednesday. Travelled up to Quebec on Thursday, watched sweeps and socialized on Friday, and then showed him to a JAM and Best Field Dog on Saturday, and Best Field Dog again on Sunday at the regional--all on the original bath and dry from Monday, as his coat just stayed where it should! Luckily for the the working test was on Monday after the show!!!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

sterregold said:


> Or the old-fashioned, low tech way is to simply "towel" him. You will need a towel big enough to meet underneath his tummy, and three or four blanket pins (like you get at a tack shop for horse blankets). Slide the towel onto him from head to tail when he is still damp. Pull taut and pin under the chin, one or two under the belly and one under the tail. If the first towel saturates, replace it and let him sleep wrapped. Coat will be flat in the morning!


Hah if he does this then his next question will be _"how do I stop my dog from eating a towel?" _:


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

ActionJackson said:


> Hah if he does this then his next question will be _"how do I stop my dog from eating a towel?" _:


Huh?!? Literally thousands and thousands of show dogs have been dried this way over the decades. You don't put the towel on the dog and then leave them to their own devices--towel, then sleep, supervised. And the towel is snug on the dog's body, not flapping around loose like a flag for the dog to grab.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

sterregold said:


> Huh?!? Literally thousands and thousands of show dogs have been dried this way over the decades. You don't put the towel on the dog and then leave them to their own devices--towel, then sleep, supervised. And the towel is snug on the dog's body, not flapping around loose like a flag for the dog to grab.


Oh boy. I was hoping this wouldn't need to be explained. Maybe the "Hah" and pink smiley face with the tongue sticking out wasn't obvious enough, but I was making a joke :uhoh::uhoh::uhoh:

But not for nothing, you _did_ make it sound like you wrap the dog up then let him go to sleep for the night..... _"If the first towel saturates, replace it and let him sleep wrapped. Coat will be flat in the morning!"_. :doh:

But I'm not even looking to discuss the procedure - it's semantics and really a moot point. I was simply making a joke about, ya know, how golden retrievers will eat anything.....and putting a towel on the dog could be something his dog would try to eat.....


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

ActionJackson said:


> Hah if he does this then his next question will be _"how do I stop my dog from eating a towel?" _:


That would have been my question too. Rookie LOVES to play with towels. For him, half the fun of getting a bath is pouncing on the damp towel afterwards. Of course, Rookie's not a show dog and I've never needed or really wanted to train him not to attack the towel. I get a kick out of him thrashing it around. 

I think Rookie looks fabulous when he comes back from the groomer with a straight coat after being blow dried. But mostly, I just bathe him, towel him off, and live with the curlies.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

mdoats said:


> That would have been my question too. Rookie LOVES to play with towels. For him, half the fun of getting a bath is pouncing on the damp towel afterwards. Of course, Rookie's not a show dog and I've never needed or really wanted to train him not to attack the towel. I get a kick out of him thrashing it around.
> 
> I think Rookie looks fabulous when he comes back from the groomer with a straight coat after being blow dried. But mostly, I just bathe him, towel him off, and live with the curlies.


Ohhhh yeah, the best part of bath time for Jackson is the part where we _attempt_ to dry him off lol. For him it must be the best game in the world :bowl:


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

I should add that Jackson is somewhat curly.

He's only 7 months old though so his coat may change as he gets older. It seemed curlier a couple of months ago, that's for sure. I don't mind it


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Well your statement did seem sarcastic, rather than funny, pink smiley notwithstanding. 

Bentley's dad does want to show him eventually, and if he can start training Bentley's coat to behave now, it will make show prep easier in the future. I was trying to give him some options that might help him, not turn his question into a joke. If you have allowed your dog to play with a towel, and turned the bathing process into a game then you will not be able to use this method. If you're not showing, and you don't care about having a nice smooth topline to create that nice outline then it does not matter!!!

Have a nice day and enjoy your dogs. I'm going off to let mine have some fun retrieving in the melt-mud.:wavey:


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

sterregold said:


> Well your statement did seem sarcastic, rather than funny, pink smiley notwithstanding.


Not my fault that you took it that way. Seems at least one other person on this thread didn't think it was "sarcastic." I guess it's a good thing I'm not trying out for Last Comic Standing then, huh? :--keep_silent: 



sterregold said:


> Bentley's dad does want to show him eventually, and if he can start training Bentley's coat to behave now, it will make show prep easier in the future. I was trying to give him some options that might help him, not turn his question into a joke. If you have allowed your dog to play with a towel, and turned the bathing process into a game then you will not be able to use this method. If you're not showing, and you don't care about having a nice smooth topline to create that nice outline then it does not matter!!!


Who was trying to turn his question into a joke?  ....I thought dog owner's were laid back? Didn't know we were at the CPAC convention of golden retrievers here  :no: I will be sure to refrain from all lighthearted comments in the future so as not to confuse the golden retriever intelligentsia :--sad:



sterregold said:


> Have a nice day and enjoy your dogs. I'm going off to let mine have some fun retrieving in the melt-mud.:wavey:


Wait, are you being serious right now or is this one of those sarcasticy jokey thingeys?  At any rate, enjoy the mud - just be sure to wrap that towel _tightly_ after bathing your dog :dblthumb2 :smooch:


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

^^^not sarcasm, but an actual option that might help you^^^


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## BetterThanYourBentley (Oct 16, 2010)

Thanks Everyone... I knew about blow drying but didnt know if anyone had any tips for blow drying it flat


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## Svan (Mar 2, 2011)

ActionJackson said:


> Oh boy. I was hoping this wouldn't need to be explained. Maybe the "Hah" and pink smiley face with the tongue sticking out wasn't obvious enough, but I was making a joke :uhoh::uhoh::uhoh:
> 
> But not for nothing, you _did_ make it sound like you wrap the dog up then let him go to sleep for the night..... _"If the first towel saturates, replace it and let him sleep wrapped. Coat will be flat in the morning!"_. :doh:
> 
> But I'm not even looking to discuss the procedure - it's semantics and really a moot point. I was simply making a joke about, ya know, how golden retrievers will eat anything.....and putting a towel on the dog could be something his dog would try to eat.....



Cody would, that's for sure.


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## julliams (Oct 27, 2010)

Go the waves! Actually Zali's coat sticks up after a bath - it looks a little like a duck's bottom - lol. I put coconut oil on it hoping it would smooth it down but it didn't really. I think it's only when it's totally dry that it smooths itself. I have to admit that I love the waviness of her coat. It reminds me of her mothers.


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## Svan (Mar 2, 2011)

Drat ActionJackson how dare you use a towl in a tug-of-war game? Now you've ruined your opportunity for a flat coat forever?!

THAT Sterregolden (starsgolden?) was sarcasm. Just incase you were unsure - see, no pink smiley.


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## wakemup (Feb 6, 2011)

I went to an Erik Strickland seminar (wonderfully talented pro handler) and he taught a method for drying hair straight. You need a force dryer and an attachment that makes the hair come out in a flat line (rather than a round nozzle). You force dry the back and shoulders first, using side to side movements with the nozzle. He does have a grooming video available. To train the hair to lay flat, you need to bathe/dry straight on a regular basis (I go about 7-10 days in between baths on a dog I am trying to condition for show). My oldest dog is from straight field lines and used to look like she had a bad perm, but with a bit of work even her coat will lay flat. I actually think her curls are cute, but figured she was a good one to practice the technique on. Anyway, hope this helps.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I am about to get my veteran girl bathed and dried for the New England Sporting Specialty this weekend. She has those "angel wings." It will probably take me all day to get her coat right as now she has the nasty neuter coat. I use the the metro on her from behind and curl her wings forward. Once she is dry, her wings then lay straight. I do the same thing on my dogs near the tail where they get that duck ruffle. I put the metro behind the dog and work the hair forward.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Svan said:


> Drat ActionJackson how dare you use a towl in a tug-of-war game? Now you've ruined your opportunity for a flat coat forever?!
> 
> THAT Sterregolden (starsgolden?) was sarcasm. Just incase you were unsure - see, no pink smiley.


What can I say....I am just a terrible dog owner.  

At first I wanted Jackson's coat to lay down and be flat, but now I like his wavy coat it seems to go with his personality :wavey:


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## Svan (Mar 2, 2011)

Well I'm not showing Cody, we recently had him neutered, so I don't bother too much with Cody's coat except for trimming and making sure he looks gorgeous, however having been there I certainly appreciate the effort that goes into it! Personally I love his curls, I've always loved my GR curlies as it suits their clownish personalities for me, so I know where you are coming from ActionJackson. Btw I love the pic of your dog. It looks like he's got wings 

A question for those using Forcedrying: I always used a coat, granted it doesn't work as well as the dryer, but does the dryer not cause dry skin for your dog? I know the GR has a very oily undercoat, but Cody has such sensitive skin I would be worried. Or is it not a problem?


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## kateann1201 (Jan 9, 2011)

Ugh, I gave up on this issue. Not only is Bailey's hair curly, but it lays backwards. Craziest shiz I ever saw. It literally shoots straight towards his head. And no amount of brushing in the other direction, or blow drying will make it go the right direction.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

For the record, I just spent THREE hours with the metro to get my Samantha's shoulder hair to not curl for tomorrow's foray into uncontested Veteran Sweeps. Then I washed her daughter who is blowing coat and will probably be naked by Sunday. Then I got sick of being cooped up in the house. When I got home Samantha had "angel wings" on her show side.... so spent another 20 minutes or so fixing that. She is 2 lbs heavier than she was before she got spayed and with all the coat, she looks like a blubber butt. I will try to take photos of her with her coat straighter. Her daughter was a quick blow dry and will probably not even get a second look.....


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