How long does it take to groom a Maltese?

Did anyone see the segment during the Eukanuba Dog Show that showed the Maltese being groomed for the show. The lady spent 5 1/2 HOURS getting the dog ready.
I bet they spent about 5 minutes getting the Lab ready. Probably just hosed him down out back. :lol:
I guess people who have high maintenance dogs either enjoy the grooming or can afford to have it done.
I'd like to hear from a non-show Maltese owner as to how much grooming they really need. Anyone here?

 

my boss has 2 maltese terrors. She gets them both groomed approx. every 5 weeks (basic grooming not all showed up). Takes her groomer about 4 hours to do the both

 

For a pet Maltese, most people keep their coats in more of a puppy cut, I think, so that the grooming is not so bad.

 

"I bet they spent about 5 minutes getting the Lab ready. Probably just hosed him down out back."

did you notice how shiny his coat was? they have to use some sort of shining agent.

didnt see the maltese but saw one at another show and its a afhgan hound and what they go thru to keep them pretty until ring time, whew what work

 

I don't have a Maltese but my Yorkie is pretty much just wash and wear. Takes me about half an hour to 45 minutes from the start of his bath to the end (dried hair, nail clipping and ear cleaning) when he has long hair.

It takes my groomer about 2 hours or less to clip him from his long winter cut into his shorter summer cut.

I saw on a show once that for the show dogs with long hair, they roll their hair up with what looked like paper strips so they don't get as dirty and their hair doesn't get in thei dogs way. I guess with the Maltese's being white they also have to deal with getting the tear stains out too before a show.

 

Let me assure you, it took a lot more than five minutes with a hose to prep that Lab for the show ring.

Smooth coated dogs will still get a bath with a color enhancing shampoo, which has to remain on the dog for 10 minutes. An intensive conditioner follows that for maximum shine. A high volocity dryer is used to give the coat lift and body. The nails are done with a grinder, and just prior to showing they get rubbed with oil or petroleum jelly. Thinning scissor are used to sculpt areas such as the tuck-up, bend of stifle, topline or undercarriage. Feet, tail and ears are made tidy by removing any stray hairs. The whiskers may or may not be trimmed. Grooming chalk is applied if necessary and the coat is hand stripped to remove any dead, dull hair, followed by a thorough brushing and application of grooming spray to add shine and texture. Finally the coat is polished with a grooming stone, pumic stone or silk handkerchief.

Drop coats, like Maltese and Yorkies, are kept oiled and wrapped not to keep them clean, but to prevent breakage and split ends. The wraps need to be taken out every three days and completely combed to the skin to prevent mats.

Now, on pet Maltese, I can groom one in 45 minutes, including bath, anal glands, clean the ears, and grind nails along with the clip or scissoring. That's if the dog is not matted and gets regular grooms. If it's matted it can take a bit longer, but I don't demat. If it's matted it gets shaved.

 

Shineillusion,
Thanks for the short course on grooming. Now I better understand the position of that trainer that had 5 young Bichon's at the show so he could evaluate which ones had the temperament to endure the dog show circuit week after week.
Do you think the same grooming routines are followed at the Cruft's show in England? It seems dogs there are presented in a more "natural" state. I believe more of those dogs are just family pets or working dogs as opposed to pure show dogs. It's interesting to see dogs with undocked tails and uncropped ears but that is not really a show grooming issue. Do you know how that show differs from say Westminster? Is it the prize money or more importantly the breeding fees that might result in a championship?

 

I wish the AKC would ban tail docking and ear cropping.

 

Jamiya,
As I understand the AKC, they leave the standards up to each separate breed association. Of course I believe if they came out in public to support the idea the associations may take note. I heard that the Boxer association recently revised their standard to "allow" uncropped ears but they did not ban cropping.
One small step there.

 

Dukesdad, the same grooming tricks are used all over the world. When a dog is supposed to look natural, it actually ends up getting more grooming!

For example, a Field Spaniel, which is shown fairly natural, but maybe your particular dog is a little too short on legs. So you bring the topline up, by grooming, and shorten the undercarriage, by scissoring, then you have to lift and tip all the hair with thinning scissors so it doesn't looked groomed.

As for the AKC and docking/cropping; indeed the standard is set by the national breed club. However the AKC does cover the issue of dogs that have their appearance altered surgically; i.e. tacking eyelids, which is forbidden. They simply need to amend that to include docking and cropping.

Judges could do a lot to move things along if they were more willing to "put up" undocked and uncropped dogs. As it is, if you're showing a dog that is not docked or cropped it has to be just that much better than the other dogs before a lot of judges will give it a serious concideration.