Is there any other product out there like shampoo to make to coat whiter? My aussie like to have some fun in mud..... That is why i use chalk because my whiting shampoo dosen't get it all. thanks!
I find that certain areas on my Samoyeds will not look as clean as the rest no matter what you do. Elbows and the backs of the hocks will always look a bit gray. Now, Sams are not actually a true white, they are varying shades of off-white or cream. So I would guess that those areas on a dog with truly white parts like an Aussie would be even more obviously not-as-white. So that is one reason I usually use some chalk on the legs.
I would love it if they had great policing at dog shows about using products on the dogs. I dream of dog shows where you have to bathe your dog on the premises and the only thing you can use is a dryer. But that's not the way it is. If pro handlers are using chalk then I am certainly not going to unilaterally disarm. They have enough advantage already, I'm not going to give them another one. In my breed, and especially my area, the trend in Samoyeds is for dogs with more bone and more coat. I don't think this is proper and I've always preferred a dog with moderate bone and coat, a more athletic dog. Some of the dogs in the ring look like they have tree trunks for legs. This is what we have to compete against. We do okay but it is difficult. So we chalk and brush the leg hair up to make it look like my dog has more bone and coat. In my mind, it is preferrable to "fake it" than to actually break down and breed dogs with more bone and coat than a working dog should have.
Not a perfect world, these dog shows. But I will hang in there and hope that the styles change back to a working dog instead of a puff ball.
I'm currently showing my fifth Samoyed, and she is well on her way to her AKC championship. Three of the four previous dogs are/were AKC champions, the fourth was major pointed when he decided he didn't like shows. All owner handled and groomed.
