How to show groom a maltese?

[Gempress]

I am dogsitting my mom's maltese over the Christmas holidays. As a surprise Christmas present for Mom, I thought it would be a great idea to make Scandal all pretty and get pictures done.

How exactly do you groom a maltese for show? I'd like Scandal to look her absolute best....and she is STUNNING when well groomed. But I'm completely clueless as how to do it. I have absolutely no experience with small hairy dogs. All I know how to do is brush the knots out. :o

[RedyreRottweilers]

http://www.bhejei.com/groom-topknots.htm

Lots of other good info on that site too, this is just the page on topknots.

:D

[Laurelin]

I was looking for a site, but that site was the best I could find. I'm not very into grooming per say, as my breeds are very natural in coat...

[Gempress]

Thank you Redyre! All the information is a huge help to me. Wow, it's a lot of work to maintain that coat. I can see why so many people have their pets clipped.

I can't wait for Scandal's coat to completely regrow. While fairly long, It's still a few inches short of show length. But I'm sure it'll be jaw-dropping by next summer.

[Lizmo]

Pics :D :D

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Do not dry brush her. When you brush her, lightly spritz her with some water, or a mixture of water, and a light/mild conditioner. Only a very small amount of the conditioner is needed. Then brush her coat out. For the top knot I'm almost positive that it's the same for Maltese as for Yorkies...but I could be wrong. For my Yorkies I take the hair from the corners of the eyes, to the base of the ears, and put in the topknot band, then the bow. The hair should naturally part down the middle, but you may need to help it out by making sure it's parted. Sometimes after a bath Dixie's hair is parted wrong, and it makes her topline look off. Good luck!! And I second Lizzie's request for PICTURES! :D

[mightymitedoggear]

I am dogsitting my mom's maltese over the Christmas holidays. As a surprise Christmas present for Mom, I thought it would be a great idea to make Scandal all pretty and get pictures done.

How exactly do you groom a maltese for show? I'd like Scandal to look her absolute best....and she is STUNNING when well groomed. But I'm completely clueless as how to do it. I have absolutely no experience with small hairy dogs. All I know how to do is brush the knots out. :o

I know Yorkies - which are a lot like Maltese. You will need a rat-tailed comb to do it right. Maltese have a straight part down the center from the withers to the point of tail. They have two smaller top knots (usually with black bows)that are capped with white paper. You will need a light spray conditioner. To get the coat to lie flat, you will also need to use a hair iron.

Here are some links (since drop coat care is coming up a lot on this forum):
http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/grooming/groom.htm

http://www.bhejei.com/groom-basic.htm