CAUTION - SHOW DOGS - A "DOGUMENTARY!"

What perfect timing that I should receive this DVD about Show Dogs when the Westminster Dog Show was on television this past Monday and Tuesday. I just watched it this morning and it was a delightful way to spend 61 minutes of my time! Show dogs, no matter which breed you favor are really different from your next door neighbor�s dogs. Or better put, it�s the people that own them that are really different from your other neighbors! Yup, we show dog people are unique among other folks that one might know. Can I say that we live and breathe dogs?

CAUTION � SHOW DOGS is a dogumentary that was orchestrated by Leslye Abbey. This is what the outside of the DVD case says. �Repeatedly throughout the year, at the many prestigious Dog Shows, hundreds of breeders from all over the country present the very best of �Man�s Best Friend.� While showing at these events, the dogs are evaluated alongside all the other competitors to eventually contend for the highly coveted top prize � BEST IN SHOW.

Behind the glamour and excitement lie endless hard work, enormous amounts of love and an all-consuming dedication difficult to imagine. Get to know four top breeders and their dogs and share the years of knowledge and experience required to produce consistent champions. CAUTION � SHOW DOGS puts you behind the scenes so you can feel the excitement and exhilaration of the big world of SHOW DOGS! It you love dogs and are just a wee bit curious about the intrigue and hoopla of Dog Shows, this is your movie!�

In easy to understand language, follow some breeders, handlers and judges as they take you along with them on their road to a dog show. I found the interviews with these people refreshing and enlightening especially for the novice person just getting into the world of show dogs. And even then for those of you that just simply love dogs, it�s an amusing way to get a little educated about the sport of showing dogs.

Some of the subjects they talk about are showing, handling, judging, agility, etc. They even touched a bit on politics and the show ring. You�ll see a German Shepherd breeder who has a lot of success breeding and showing her Australian Shepherds as well. She showed some pictures of her Australian Shepherds winning with Jimmy Moses as their handler. I have to admit for me, it was a little unusual seeing Jimmy with anything but a German Shepherd. Then too, there is a little interview with Alan Stone who was very well known in the breed for many years. Alan is no longer with us, but it was good hearing what he had to say once again.

Naturally this DVD is not just about German Shepherds, but anyone who is a show person in another breed goes through very similar things that we do with our breed. I loved hearing what some of those handlers from other breeds had to say and a couple of judges as well that talked about politics and some �tricks of the trade.�

Do pay attention even at the end when the credits are being shown because the camera will cut back to more comments from some of the people on this DVD. What was really interesting and amusing was what a professional handler had to say about a dog that was being shown. Apparently this dog had one testicle as a youngster and the breeder liked him so much that she wanted to show him. So doing the �unthinkable� she had a plastic surgeon �sculpt� him a second testicle! Yup, it�s done folks. I�ve heard of this one before even in our own breed! Well on this particular day in the show ring, it seems that the judge was spending too much time �back there� with the dog�s testicles. Finally, he shakes his head and says, �Geez, this dog�s got three testicles!� I laughed out loud. Apparently the owner never checked her dog any more after the testicle surgery. Seems like if she would have been a little more patient, she would have found out her dog �grew a new one� all by himself! The truth was out. She got caught!

I also loved the saying that seems to go around the show ring about show dogs. It goes something like this: �A good dog will win some of the time. A great dog will win most of the time!� Love it!

CAUTION � SHOW DOGS doesn�t take itself too seriously. Rather it shares information and stories about the show dog circuit and what it�s like to be part of it. One thing remains true throughout this movie. These people love what they�re doing and most of all they love the dogs that they�re sharing their lives with! All in all, a light, breezy and most of all entertaining little piece of �dogumentary.� In my opinion this is a great way to introduce the novice to the world of dogs and to show them that what we do is a lot of fun and to encourage them to get involved in the world of the show dog. Dog shows should be fun and this movie showed that indeed, it is!


My rating: CAUTION � SHOW DOGS: (4)!

COAT CONDITIONERS - DO THEY REALLY WORK?

A few days ago on one of the lists that I belong to people were talking about coat conditioners. Some like one product while others preferred another product. Like in anything in life, some products may work for some of us and another product works for the rest of us. Manufactures will pay advertising companies millions of dollars to come up with the right adjectives to entice the consumer to buy their products. When it comes to show dog people, the majority of those products are bought by us. Buy this shampoo, use this coat conditioner, spray this product, and add this supplement to your dog�s food. You too will have a dog that walks into the show ring ready to blow the competition away. But do they really work? Well yes and no.

Last year I did an article right here on this blog about some coat conditioning products. I tried to review some of the more popular products that show dog people use and like. They must all work to some of your satisfaction or you wouldn�t be buying them. But I�m here to say that there is no �Miracle in a bottle!� Why do people buy these products? Well they�re looking for their dogs to have a healthy, shiny coat and then there are some that are hoping that it will give their dog a longer, plusher coat.

Before any coat conditioning product can do anything at all for your dog, your dog needs to be healthy inside. He needs to be fed a good quality food. He needs to be free from worms and other diseases. What�s going on inside your dog will show up on the outside as well.

One of the most important factors in what a dogs coat will look like is his genetics. It always amazes me when people look to buy a product that will change the length of their dogs coat or give their dog a plush coat rather than a shorter, drier type of coat. It �ain�t� going to happen.

Most people know that I sell Vibrant Pets Ultimate Formula supplements. Although it has flaxseed and omegas listed in its ingredients to help enhance the condition of your dog�s skin and coat, I never sell this product as a coat conditioner. Rather I sell it as a HEALTH conditioner. My feelings are, healthy insides makes for a healthy outside (skin and coat). That said one time a large kennel bought this product from me because her dogs all were hard, dry type of animals. She expected by using this product that she would get lush, plush coated animals. This didn�t happen. Neither I nor anyone else could ever make that statement about a product. Why is that? Because if it isn�t in the genetics of your dog to have a longer, plusher coat, then all the top products in the world is not going to give it to them.

Genetics is what determines the length and pushiness of a dog�s coat. Not a supplement or a spray or shampoo. What a top product can do is give your dog a healthier, shinier, fuller looking coat. And some of the shampoos and conditioners can even �fatten� the hair shaft of the dogs coat to make it look fuller. What these good products do is ENHANCE what �mother nature� gave to him. How a groomer grooms a dog can also make the dog appear to have a fuller coat. But if it isn�t in the dogs genetics to be plush, then he never will be.

I was a licensed skin care specialist (esthetician) for many years. I�ve sold some of the most expensive skin care on the market. Did it mean that the $100 jar of cream was going to be better than the $20 jar of cream? Well like in anything else in life, something being more expensive isn�t necessarily better. Ingredients are the key factor to look for in a product. Some products will definitely do more for you than another product will. That said, not everyone that buys an expensive product will go from an overly oily complexion to a soft, dewy complexion. Products can help correct some things, but it won�t change what a person has a predisposition for. The same things are true for dog coat products. If products could change our hair and skin, then Prince William who is a very nice looking young man in my opinion would be able to afford to buy the best hair conditioners on the market. He like his father before him is losing his hair and probably will have a bald spot on his head like his father as well. It�s in his genetics.

What I�m trying to say is that don�t expect to get a longer coat on your dog by using a product. The only way that you will get the kind of coat that you want it be is by breeding to it and incorporating it in your bloodlines. Oh sure some of the better products will make your dogs coat look beautiful, healthy and shiny too. But looking to add length or add a plush coat��then breed to it. If they ever make a product that guarantees these attributes, then I want it for my hard, dry bitches and I want to sell it!

My rating:  Vibrant Pets Supplement:  (4), good quality coat conditioners and shampoos: (4)