This is the breed closest to my own yard and heart and one I have had a long association with. Times have progressed in presentation with most people kicking it up a notch hauling along the blow dryer to shows wherever possible and doing the last minute fluff ups that are often needed with a breed that sheds regularly. It is ever a challenge with the seasonal shedding of their coats. The coats always appear to be either coming or going and that period of the perfect coat is a blessing.

So, the coat has to be looked at in each of its stages and handled in a different manner. Easiest stage of all is the «just right coat». At this point we  look for good health and vigour to the coat with a degree of shine plus I like to bath once a week and blow dry thoroughly. This keeps the coat rolling and rids the coat of any dead hair. I also get to part/spread the coat to the skin with a strong cattle/force dryer (an Oldfield) and check for any skin conditions or fleas/ticks – heaven forbid!

I personally use a hydrobath – this is a surge hose bath that recirculates the water from a tank/reservoir, getting right into the double coat with quite a good deal of force. This appears to be an uniquely Australian machine and does come in double tank variations. However any bath unit will work too.

You will note that I recommend diluting all the shampoos and preparations especially for arctic coats, to get the total richness of effect to the coats right through from skin to tips. No point just applying to the ends of the coat if the underneath hair is not doing the same thing.

For the show ring you could conceivably use up to 5 different shampoos to sculpture that perfect silhouette. Depends on which dog I am doing and at what stage the coat is at. Also what parts do I wish to lift and which parts to lie down? A Siberian coat cannot be trimmed and therefore all sculpturing has to be cleverly done at the bath and drying stages e.g. for the white areas, use Plush Puppy Whitening Shampoo at around 5:1 for that crisp white finish. This will not lighten or bleach but instead tone with optical brighteners. Should a more natural white be desired, which is great for white areas on the red dogs, then use Plush Puppy Deep Cleansing Shampoo diluted 5:1 which has a clarifying action and good for an all round quick clean up to mildly stained areas. You can also use Plush Puppy Wonder Blok an extremely effective stain reducing pure organic soap that is mild, yet works amazingly well on those stubborn stained areas. Apply to wet coat and work well before rinsing. Use Plush Puppy All Purpose Shampoo diluted 5:1 for the topline for shine and perhaps Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo for a coarse tail or pants that can sometimes tend to clump. Use at 5:1. Thus these are tools for the serious exhibitor who wants to tweak the silhouette to perfection. They are outcome oriented and do what they are meant to do.

Don’t use a conditioner. Conditioners flatten and soften and you want a fuller look to the coat, especially for those not in full coat. Plus the coat requires texture and not a softened texture. You need to hydrate the coat plus maintain the texture and shine, so use instead Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil diluted 1 tbspn to one gal/4 litres water. After shampooing and squeezing the excess moisture from the coat, thoroughly saturate with the oil mixture and leave in – do not rinse out. This is absolutely wonderful on the coat and skin, giving fabulous shine and texture to the coat without being greasy. We show the dogs with this in their coats. Who can live without this product? We use it all the time even when just doing maintenance baths to protect the coats mid week. It allows you to bath weekly without dehydrating the coat and gives incredible gleam and vigour to the coat.

For out of coat situations, use Plush Puppy Body Building Shampoo at 3:1 for extra body or on those areas needing more fullness and lift. For a dry, old coat that is felting/clumping and needs resurrection, use Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo with Evening Primrose at the same ratio. If the coat is burnt, faded or has rusty tones, use Plush Puppy Whitening Shampoo at 5:1 to tone and reduce the unwanted warm tones. Rinse and follow with Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil as instructed above. Next step is to blow dry. Mix 1 tbpsnPlush Puppy Volumising Cream to 4 cups/1 litre approx of water and apply thoroughly to the coat, saturating it. This gives the illusion of 3 hairs looking like 3,000. It doesn’t feel foreign in the coat and will give oomph and extra fullness without feeling sticky. You can add this in with the Seabreeze Oil/water mix to save time, putting the 1 tbspn Vol Cream into the 4 litres water. I like this way of application to not only save time but having enough mix to saturate the coat to ensure even dispersion all the way through.

You can apply Plush Puppy Puffy Dog – a strong hold water soluble mousse that does have a strong lift effect if you want that extra outline to the dog, especially around the ruff area or legs. Use this after applying the Volumising Cream for more volume and more lift to specific areas and once the coat has been dried. However, you will feel this slightly in the coat and out of consideration for the purist judges, I would be sparing with this.

If the coat is overly dry and looking too puffy or felted, sometimes just before shedding, use Plush Puppy Blow Dry Cream 1 tbspn to 1 cup water and apply thoroughly & evenly with a sponge. This will instantly flatten and soften those dry, brittle areas, especially on the toplines that tend to frazzle with flipped ends. For extra attention to a dry frazzled coat, use Plush Puppy Coat Rescue. We apply this mid week diluted with water to a runny mix and slathered all over the dehydrated areas and leave for as long as you can. Leave the dog if you wish in this for a couple of days or 10 minutes or whatever, and then rinse off.  It won’t soften the coat and will add lots of protein and moisture. Use the Plush Puppy Blue Pin Brush to blow dry. I avoid using a slicker on a wet coat as I find they rip the coats to bits when wet. Once the coat is dry, line comb with the Plush Puppy Long Wide Toothed Comb. No point using anything that just fluffs over the top layers of the coat. You need to section line by line and make sure you are able to free comb from skin to tips.

Blow dry with the brush and hands, pushing the coat forwards towards the head for maximum lift. It will settle down over night and follow the outline of the dog as required. You can finish the drying for a smoother effect with the Plush Puppy Blue Anti Static Brush. Keep the Plush Puppy Blue Slicker Brush Soft for the coat when perfectly dry and for fluffing up on show day. Your pin is for wet coats or dry coats when needing to get down to the skin and the Anti Stat for when you need a less open finish to the coat and the Soft Slicker for smoothing the ends of the coat.

Show day finishing – use Plush Puppy Coverup Cream – a small amount dabbed lightly with a barely damp sponge onto the legs, face, inside ears, elbows etc. Dab lightly and allow to dry and then reapply in layers hitting it with a bit of Plush Puppy Fairy Frost Regular. If the weather is damp, this will dry it quicker – just brush or blow out any excess powderafterwards. Fairy Frost Regular is super white, less abrasive and clings unbelievably well. For the true connoisseur as a way better alternative to chalks or talcs.

Brush up the main body of the coat either with an extra mix of Plush Puppy Volumising Cream (1 tbspn to 500 mls warm water) for more coat, or Plush Puppy Revivacoat mixed at 1 golfball amount to 1 cup water for more moisture to the coat. This is an excellent non greasy moisturiser and can be applied either direct or diluted. I just prefer diluting it for more even distribution to the coat.

Plush Puppy OMG is one of the best overall grooming sprays available. Use at anywhere from 30:1 to 40:1. This will separate each hair and give you a wonderful finish. We tend to use this mostly when routinely brushing the coat but Vol Cream and also Revivacoat have their uses for the coats at particular times when needed to lift or moisturise.

For a good, regular well maintained finish, snip off the shaggy hair around the underneath of the feet and trim whiskers if you wish – I don’t. I prefer the character the whiskers give to the overall face. A good spray ofPlush Puppy Odour Muncher for that extra attack on the judge’s senses and a dash of Plush Puppy Pixie Dust sprinkled judiciously onto the pants and topline for that hint of a shimmer and finish with a light spray ofPlush Puppy Shine & Comb for a final bit of gloss and glamour.

There is one little other hint I will share for those coats that are too soft and you don’t want «too soft» with an arctic dog coat, add a light dusting, and I mean light, of Plush Puppy Powder Puff for Terriers and Harsh Coats. This gives instant harshness and texture to any coat and is a really handy product. Just a light sprinkle or a quick flick with a small amount on the brush through the softer areas of the coat till correct level of texture is achieved.

Now it’s up to the handler and judge on the day. Your dog looks good & hopefully knows what is expected of him and you have attended to all the 100 little things that make a winning dog. It’s hard work to groom a dog to this level each and every week. You can’t shortcut it and have the dog look his best – ask the Standard Poodle people or the Afghan exhibitors! A Siberian Husky can and should look beautiful. I don’t recollect reading anywhere that I am to show an ugly dog. I know he is not a hairdo dog but he is a regal and noble breed who can look as good as any of them. His grace and elegance and hard working attitude with a glamorous presentation make him a breed that gets a lot of notice – for all the right reasons.

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