(Afghan Hound Database and Breed Information Exchange)
various sources Compiled by Steve Tillotson Jan 2012 Page 4
Ed note: The Internet is a wonderful information resource. Sadly however, many people believe everything they read on the Internet. In the case of grooming advice on The Afghan Hound, there is a lot of bad advice out there, usually those from a vested interest (profit) selling services and products to owners that may not understand the particular needs of Afghan Hound coat maintenance. This page details some of these bad advice sources, 1. (BAD) A YORKSHIRE TERRIER FORUM ON HOW TO GROOM THE AFGHAN HOUND Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - Can anyone share with me the correct way to groom the face of a show Afghan Hound? Also the pet version groom of the face. Many thanks! Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - If the afghan is a puppy, he can be shown with his "Pharoah's beard", (the monkey face with fuzzy hair)....adults have the face and saddle removed, the saddle area generally carded and pumiced, but you can clip the pharoah's beard off with a #7 and then blend it in with the stone or a stripping knife so it looks natural,( not clippered). For a Pet afghan, just clip off the saddle with a #7 and the extra facial hair you don't want with an #8 1/2...it looks the most 'natural' this way. Otherwise on pets, just do what the owner asks. Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - I know it has been a long time since I showed Afghans and I am probably a purist but, NO,NO, NO!!!!! Afghans are not stripped!!!!!! The saddle is natural (or supposed to be) bath (weekly), brush, brush brush (daily), do a little sanitary trim. An 8 month old pup probably has no saddle and probably has a bushy face (leave it alone) but if the breeding is good it(the saddle) will be there and the face will become clean and refined.. in time. Don't rush it! Ed Note: Fortunately there was someone on this forum with knowledge and experience who countered the above bad advice. Thanks to whoever posted that last post. 2. (BAD) EXTRACT FROM AN ACTIVE AFGHAN HOUND BREEDER ON HOW TO GROOM THE AFGHAN A slicker brush, which should only be used on a puppy coat---NEVER use a slicker brush on an adult afghans coat unless you want to pull out all the luxurious silky coat that you took the time to grow. The puppy coat is denser than the adult coat and can withstand the bristles on a slicker. However, be advised that all puppy coats aren’t able to handle a slicker brush either. You need to identify your hounds coat type before using this brush. Pumous Stone, You will have to find this at a store that specialized in equestrian supplies. It is used to keep the mature afghans saddle clean. I also use this tool when I start working on the saddle when the afghan is going through it’s coat change from puppyhood to adulthood. For the inexperienced this is your best bet so you don’t ruin the look of your afghan. However, once you get used to utilizing this tool you will be able to advance to the next tool I’m going to tell you about; Stripping Knife – Not to be used by the inexperienced. Technically an Afghans coat should not require this at all. However, some bloodlines have a high concentration of English blood. Many English hounds don’t have a saddle. You will notice when looking at pictures that these hounds have a part down the center of their back. There isn’t a noticeable saddle. Here in the states a saddle is required in a mature hound and sometimes you have to help it along. The bloodline that I am working with dogs have pretty natural saddles but from time to time you will find stray hairs poking through and a stripping knife will help you clean those out. Be sure to consult with a professional groomer before taking on the challenge of using a stripping knife. You can do more harm than good if you don’t. Ed note. Obviously this breeder has no knowledge whatsoever of the Afghan Hound in England. The author goes on to say "Technically an Afghans coat should not require this", then the author totally ignores their own words and proceeds to detail use of a stripping knife 3. (BAD) FROM A PET GROOMING WEBSITE The natural state for an Afghan Hound coat requires that you never clip or trim it. The coat should be thick, silky and fine but the saddle area along the back will be closer, shorter hair. The Afghan Hound requires a thorough brush and comb out BEFORE the bath, and it must be fluff-dried, never cage-dried, for maximum and proper effect. After fluff-drying, comb the hair once again to a beautifully comb-styled presentation and removing any last tangles. Most owners desire that you scissor cut the hair around the feet in a rounded fashion. Ask owners if they want the whiskers and long cheek hairs removed, but rarely is the beard removed. Only altered Afghan Hounds need to have their face shaved. Unaltered hounds will naturally have a smooth face as well as a saddle. If a puppy's face/saddle is shaved, it may continue to come in full after puberty. Altered hounds will also loose their saddle. A shaved hound can easily have a normal coat again. It will take a good year or two to grow in. Most females are shaved down before their litter, and their coats come back in without a problem. Females also often drop coat after season, which can again cause tangles. Detangling them wet is often the easiest solution and less stressful for the hound. For Afghan Hound puppies form a parting from the eyes over the forehead to tail until the saddle grows in when only the head is parted. Ed Note: Golden rule, never brush a dirty coat you will damage it. So the advice above to give a thorough brush and comb out on a dirty coat before the bath will likely damage the coat. Author goes on to detail various "clean up" tips. The final "tip" about forming a parting from the eyes over the forehead to tail etc - conjures up the image of someone with a shaver or clipper cutting a channel end to end on the dog - Ignore this advice. 4. (BAD) A PET GROOMING WEBSITE Getting an Afghan ready for this cut requires a lot of toilsome untangling. Use the teasel for the most difficult parts by using one hand to hold the hair at the base, and the other to untangle the knots. If the dog regularly gets groomed and brushed it will be an easier job and just using the comb will be enough. This is often times difficult because of the thickness of the dog's hair. Once all the knots are out, use the pin brush. Don't forget to brush out the difficult areas such as the armpits, anus, paws etc. Pull out by hand all the loose hairs that stick out on the back so that it is even. Start by cutting the hair on the abdomen, the contour of the crotch or groin. Next shave the lower parts of the paws. Cut the nails, and take the hair out from the inside of the dog's ears. Bathe the dog by using an adequate shampoo. Then rinse out and apply the conditioner. Rinse out thoroughly and dry the dog really well. Once the dog is dry, brush the hair out with a soft comb, or a soft brush. Use the curved scissors to cut around the contour of the legs. For the finishing you can use a special conditioner to give weight and shine to the dogs hair. If you use this product, brush it in so that it works in completely. Ed Note: If you have properly looked after the coat you will not have a "lot of toilsome untangling". You will only get this if you neglected the routine of coat care in the first place. Prevention is better than cure ! Author states "shave the lower parts of the paws". The paws are the bottom of the dogs feet right? And this idiot is going to shave them? Perhaps they meant shave the fur around the feet, or even worse, the hocks. Clearly this idiot hasn;t even got the ability to write clearly and will mislead some. Cutting nails has to be done very carefully. If you cut too deep into the "quick" you will cause excruiating pain to the Afghan Hound. I don't like doing it and usually will have the veterinarian do it (and even they don't like doing it because it can be a difficult judgement on how deep to trim the nails). Best thing is exercise, let the nails wear down naturally by the hound running around in a yard and on walks etc. Ignore this idiot author totally. 5. (BAD) ANOTHER GROOMERS NETWORK FORUM POST Posted on Saturday, November 10, 2007 I have done show grooming for several clients with Poodles, Standard & Mini, Pomeranians, Westies, etc. I had a call from a client with an Afghan Hound. I know the breed standard calls for NO TRIMMING, but then so does the PBGV and quite a few others, that we all know get a little help here & there whether it is just lightly neating up an underline or changing a angle with a thinner, or by carding out a bit of undercoat. Can any one with experience in show grooming Afghans, share some tips on what really does get touched up and what does not get touched at all. I understand this dog is 11 months old and does not yet have her saddle. Any tips on product to use on this coat would be appreciated, as well. Posted on Friday, January 11, 2008 - 8:44 am Hi, I'm not very good in english because I come from Montréal, Quebec but I breed and show Afghan since 4 years. I know the standard said no trimming but a lot of breed standard said that and they need a little bit ''help''!!!! For the saddle, somes dogs have a natural one but the majority have a tick fuzzy coat on. You need a stone to remove it or a stripping knife. You start in the middle of the wither to the tail. the lower limit is approximatly 1 inch under the hip bones. For the tail, it's depend what the owner want some trim the fur on except a little bit under the first third part, some leave more. Trim the tail with thining shear for a more natural look. For the face, is like the saddle some have hair some not. You need to pluck the hair if it's a black-mask afghan with white or pale fur because if you just clip, you see pale fur mix in the black mask. Just pluck the part with black-mask, the rest can be done with a clipper. With it's a pale one or a black one, you can just use a clipper. With a 7f against the fur, you clip all the fur on the nose, the side of the face and the under of the muzzle. The limit is difficult to explain but it's like a poodle for the face but you stop at the beginning of the neck, dont shave the neck. For the front of the neck, you need to trim with thinning shear . On the side of the neck, You need to do a triangle with the stone. For that part, go to xxxxxxx.com They have a lot of pictures of show afghans so you can see what I want to explain. It's often more easy with a picture than in words. I put a picture of my female when she just turn a year. She has a natural saddle. I pratically remove nothing and for the neck, you need to keep some hair on top. Normally, imagine a upside down triangle on the back of the neck. The point of triangle it just a little bit above the wither. I know my description is hard but with the link I put, go see a lot of pictures and I'm sure You can do a good job. Ed Note: I suspect this authors comment in paragraph 1 "but a lot of breed standard said that they need a little bit "help" is a manifestation of the writers admission "I'm not very good in English". I suspect what they were meaning to say was "but a lot of people in the breed said that they need a little bit help". The Breed Standard quuite clearly states the opposit of what the author wrote.(I blanked out the .com Afghan website which is quite reputable and has nothing to do with this authors bad practices). So this author sees a lot of Show Afghans are cut/shaved/clipped the way they this author is trying to describe (hardly a good image of the breeds behaviour when author claims to be copying show afghan practices is it. Perception is reality !). This author is even able how to "cover up" the bad practice, what a reference eh! - Ignore it all 6. (BAD AND DECEITFUL) "AKC REGISTERED AFGHAN HOUND GROOMER" Found an advertisment for grooming - Ms xxxxxxx Afghan Hounds, Groomer grooming San Angelo, Texas, AKC registered afghan hound dog groomer. Ed Note: I wasn't aware there was an "AKC" register for Afghan Hound Groomers or groomers for any breed. I cheked with the AKC for clarification on the above persons advertising claim that they are AKC groomer registered. The AKC explained that the AKC does NOT maintain a groomers register, thus this persons advertising is deceitful. We'll add to this page of shame and bad advice as and when we come across such bad advice articles. If you know of any, please email them to us. Thanks GoTo Previous Page GoTo Next Page Library Of Articles/Main Menu Toolbar |
