Maezie's transformation
 

Just wanted to share a photo showing how Maezie's coat has changed from 11 months of age to almost 26 months. It happened gradually and I didn't even realize how big of a change it was until I started looking through older pictures. I'm actually quite blown away by how much she has changed.

Maezie is just beautiful, I favor the black coat, two of my now passed girls coats stayed pure black all their lives, two were traditional silver and tan. My rescue boy who is now 6 yo his coat keeps changing colors, from silver to black then black with silver, right now he's a salt and pepper lol. Maezie's coat may continue changing color.

Thank you. And yeah I think her coat may continue to change. I heard coats tend to continue to get lighter in colour as they age, but then of course there's some that actually get darker. So who knows. But it sure is amazing how much they change!

Beautiful girl.

Aw Maezie is such a beautiful girl. Totally love her coat in both colours! Your passion for showing her in the competitions is making me want to start too, someday. :)

You absolutely should get involved in the competitions! It's totally different than what I was told by many people what it would be like. People at dog shows are so friendly, helpful, and have given me tons of support. And there's a social aspect to dog shows that's really fun too. I believe training a dog for the shows isn't overly difficult. Some aspects of the training are actually quite easy.

If I were you I wouldn't hesitate to bring Scottie into the show ring. I think he has the look for it and maybe you could come compete in the altered class with me. Next year I'm planning on doing a circuit of shows all through Vancouver Island, and maybe the Chilliwack shows too. It's tons of fun!

Maezie is a beauty! Her coat is stunning! It is amazing how quickly they grow and change.

The more I think about it, the more I want to give it a shot. I've spent all this time and effort growing out their hair, the Yorkie lover in me wants to at least try it out. :)

Over the past few years, we've attended the dog shows in Surrey and Chilliwack once or twice a year whenever our breeder was showing. This year, we've been just too busy with wedding planning.

Maybe next year! I would LOVE to bring Scottie to the show ring. What kind of process did you have to go through to get into the altered class?

Wow, what a change and she is gorgeous!

I initially started by taking conformation training classes that were put on by my local kennel club. It was just an introduction to how dog shows work, moving a dog on a lead, stacking a dog on a table, doing a hardstack or freestack, etiquette in the ring, how to show the bite, doing different patterns such as a T or reverse triangle (but I believe that's just for juniors), etc. So from that I had a general idea of what to do when I was called into the ring.

I had to learn how to do show preparation in terms of grooming. This was difficult for me cause there's no yorkie people in the town I live in so I basically got advice from the yorkie people I met at dog shows as well as doing some experimenting. Learning how to do the topknot took me a long time and a lot of practice to get the right amount of poof in it and the bow on securely with the fan of hair behind it. What products to use and how to use them. Stuff like that. I'll actually give a quick explanation of what I do now and find works best since I think Scottie and Casie have a very similar coat to Maezie, and I'd think the same thing would work good for Scottie and Casie. And its not just for shows but also for if pictures are gonna be taken at an event (like a wedding for example or for a photography session). This is what I do:

- Use a clarifying shampoo for the shower/bath
- Nothing else for the bath. No conditioner or anything.
- I'll brush without using any type of spray or anything on the coat. I do the brushing once the hair is still a touch damp but its dried a fair bit.
- About an hour or 45mins before ring time I put satin cream on the part line. From where the part is going down about an inch or two down the hair. The cream just holds the part line better and little fly away hairs stay put.
- I then do the topknot with hairspay being applied. I don't spray directly on the topknot. I'll spray on the end of a rat tail comb and apply it to get all the hairs nicely in the topknot. And for the fan of hair on the back I'll use usually both the rat tail comb and also my fingers with hairspray on it. Again its just to help get all the hairs in place and making it look proper.
- I then put a drying powder on the mustache. I let it sit for a couple minutes and then brush out the excess powder. This helps to I find what looks like a tear stain will dry up and no longer look like a tear stain. It just dries up the facial dampness. And also the dampness that's alongside the nose.
- About 15 mins before ring time I begin flat ironing the coat. I use a fine mist of a finishing spray on the coat for each section of hair that I flat iron. I just mist the section of hair and then immediately run the flat iron on it. And the flat ironing includes the hair falling off the face, mustache, tail, chest, etc. Basically all the hair gets flat ironed.
- flat iron can be on highest setting and doesn't seem to damage or fry the hair.
- For a finishing spray I'm currently using an anti-static spray from Vellus. Previously I had used Crown Royale Magic Touch, but that product has silicones in it to add shine. Maybe for an indoor show I'd use it but I had used it before for an outdoor show and when I saw a video later looking at the coat was like looking into a mirror. It was way too shiny and I thought made the coat look too light in colour. It was amazing how the sunlight would reflect off her coat. Maezie's coat already naturally has a shine to it so I just thought that type of finishing spray added too much shine.

And that's pretty much it. The idea I've been told is that you want the coat to look as natural as possible. To me that means that you're not to put tons of product on the coat. When I do it like I have laid out, the coat looks amazing. Perfect fall off the body, nice straight hair, looks and feels silky and just really good.

Besides that I've also acquired a wonder wheeler. I modified it myself to turn it into a little mobile grooming station that I can take beside the ring to do ringside grooming. Some people have wonder wheelers and others have the same type of thing but looks way more fancy and pricey. A wonder wheeler is fairly cheap so that's why I got it.

I signup for dog shows using www.dogshow.ca website. You just create an account and pay online, and then show up for the show. It's as simple as that. And make sure the number patch thing they give you at the show, you wear it on your left arm. And you gotta dress up a bit for the show. The odd time you'll see someone who didn't dress up, and they stick out like a sore thumb.

Other tips I can think of, try to avoid European judges. I had one judge where he made a point out of Maezie's docked tail. That's perhaps a bit different than what they see in Europe. Also I've heard they really don't like teeth problems like missing teeth or whatever. I've discovered that many exhibitors have a little book that they write in that can guide them to judges that will probably like their yorkies. There's definitely a subjective element to judging. Judges have their preferences and biases, etc. So it does seem that people do try to find certain judges to show under so they can have the most success. I even started to create my own little book making notes about the judges. Just about what I believe their preferences are and how they ran their ring, and just my thoughts and impressions of the judges.

For the altered class, I think we are really lucky to have that class here in Canada. I think its a great introduction for people to get experience and get involved in dog shows, and see whether or not they like it. I feel comfortable in that no one is gonna give me a hard time because the dog isn't being used for breeding. One of Maezie's faults is that she's a touch on the small side. And she has a number of other faults too, but I just view it as trying to get experience. Plus you'll see many other dogs with plenty of faults. There's no perfect dog. So I wouldn't really worry about being excused from the ring or anything like that. Scottie would fit in in the show ring no problem.

Very nicely done, Airplane!

THANK YOU so much for this info! Now that my wedding stuff is all done, I am seriously considering giving it a try to show Scottie (and maybe Casie)!

When you say your local kennel club, did you find that through the CKC.ca site? I have no idea where to start. I only see local dog trainers..but that's not really the same thing as conformation classes.

What dog shampoo are you using right now? I've been meaning to invest in something better - I hear Chris Christensen is great! For now, I'm still using Earthbath on them. And where do you buy your satin cream and moutashe drying powder from? I've seen my breeder apply the cream when they were prepping for their shows. But forgot to ask where they buy it from.

Wow - the wagon wheeler looks so cool! I will look into that too.

I will look into dogshow.ca as well. Again thank you so much for all this info! It would be super cool to show together in the ring one day! :D

Are you entering any more upcoming competitions? There's a chance for Canadians to win a trip to Amsterdam for a dog show in 2018! :D

How do you know if the events have an altered class? I couldn't find this info on dogshow.ca

First off, congratulations on your wedding! That’s so awesome! Give me a couple days to reply. It’s gonna be another long post. Lol. But I will tell you pretty much everything I know, and hopefully I can set you down a path to pursue a new fun hobby!

Part 1 (Needed to do this in parts cause I exceeded the character limit. Lol)

Through the CKC.ca site you can look up clubs under the recognized clubs section. Some have websites and some don’t. Plus some of the websites haven’t been updated for along time. Another thing to check is for a facebook page for those clubs. The facebook pages might show if they’re putting on classes and when and where, etc. One I’ve come across right now is the FVDF home website. They have their handling classes for 2017 and 2018 posted on their website. They’re a little ways away in Abbotsford though. But definitely checkout the other clubs that may be closer to you, even if you can just only find them on facebook. I’d imagine the classes are for everyone and not just for club members. But maybe contact them to find out for sure and see if you can get a spot. Even just contacting through facebook works good cause you know they’re gonna get it instead of some email that’s hardly ever checked. I just found another one – www.lowermainlanddogfanciersofbc.com They got November classes and I’d imagine after Christmas they’ll have 2018 dates posted. Beyond that there may be somebody putting on handling classes that’s not affiliated with a club. But you’d have to ask around to find out. Once you get in touch with someone from a club in the area, they’ll probably know what’s going on with classes being offered throughout Vancouver and the surrounding area. But I initially just try to find what’s being put on by the clubs.

If you find you’re struggling to find classes to attend, just private message me and I will find out for sure what’s being offered by whom and where and all that stuff, and I’ll let you know.

For shampoo and conditioner, I’m currently using coat handler. I really like it. The shampoo is a clarifying shampoo. Some people recommend using a clarifying shampoo every third bath or so. Other people use it for every bath. I find it works good for Maezie’s coat using a clarifying shampoo for every bath. I’ve tried other shampoos and didn’t like how they left her coat. I found the show shampoo from Vellus left her coat too soft. Earthbath just didn’t work very good for her coat either. For the moment I’m just sticking with solely using the clarifying shampoo until maybe I can find a good moisturizing shampoo that will leave her coat in good condition. Once I find that, then maybe I’ll start clarifying every third bath or so like how many people recommend. But honestly I’m having no issues right now just sticking with the clarifying shampoo. I dilute it 15 parts water to 1 part shampoo in a mixing bottle.

Coat handler can be purchased at dog shows. I see it being sold at many shows. Besides that, you pretty much gotta order it through the internet. It’s a brand that you just can’t find at regular pet stores and it seems nobody can order it in. It’s tough to find in Canada besides seeing it at dog shows. I had ordered it online before from www.cherrybrook.com

Satin cream by Vellus I had purchased from Canada’s distributor, which is K9 Grooming Supplies, The Art of Canine E-commerce Vellus is another brand that I have to get off the internet. I don’t come across it at dog shows here in western Canada, and you just won’t ever find it anywhere besides the internet. Even the specialty boutique type stores don’t seem to carry it. The satin cream is probably my most favourite product. It’s great for wrapping the coat, and even if I’m not wrapping I’ll often put it on the coat, especially the ends of the coat and up on the part line. It dries soft and leaves the coat looking hydrated and healthy and protected in a way. It is after all a cream product. You don’t need to put gobs of it on, so it does seem to last a long time. For shows I just put it on the part line. But after the show I can put it on the topknot and it will break down the hairspray. So I don’t have to worry about giving a bath and washing out the hairspray right away. So that’s another nice thing about the product.

Another Vellus product which I really like is the static stabilizer spray. It’s a light conditioning spray that is ideal for doing brushing and also can be used as a finishing spray for shows. I had actually found that I wasn’t losing as much hair when brushing since using this spray. Maybe that’s just in my head but it definitely seems like I’m not losing near as much hair when brushing.

Vellus has a clarifying shampoo. I have it and I like it. Not as much as coat handler but I definitely have no issues using it. The vellus conditioner also is really good. But I wouldn’t recommend the show shampoo from Vellus. That type of shampoo was horrible. It just left her coat in a tangled mess of super soft hair.

The drying powder is a product I’m very glad I stumbled across. When you use it and then brush out the excess, it leaves the facial hair on the yorkie looking amazing. It makes the moustache hair look so much better being completely dry, and the hair just blends in so much better with the rest of the hair on the face. I just use it right before going in the ring. I wish I had come across this product before. I suspect that it is perhaps used for the show yorkies that you see pictures of in magazines or online or wherever. Somehow they are getting the facial hair completely dry, and using a drying powder seems like an easy way to do that. I got it from www.pawmarks.com An odd thing about that website is that I have to be on my cellular data to open it. For some reason when I’m on wifi that website won’t open.

I also get my show bows from pawmarks. They have bows specifically for yorkies – they’re the red ones with the flared out ends. I just got the large size red coloured ones though. I looked at the sizes of the bows and figured the yorkie ones were too wide for Maezie’s head. I had looked at pictures of show yorkies with a bow on their head, and then picked out pictures where I thought the bow was perfectly sized meaning its not too large or too small, but was just a nice size and fit the head and gave a good look. And then I would look at the eyes in relation to the bow as a gauge of size. Then I would measure the space between Maezie’s eyes (or midpoint of eye to midpoint of other eye) or however you want to do it to get a certain size of bow. And from that I would know what size to get. I hope that makes sense. Scottie might be able to wear both the large size and the yorkie sized ones and look good with both. I think he’s a bit bigger than Maezie. If you do order bows from pawmarks, just know that azalea is not red.It looks red but it’s actually hot pink colour. lol

You’re gonna need a show lead. You can find them being sold at dog shows. There are many different types and made out of different materials. Ideally I think a person would try different ones out and see what you like. I just have a basic nylon adjustable loop lead that I’m currently using. I believe it’s right around 4 feet long. Also, I believe black and brown are the preferred colours for yorkies. I got mine online from www.cherrybrook.com

To me, moving a dog on a lead in the ring is the most enjoyable part of showing. A really odd thing happens when the dog is gaiting really well. I can actually feel it on the lead. It’s bizarre. If I had to explain it, it feels like the end of the lead is sitting cushioned softly in a cloud and is just floating very smoothly. I thought maybe it was just in my head but other people have told me that they can feel it too. And apparently you get better feeling with a leather lead, but I’m just going with a cheap lead cause I’m already spending so much on gas for travelling and hotels and stuff.

Part 2

I only use a show lead for training for dog shows and also obviously at a show. For regular walks and stuff I still prefer to use a harness for safety reasons. If a dog wanted to, they could maybe get the lead off of their neck and just the idea of having it around their neck, I just don’t like it in terms of safety.

I purchased my wonder wheeler off of amazon. Although other people have told me they got theirs from Costco, a different brand but it looks like the exact same thing. I don’t know if they’re still at Costco, but maybe. I modified it with a top on it for grooming and I also attach my grooming arm on it too. I’ll attach a picture to show what it looks like.

If you’d like, I do have two dvds that are about grooming a yorkie. One is for show preparation and the other dvd is for coat maintenance. They are both by Kirsten McGregor. Watching the dvds has helped me a fair bit. It’s always nice to actually watch someone step by step to learn. I do the topknot a bit different than she does, but I’ve found out there’s like 20 different ways to do it. That’s a bit beyond the point I guess, but yeah if you would like the dvds, just private message me a mailing address and I will send them to you. I’ve watched them and gotten what I needed to out of them. I don’t watch them anymore and I’d have no problem giving them away.

With being in Vancouver, if you do end up getting really serious about showing, you could probably find someone in the area who could be a mentor to you. There’s definitely some yorkie people in and around Vancouver. I do know that there is a Yorkshire terrier club of BC. I’d bet that all the members of that club show yorkies and could probably be an awesome source of info and help to you. From the training aspect and the grooming aspect. I bet there’s some people in the Vancouver area who could definitely help you out.

I’ve had to learn everything by asking people for help (even right at a show when I probably shouldn’t be bothering people, I’ll ask for help), watching Kirsten McGregor dvds, and I had just gotten back a little while ago from a conformation workshop that was a 6hr drive away from me. The grooming aspect I would describe as a learning curve cause nobody in Grande Prairie knows how to groom a yorkie for show and could help me with that. With me living in the north, I’m really limited with the resources that can help me. I have definitely made some mistakes, especially when I first started showing. And for training for competing at a show, Maezie had some bad habits that I had to work hard to train out of her. And I’m still learning different things and different techniques of stacking her on a table and stuff like that and just figuring out what works best for her and me. And for sure you will definitely learn things from lots of different people. I guess what I’m saying is that it takes a lot of work and dedication to really get involved and get ready for the competitions. It was more than I anticipated it would be. But if you start by taking some classes and practicing, you can absolutely do it! For me there was I think 3 months between the first conformation training class I took (like the very first class where I walked in and knew nothing) and the first show I competed in. So a person can cram it into a short period of time if need be if there’s a show coming up fairly soon that you want to compete in.

Another thing that is really awesome for you is that there are a number of shows near Vancouver that you could go and compete in and they’re fairly close to you so you don’t have to worry about traveling long distances. But be warned that if you get hooked, you might find yourself doing more and more traveling to compete. Lol.

I am definitely gonna be doing some more competitions. I think my next show will be in February I believe. Very few Alberta shows have the altered class but a number in BC have that class. So I’ll be doing mostly BC shows. And that’s also the reason why I have 12+ hr drives to compete, and that’s just going one way. It really sucks living in the north. Lol. The spring and summer of 2018 is when most the shows are that I’m planning to compete in next. I’m really excited for the island shows. And everybody says how good they are, and I agree. The Nanaimo show was the best show I’ve competed in. It was just run so much better and way better organization and everything. It just made for a really fun show. Some shows are not very organized or run well, and it can just be like a zoo and it’s just a stressful environment to be in and not near as fun as it should be. So with everyone who has told me how good the island shows are, I’m planning on doing a bunch of them.

To find out if a show is offering the altered class, just click on the event on www.dogshow.ca, and then click on the premium list. The premium list will tell you whether or not the altered class is part of the show. And it tells you basically everything - the venue, classes offered, the judges, accommodations, etc. After the closing date is over, they will release a judging schedule. From that you will know what time you show at and what ring you show in. I had to ask people how am I supposed to read and make sense of the premium list and the judging schedule. It looked so foreign to me. I always enter for shows online cause it’s so much easier than filling out all that stuff and mailing it. And I think the trick to reading the judging schedule is to count about 2mins per dog.

That trip to Amsterdam would be awesome. It looks like it’s just a random draw. I’d love to win that to be able to go watch a show way over there.

The last thing I want to mention to you is that if you do end up doing a bunch of competitions in the altered class, people may start to take notice. What I mean by that is that I think many people understand the amount of dedication it takes. It makes you look good. It makes you look dedicated. People might end up talking about you a little bit. Lol. I don’t know if the altered class was meant for people to bring in their pet to compete as a means of getting experience in competing and learning about and getting involved in dog shows, but that’s what I’m using it as. And in the future if I want an unaltered dog to compete in the regular class with, I now kinda have something to say to the breeder I contact. Of course as I’ve started to develop an eye for a dog and learned lots about the breed, I have developed a preference of what I like and there are certain yorkies and certain lines or looks that I really admire. It kinda puts you in a position to say that you’ve been competing in the altered class and that you go to and take all these conformation classes. I think it just sorta helps a little bit if in the future you are ever wanting a show dog for the regular class. Plus the regular class is not limited like the altered class is. Every conformation dog show has the regular class. My understanding is that show dogs are quite difficult to acquire. Sometimes I think unless we’re friends or unless I have support from a breeders inner circle of friends, how am I ever going to get a show dog for the regular class. But with the altered class at least you’re involved in the game, so to speak. It’s a good thing and I think it can only help. Or if you just want to stick with the altered class and do it with Scottie and Casie on some weekends, it’s a lot of fun and you can just do it and enjoy it and have fun with it!

Attached is a pic of my wonder wheeler that I forgot to add in my previous post.
And sorry for the messed up font on my part 1 post. Copy and paste must’ve messed it up somehow and I can’t edit it.

Omigoodness! I cannot say enough thank you's to you for your time to write all this!! Wow! So much good information. I'm too excited - I haven't had a chance to thoroughly read through everything but just wanted to say for now that I took a look at the two clubs you found. The Lowermainland Dog Fanciers of BC looks like something I could totally try out!

And I know that brand, Coat Handler too. My breeder had given me a bottle of the conditioner and I've been using it for the past 3 years because of how it can be diluted. I'm so excited! I think I would try out the shows in Chilliwack next year. Anyway, I'll write more later...

Thank you x's a million!

She is beautiful, she would look great in our 2018 Yorkie Talk Calendar, see my thread in the General Discussion page so you will understand how it works