Swimming Fiend

After all my efforts to coax Dusty to swim, I am now expending an equal amount of energy stopping her from swimming. We were on our way to a dog show a couple of hours from home, so I stopped at a park just before the venue to let them stretch their legs. Dusty leaped straight into the storm water drain, and swam up and down while I waved treats onshore.

Luckily she is a cattledog, and grooming is not a huge task. A brisk application of a chamois and she was show ready. At shows I'm usually camped beside border collies, shelties, and the like and their owners are brushing and powdering in a flurry of activity while I read a book or teach Dusty a new trick.

Our pre-show grooming routine goes like this:

• Brush with a rake to remove loose undercoat,
• Bath a couple of days before the show with Fido's Shampoo and finish with Fido's Herbal Rinse,
• Fluff dry the tail, let the coat dry naturally.
• Rub through a tiny amount of Dog Polish, and brush.
• Show day brush with bristle brush,
• Slick with a chamois,
• Polish nose and nails with Dog Polish.