In order for the dog to be highly appreciated at the exhibition, it must be in the so-called “exhibition condition”. This means that she must be healthy, with properly developed muscles, not fat and not exhausted; the coat should be in perfect order, and in some breeds it should also be properly decorated. It is necessary to start preparing a dog for an exhibition no later than three months later, and for long-haired or coarse-haired breeds even earlier.
At the first stage of preparation, it is necessary to take care of proper nutrition and proper development of the coat. The dog needs to be combed daily and brushed. The purpose of combing and brushing is, first of all, to remove dying undercoat and shedding integumentary hair, accustoming the coat to the desired position, and also massage the skin, stimulating the growth of new hair.
For most short-haired breeds before the show, such hair care is sufficient, supplemented by periodic bathing and washing in warm water. When washing, high-quality soap or shampoo is used, and after washing, the wool is thoroughly rinsed with clean water and wiped well.
Long-haired breeds need more care and some coat design, especially in order to better stand out the grace of some parts of the body or to achieve the forms prescribed by the standard. For setters, spaniels, German long-haired cops (langhaars), quail dogs, and others, in most cases, it is sufficient to pluck dead hair overgrown in time with just fingers on separate parts of the body (for example, on the crown of the head and throat), where the standard prescribes short hair. In no case is a haircut applied with scissors, as this may lead to a decrease in grades at the exhibition. Scissors can be removed unnecessarily long hair only on the paws between the fingers to give them the desired shape. Particular care is required when bathing long-haired dogs, since when bathing the wool is degreased, becomes light, disheveled and forms curls or waves. A long-haired dog, therefore, should be bathed no later than a week before the show so that combing with a comb and brush in time to give the wool the right direction during this period. Coarse-haired dogs have the same grooming. For most coarse-haired breeds, especially terriers, the standard accurately indicates the order and form of wool processing that gives these breeds typical shapes. Timely processing of wool must be achieved so that on the day of the exhibition the wool has the length and structure that is prescribed by the standard. Wool is processed with a haircut or trimming (pinching). The choice of these methods is not arbitrary, but is determined by the structure of the wool, also a prescription of the standard. For processing wool, various devices are used, such as: a clipper, trimming knives, scissors and metal combs. Clippers are either similar to clippers for human hair, but with rarer teeth, or of a special design (a flat gear fixed plate along which a spring-loaded sharp knife moves under the pressure of the thumb). Scissors can be straight, with rounded blunt ends, or slightly curved, with slightly raised rounded ends. The pinching knives come in various shapes, and the edge of their blade has small teeth, not too sharp so that they do not cut the wool, but only catch it. Trimming is done in such a way that a small tuft of wool, pressed with a thumb to the blade of the knife, breaks off in a jerk in the direction of growth of the wool. Separate long hair on sensitive parts of the body, such as in the groin or stomach, is better to pluck with your fingers. The hair is clamped with the thumb and forefinger and quickly pulled out. In extreme cases, for trimming, you can use a simple knife with a rounded end and not too sharp blade.
Metal combs should have well-attached steel teeth that should not bend or fall out, but should not scratch the skin of the dog. To remove the dead undercoat, Gorak's mechanical crest is particularly well-suited.