Ok, so I was talking to my friend form Latvia, who shows her Long coat chi there, and she was telling me that they trim the hair around her ears shorter and her "pants" so they are not to long, because the judges prefer it to be that way! Many breeders do that there. I am little bit shocked because I thought that long coat chihuahuas should never be trimmed, especially for shows!
Do you ever trim your long coats before shows?

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I was told not to as some judges don't think long coat chis should be trimmed also is optional on cutting wiskers. but did hear judges hate it when you dont trimm the nails short. I dont think a chi should be trimmed much only those hairs that stick out of no where and should just be brushed.

the only fur i trim is the fur around the paws ...and the fur in between the pads

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Absolutely, I groom and trim my Chis before showing. Chis are supposed to be a natural breed, but that doesn't mean they should be messy. A non-groomed Chi is not gonna do as well in the ring. They should not be sculpted but they should have the basics done at least, based on what's being shown in your area. We clean feet, from pads up to hocks, short nails, clean underbelly, pants de-bumped (nothing sticking out, all going down), clean around rectum and base of tail, de-bump topline, enhance neck if needed, clean out ears lightly, clean off muzzle, etc. Our job is to highlight the dog for the few minutes the judge has to make his/her decision. They shouldn't be scruffy if you want them to be competetive.

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Yes I totally understand trimming of parts which are sticking out of somewhere, but to take of the full length of the hair growing from chis ears, that's what I don't really get and that's what they do there.
It makes them look like puppy's again Well I am no expert, but I have never seen this here in the ring.

Yes cleaning ears, eyes, teeth, cutting nails, clearing pads, cleaning the bottoms and so on - that's fine and we do that all the time anyway, show or no show.

Thanks for your opinions

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Hey Lisa,

Do you happen to have any pictures of one of your dogs before and after show grooming? I'm just curious.

Thanks!

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I'll work on that for ya. Got shows this week-end so have to get ready for that. I'll try to remember to take before and after pics.

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Lisa, just curious, what does it mean to "de-bump" a topline? And also ... how do you enhance one's neck?

Thanks for that list, it was very informative

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Thank you Jan & Chico!!