- Feed a good food. Supplement with essential fatty acids: omega 3's and omega 6's daily, and cod liver oil once a week. Nordic Naturals has all of these and is low in PCB's.
- Mist coat with water before brushing to avoid breakage. Brush and rake to carpal tunnel point at least twice a week.
- Bite the bullet and do nails. Long nails on a chow is a travesty. Stay tuned for Buffy's Peticure audition (they are back-ordered several thousand years).
- Bathe as frequently as you like. I do Buffy every three weeks. Most show dogs are bathed weekly. I don't know where the annual bathing thing got going but it's rubbish. As long as you follow the rules, bathe to your heart's content.
- Scrub the dog. Really get in there. I scrub Buffy's feet and lower legs with a bristly little scrub brush. Don't forget to go between the toes.
- Use any decent shampoo. Again, I don't know where the dog shampoo Ph thing got going but it's also rubbish. Buffy likes St. Ives as they don't test on chows.
- Rinse every last bit of shampoo out of the dog. Leaving any in is the gateway to hot spots. Rinse rinse rinse.
- Let the dog zip around and shake for a few minutes after the bath, then towel dry.
- Use an industrial strength dog blow dryer, with at least 4 HP, something like an Air Force Commander Blaster or Master Blaster. Don't fool around. Air drying is not an option for chows. Neither is the Con-air hairdryer in your bathroom. Get a good dryer.
- Fluff dry down to the skin. Give the dog a few minutes of drying without a brush, to blow off some of the water, then use a rake or a long-pinned pin brush to brush against the grain the spot you're drying. Don't leave the dog even slightly damp anywhere. Thorough drying is both insurance against skin problems as well as your best opportunity to examine your chow's skin. Dry dry dry.
- Scissor hocks, pasterns, feet, lip-line, pants and tail. For this you'll need straight shears and straight thinning/blending shears. Tufty feet are a real shame on a chow. Trim the hair sticking out between the pads and shape the foot. Then, using a comb or a small slicker, back brush the fur on top of the foot and get in there with the thinnings shears to finish. Practice makes perfect here. Use straight shears to make a nice straight pastern, and the straight shears followed by thinners to tidy up the hocks. Ditto the pants - straight shears followed by thinners to make sure no cut marks are visible. You can give your chow a fabulous athletic looking round butt or the topiary of your choice, provided it's tasteful. Finally, tidy up the lip-line and tail. I do a semi-golden-retriever on Buffy's tail (cut the end halfway to the bone) and then tidy up underneath), which is unorthodox but ultra neat, which she appreciates. Don't overdo the tail - you can even leave it natural. Buffy would never allow a natural tail but that's Buffy.
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