Tail trimming

[Kahirah]

Do all you trim your Basenji's tail before a show and how much, just a little or a lot. I just think the natural tail looks so much better but if thats what everyone does I guess I will do Kahirah's tail before her first show in November.

[Kahirah]

Also what about their wiskers, Do you trim?

[Maya]

I dont touch whiskers on any breed.

I give Maya's tail a bit of a trim before her shows. She never had a very hairy tail but her breeder was itching to give it a trim and make it nice and neat and i wasnt brave enough to do it myself (i'd make a mess of it) so before Maya went into the ring at Crufts this year i asked her breeder to trim it, and to show me how to do it. I try to keep it looking natural as i dont like the shaved tail look

[irena]

@Kahirah:

Do all you trim your Basenji's tail before a show and how much, just a little or a lot. I just think the natural tail looks so much better but if thats what everyone does I guess I will do Kahirah's tail before her first show in November.

I don't trim tails of our 4 as I like their natural look. But if one has a hairy tail then trim could be the right way…

[agilebasenji]

I do a light trimming on the tail. I like to use thinning shears for that to keep the natural look. I only trim the mole wiskers, but leave the rest.

You may want to ask your breeder to show you what she does.

[Kahirah]

Thanks all, I think I will just do a light trim on the tail and leave the whiskers as they are.

[Quercus]

@agilebasenji:

I do a light trimming on the tail. I like to use thinning shears for that to keep the natural look. I only trim the mole wiskers, but leave the rest.

You may want to ask your breeder to show you what she does.

Ditto! I will sometimes trim some wild chin whiskers also…

[agilebasenji]

the thing is, it will all grow back, but growing out wiskers is a pain in the curly butt, if you know what i mean. it's icky growing out and prickly. so if you want to trim wiskers, just make sure that's what you really want. The tail isn't so noticable when it's growing out.

[Kipawa]

There are quite a few threads on the forum about tail trimming. Use the search feature on the forum and type in 'tail trimming'. I found quite a bit of good info there.

Happy tails to you!

[tanza]

@agilebasenji:

I do a light trimming on the tail. I like to use thinning shears for that to keep the natural look. I only trim the mole wiskers, but leave the rest.

You may want to ask your breeder to show you what she does.

Me too…. light trim on the tail... (a lttle bit more on Franie as she has a real bushy tail) and those "mole" wiskers... I use thinning shears, but also have a pair of curved scissors that are great on Basenjis curly tails.

[saba]

From an Aussie point of view, I think the shaved tail looks horrible, JMHO, so I dont do it, I just do a tidy up, but, down here I am in the minority, as most do shave

[JISGARD]

We never did any trimming in the past (1970's - 1980's) and it was rarely seen then but it seems to be a common practice in the UK now. I will not do it as I feel it is unnecessary.

Not having to do any clipping, stripping or trimming is one of the things I like about Basenjis!

Steve

[moetmum]

I never trim their tails. I like a natural dog. Having said that Pip has a very bushy tail! There are still quite a few of us in the UK who don't trim.

I don't trim their whiskas either.

[Kahirah]

I agree I dont like the trimmed look, to me just trimming very little to give it a neat apperance is all thats needed for show.

[Patty]

There are quite a few of us here who don't trim; in my opinion a 'natural' tail seems more in keeping with a 'natural' dog like a Basenji. I have seen Basenjis in the show ring here who not only have their tails but also their rears trimmed, personally I think it looks obscene.

I suppose if it had always been done here we would get used to it in the same way that we are gradually getting used to dogs with long tails who were previously docked until it was banned by our Kennel Club..

[khanis]

Hopefully, those tha tlike the natural look still bathe the dog crisp and clean.

I can tell you there is nothing more gross than going over a dog in the ring that is FILTHY, or has so much crap in it's coat that it is sticky. And yes, I am talking about Basenjis!
This also goes for toenails… don't trim AT the show... trim no later than the day before... long toenails and an unkempt dog are an insult to the judge.. that one dones't value their opinion enough to make their dog look its best.

Don't flame... I have had this happen to me in the ring!!!

My dogs are well-groomed [WITH TAIL HAIR] and carry all whiskers. I trim whiskers on the IG, as I would be the only one without them trimmed, and it just looks much cleaner on an Ig to NOT have whiskers.

[Patty]

I've never had a Basenji under me in the ring with sticky coats but I have had Basenjis that smell which is foreign to me.

I would be ashamed to take a dirty dog into the ring - I think it's disrespectful. Having said that some of the showgrounds here in bad weather are absolutely covered in mud and it's impossible to take a dog into the ring with perfectly clean legs. I do my best to clean them up before the judge has to go over them but if they are still dirty I apologise to the judge who usually take it in good heart as their legs also are mired! I suppose if my dogs were crated and so brought into the show that would be the answer but here again I feel that that's insulting to my Basenjis. They do have four legs with feet after all!!!!

I also agree with Quercus about toenails.

[moetmum]

I don't bathe my dogs for every show, sometimes I just wash the white bits. The year we had the sea of mud that was supposedly the showgrounds I used to wash the white bits when I arrived! Wash the mud off with clear water, spray shampoo then towel dry! I use baby wipes to clean off any mud before we go into the ring if necessary.

I do sometimes dremel the nails at the show, and before the show as well. I leave the dremel out at home and often give them a little file so their nails are never terribly long anyway.

Mine all walk into the shows too Patty, I use the crate and the wheels to take all of the necessary paraphernalia into the show!

[Maya]

@khanis:

Hopefully, those tha tlike the natural look still bathe the dog crisp and clean.

I can tell you there is nothing more gross than going over a dog in the ring that is FILTHY, or has so much crap in it's coat that it is sticky. And yes, I am talking about Basenjis!
This also goes for toenails… don't trim AT the show... trim no later than the day before... long toenails and an unkempt dog are an insult to the judge.. that one dones't value their opinion enough to make their dog look its best.

Don't flame... I have had this happen to me in the ring!!!

My dogs are well-groomed [WITH TAIL HAIR] and carry all whiskers. I trim whiskers on the IG, as I would be the only one without them trimmed, and it just looks much cleaner on an Ig to NOT have whiskers.

Agree with the bathing thing! When i judged pugs one time i had one that STANK! I could smell it as i walked towards the table, and his coat was so dirty and greasy. Just disgusting. How anyone can have a dog like that in their home and think its acceptable i dont know, but to take it to a show like that is just crazy.

[Maya]

@moetmum:

I don't bathe my dogs for every show, sometimes I just wash the white bits. The year we had the sea of mud that was supposedly the showgrounds I used to wash the white bits when I arrived! Wash the mud off with clear water, spray shampoo then towel dry! I use baby wipes to clean off any mud before we go into the ring if necessary.

I do sometimes dremel the nails at the show, and before the show as well. I leave the dremel out at home and often give them a little file so their nails are never terribly long anyway.

Mine all walk into the shows too Patty, I use the crate and the wheels to take all of the necessary paraphernalia into the show!

I do the white bits often also Maya isnt much of a mucky dog so i just give her a wash on her white bits and wipe her down with some baby wipes. When you're doing shows every weekend, or more than one show at a weekend, its not really good for the coat to be washed before each show

I also am guilty of dremeling at the show :o