How to maintain that freshly groomed, fluffy look?

[GoHokiesGo]

We just had Honey professionally groomed for the first time since we've owned her. The past few months that we've had her I gave her a few baths at our home to clean her up, but we decided to get her professionally groomed since my mother-in-law will be meeting honey for the first time this weekend (my M.I.L.is not a dog fan at all, and tried her best to convince my wife not to get a dog, so we want Honey looking her best).

I thought I had been doing a pretty good job at grooming during the past few months, her fur was soft, she smelled nice, and it kept any mats from forming on her coat. When we dropped her off at the groomers, we mainly wanted the nails trimmed and hair trimmed/shaped up a bit to clean up her look. We showed the groomers a picture of a champion chow and said we wanted her to look like that, but I wasn't expecting her to look a ton different than when I groom her. Well, to my surprise, she almost matched the photo perfectly- they did a great job of getting her coat super fluffy and all the hairs standing out to get the massive lions mane look.

Well, here's my question - how do you get that super fluffy look and keep that look? When I groom her myself, she's a little fluffy but her coat is fairly flat for the most part. I blow-dry her hair about 95% dry and then continue brushing and toweling the rest of her dry. How do groomers get that extra fluff look when they brush out a dog? Am I not blow-drying her well enough? It takes over an hour to use a regular hair dryer (on cool air) to dry her hair, but that's the only part I can think of. I generally brush her using a comb and a pin brush. It just seems that when I brush her that her fur tends to comb back instead of sticking out (if that makes sense).

Is there a way to keep that fresh groomed look with regular brushing? She looks beautiful right now and we'd love to keep her looking that way all the time, and before the hair starts to flatten out a little again as well. It'll be tough to keep her pro-groomed all the time at $75 a pop, so I was hoping to get a few more tips to help keep that look and only need to take her every few months.

[Sirchow]

I would like to know the answere to this too. Whilst we wait please post some photos here of the before and after look so I can fully appreciate what Bramble is missing never having been to a groomer.

[GoHokiesGo]

I'll try to post some before/afters tonight after work when I get a change to pull them off my camera. Unfortunately, she came home and snoozed the rest of the day, so I've only got shots of her sleeping fresh after the grooming. Although, all she ever seems to do is sleep around the house

There's definitely a reason that groomers are paid though, they made her look better than I've ever come close to! Her coat seems to have grown back in most of the way too since she was shaved a few months back before we got her in august.

[Layla]

DO you have a dog dryer? It really makes a huge difference in making their coat look fluffy. I can take mine to the dogs & fluff them up even without wahing them. It's awesome!

[Sirchow]

I use a high pwered human hair drier set on cool for Bramble. Don't know if that has the same effect. It was what I used when I washed her for showing and she did look pretty fluffy but it soon went flat again. Bramble doesn't have a long luxurient coat it is short and soooo thick.

[Layla]

Nope, you need a force air dryer, it makes a huge difference to their 'fluff factor' Also, always brush / comb towards the head (apart from their legs) I give them a quick blow out then spray with grooming spray before most groomings. A slicker will also help you. Here is Louie (at 3months old) after a groom (i don't use pro goomers)



Here's Louie about 1 week after a bath a blowdry, just a brush with a slicker & comb

[GoHokiesGo]

Okay, I'm starting to see the reasons a little clearer now. I don't have a forced air dryer; we just have a regular (human?? ) hair dryer, and an inexpensive one at that. Maybe I'll invest in a nice dog dryer, it can't be too much more than one or two grooming sessions.

I also usually brush away from the head, so that plays a factor as well. With the pin brush I brush down, and it helps a little more when I use the comb and brush outwards; I'll have to try brushing against the grain/flow of her fur and see how that helps. Her hair has gotten super thick and longer since we got her back in August, and she's developing more of that chow fluff in general as her coat grows back in.

Louie looks good

[Layla]

Glad to help! Also, try lots of short brushstrokes rather than long ones. That helps

Thanks for the compliment on Louie, i love grooming but he's the only chow that enjoys it as much as i do. Millie would rather not thanks

[jescalera]

i just got a chow chow too!! i've been looking at youtube for some tips how how to groom him. you can just search for chow chow grooming and some come out
hope they help too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxn7fOlW ... ature=fvwp