Your Dog Has a Long Coat, But It Doesn't Look Like the Contenders. Why?

Beautiful coat isn't simply about having more hair. It's about maintaining the condition of the coat you have.

You have the coat. You've put in the time. You bathe, condition, dry, brush and maintain it.

Yet when you look at the contenders in the ring, something is different.

They are soft, supple, flowing, shiny and healthy-looking—and full of life.

So what makes the difference? Is it genetics? Is it nutrition? Is it grooming?

Or could something as routine as the shampoo and conditioning products you use every week be affecting the coat you're working so hard to grow?

And if your animal's coat is already soft, supple, flowing, shiny and healthy-looking—and full of life, the question changes: How do you keep it that way?

Just because an animal has a long coat doesn't mean the coat is in good condition.The condition of the skin and hair matters far more than simply how much coat an animal has. And when you're showing, the products you use week after week can become an important part of maintaining—or compromising—the coat you've worked so hard to grow.

THE SHAMPOO QUESTION

Most of us don't give much thought to shampoo.We know what it is supposed to do: get the animal clean.

But shampoo does much more than remove dirt. Every time you shampoo your animal, you are putting a cleansing formulation directly onto the skin and hair. And if you're showing, that may mean doing it every week—or even more often.

That makes the shampoo you choose one of the most frequently used products in your animal's entire coat-care routine.

YOUR ANIMAL'S SKIN IS DIFFERENT FROM YOURS

There is another reason the pH of a shampoo matters that often gets overlooked.

The skin has a natural protective surface commonly referred to as the acid mantle. It is part of the skin's protective environment and helps support moisture balance and the skin's defense against unwanted microorganisms. When an animal is bathed, some of that protective surface is temporarily removed along with dirt, excess oil and other material from the skin and coat. The skin then works to restore its normal protective environment.

This is one reason choosing a shampoo formulated specifically for animals matters.The skin of dogs and cats is not the same as human skin, and its normal pH environment is different.

Human scalp pH is generally more acidic, while the skin of dogs and cats is more neutral. VCA Animal Hospitals gives an approximate range of 5.2–6.2 for human scalp skin and 6.2–7.5 for canine/feline skin.

That doesn't mean every animal has exactly the same pH, but it does tell us something important : the ormulation needs to be appropriate for the skin you're putting it on.

A shampoo formulated for human skin isn't automatically appropriate for an animal simply because the manufacturer has put an animal's picture on the bottle and an animal label on it.

Putting a dog on the label doesn't make a human shampoo an animal shampoo.

The formulation is what matters—not the picture on the bottle.

And this becomes even more important when you're bathing an animal week after week after week.

Understanding the difference in skin pH is one reason animal-specific coat-care products matter.

THE SKIN AND COAT WORK TOGETHER

The skin isn't simply something underneath the coat. Hair is an appendage of the skin.

Hair follicles, oil glands and the hair coat are all part of the skin's structure. The skin provides the environment from which the coat grows, while the coat helps protect the skin from physical and environmental exposure.

The skin's sebaceous glands produce sebum, the natural oil that helps keep the skin soft, pliable and moisturized and contributes to the coat's natural sheen.The hair coat itself also helps protect the skin from environmental exposure.

So when we're talking about coat care, we're really talking about: skin-and-coat care.

If the skin becomes excessively dry or irritated, the animal may scratch, chew or rub.

That self-trauma can damage the very coat you're trying to grow and preserve.

Healthy skin is the foundation of a healthy coat.

WHAT ABOUT SULFATES?

This is where shampoo conversations can become confusing. You've probably heard that sulfates are harsh and that a sulfate-free shampoo must therefore be better.

It isn't quite that simple.

Sulfates are surfactants—the cleansing agents that help lift oils, dirt and debris from the skin and hair. But a single ingredient doesn't tell you the whole story.

Some surfactants are stronger than others. The concentration used matters. What surfactants are combined together matters. The other ingredients in the formulation matter. And the pH of the finished shampoo matters.

That's why simply looking at one ingredient on a label doesn't necessarily tell you how a shampoo will perform on an animal's skin and coat. A properly formulated cleansing system can use multiple surfactants at appropriate concentrations to accomplish effective cleansing without relying on one aggressive cleansing ingredient to do all the work.

Formulation matters more than any single ingredient.

And that's why “Sulfate-free” does not automatically mean “gentle.”

REMEMBER: YOU'RE SHAMPOOING THE SKIN, TOO

When we talk about shampoo, it's easy to concentrate on the hair we can see and forget about the skin underneath it. But the skin is living tissue and an important protective barrier.

A cleansing product that is too harsh, used too frequently, or simply isn't appropriate for the animal can leave the skin feeling dry. tight or iIrritated.When an animal's skin becomes uncomfortable, the animal will naturally try to relieve it by scratching. chewing or rubbing.

Now think about what that means for a show coat.

You cannot grow and maintain a beautiful, show coat if the animal is constantly scratching, chewing or rubbing at it.Every time the animal damages the hair, breaks it, tangles it or pulls it out, you are losing some of the coat you worked so hard to grow.

You can't grow a winning coat on irritated skin.

DON'T AUTOMATICALLY SHAMPOO TWICE

Another common practice is double shampooing every bath.

Unless your animal has gotten into something particularly greasy, dirty or difficult to remove, a second shampoo isn't automatically necessary. The first shampoo is already doing the job of loosening and removing dirt, environmental debris and excess oil.

There are certainly times when a second shampoo is appropriate—if an animal has rolled in something unpleasant, accumulated an unusual amount of dirt, or has something on the coat that requires additional cleansing.

But for an animal that is routinely bathed and properly maintained, more shampoo doesn't necessarily mean cleaner.

Clean doesn't mean stripped.

WHY DOES THE COAT TELL THE STORY?

Every animal's coat is different. Some coats are naturally oily, some are dry, some are fine and silky, while others are coarse or heavily textured.

Curly coats present their own challenge because natural oils have a harder time traveling along the twists and turns of the hair shaft. That can make curly or naturally dry coats more vulnerable to excessive cleansing.

Your animal may feel perfectly clean, and the coat may even look beautiful immediately afterward. But if the shampoo is repeatedly removing too much of the coat's natural oils, you may eventually begin to notice a difference. The coat can become drier, develop more static, become harder to manage and lose some of its natural softness and brilliance. Over time, dryness can also contribute to frizz and breakage.

And remember, the real test isn't always the first bath.

You can use a new shampoo once and think, “Wow, I love this!” The coat is clean, it feels soft and it looks shiny. But what happens after the fifth bath? The tenth? The twentieth?

Does it continue to feel soft, supple and manageable, or does it gradually become drier, more static-filled and harder to work with?

Your animal's coat is giving you the answer. You just have to pay attention to it.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN A SHAMPOO?

Once you understand what shampoo is actually doing to the skin and coat, choosing one becomes a very different decision.

You want a shampoo that cleans thoroughly without unnecessarily compromising the condition of the skin and coat, is appropriate for animal skin and is gentle enough for your grooming routine.

That is exactly why we developed:

SummerWinds® Shine-Onnn™ Shampoo

Shine-Onnn was formulated with the health, condition and appearance of the animal's coat in mind. It is pH balanced, designed specifically for animal coat care rather than simply adapting a human shampoo formulation and putting an animal on the label.

The improved formula uses lower levels of sulfates and a combination of cleansing agents designed to effectively lift dirt, excess oils and environmental buildup while providing a gentler cleansing approach.

Shine-Onnn can be diluted up to 18:1, making it economical for both the serious exhibitor and professional groomer.

It is also designed to clean without unnecessarily stripping away the coat's natural condition. Because a beautiful show coat isn't only about cleanliness, Shine-Onnn contains Ultra Violet optical brightening agents designed to enhance the appearance of the coat, help light or white coats look whiter, and uncover highlights that may already be there.

It is formulated without salt, bleach or peroxide.

But shampoo is only Step One.

Step 1 — Shine-Onnn® Shampoo: Shampoo cleans.

Once the coat is clean, the next question becomes:

What are you doing to condition that coat?

CONDITIONING: WHAT DOES IT REALLY DO TO AN ANIMAL'S COAT?

Once shampoo has cleaned the skin and coat, the coat needs something different.

Shampoo cleans. Conditioner conditions.

A properly formulated cream rinse helps detangle the coat, reduce friction between the hairs, control static and flyaways, add moisture and improve manageability. That matters because every time you brush or comb an animal's coat, you're working against friction between individual hairs.

When the coat is dry, tangled or static-filled, grooming becomes more difficult. The more you have to pull and tug through those tangles, the greater the opportunity for unnecessary breakage.

But conditioning isn't simply about making a coat feel soft.

The goal is to improve the condition and manageability of the coat while maintaining the texture and character appropriate for that animal.

CREAM RINSE VS. DEEP CONDITIONING

This is an important distinction that is often overlooked.

A cream rinse is primarily a maintenance treatment used as part of the regular bathing routine. It helps detangle, reduce static and flyaways, add moisture and suppleness, improve comb-through and manageability, and add body and sheen.

Deep conditioning has a different job. It is more intensive and is intended for a coat that needs additional restoration because it has become dry, brittle, weathered, sun-damaged or stressed by repeated bathing, drying, brushing and environmental exposure.

Think of the difference this way:

Cream rinse maintains. Deep conditioning restores and reconstructs.

Cream rinse maintains the coat you have. Deep conditioning helps restore a coat that has been stressed by time, environment or repeated grooming.

BUT WHAT ABOUT HARSH-COATED BREEDS?

This is where some exhibitors become hesitant about conditioning.

If your breed standard calls for a harsh or crisp coat, you don't want to turn that coat soft, fluffy or cottony. We understand that concern.

But a harsh coat can still be dry, damaged or dehydrated. Those are two different things.

Avoiding conditioner altogether because you're afraid of softening the coat isn't necessarily the answer. A cream rinse can be diluted more heavily for a harsh coat and still provide conditioning benefits without loading the coat with a heavy treatment.

You're not trying to make a harsh coat soft. You're trying to condition the hair while preserving the texture the breed requires.

And remember, you're conditioning the skin as well as the hair. Hair is an appendage of the skin, so maintaining the condition of both is part of maintaining the coat.

FINE-L-SHINE® CRÈME RINSE

Now that we understand what a cream rinse is supposed to do, the question becomes: Can you get those conditioning benefits without sacrificing the body, texture or character of the coat?

That's exactly what we developed SummerWinds® Fine-L-Shine™ Crème Rinse to accomplish.

Fine-L-Shine is a super-concentrated, moisture-rich conditioner designed to detangle, add body and sheen and restore the condition of even dry, dull coats. It is pH balanced and can be diluted up to 28:1, allowing you to adjust the concentration according to the individual animal and its coat.

Fine-L-Shine provides moisture and lubrication to help combs and brushes move through the coat, while helping control static, flyaways and tangles. It also improves dry comb-through and helps maintain body and sheen without requiring a heavy, greasy application.

And don't rush it. Fine-L-Shine begins working quickly, but allowing it to remain on the coat for up to 5 minutes before rinsing gives the conditioning ingredients additional time to work.

The goal isn't simply a coat that feels soft immediately after the bath. The goal is a coat that is conditioned, manageable, supple, full of body and beautiful to look at—while retaining the texture appropriate for that animal.

Step 2 — Fine-L-Shine® Crème Rinse: Conditioner conditions.

WHEN THE COAT NEEDS MORE: PROTECT-A-COAT™

Sometimes routine conditioning isn't enough.

Think about what a show coat goes through: repeated bathing, drying, brushing, combing, sun exposure, environmental exposure, friction, tangles and everyday wear. Over time, those stresses can leave the hair dry, brittle, less elastic, dull and more susceptible to breakage.

That's when a deeper conditioning treatment has a different job.

SummerWinds® Protect-A-Coat™ Conditioning Oil with Sunscreen is a highly concentrated deep conditioning oil treatment designed to restore pH balance, seal and smooth the cuticle, strengthen and reconstruct the coat, and improve elasticity.

It helps condition dry and damaged hair while helping reduce the tendency toward breakage and matting and enhancing the coat's ability to reflect light.

Protect-A-Coat also contains built-in sunscreen protection to help protect against UV exposure and help minimize sun-related color fading and damage. This is particularly important for richly pigmented coats and animals that spend considerable time outdoors.

You've invested all that time growing and conditioning the coat.

Why not protect it?

Step 3 — Protect-A-Coat®: Deep condition, reconstruct and help protect the coat.

MORE HEAVY WEIGHT OIL ISN'T BETTER

One of the biggest misconceptions about conditioning oils is that more must be better.

It isn't.

Applying a heavy weight oil simply because you want more conditioning can create another problem. If the coat becomes heavily coated with oil, it may require stronger harsh cleansing to remove it—and that takes us right back to where we started. You have taken one step forward and two steps back.

You don't want to use an aggressive detergents or harsh shampoo to remove excessive product and then have to replace the natural oils you just stripped away.

Protect-A-Coat is highly concentrated and can be adjusted to the individual animal's coat type, length, density and lifestyle. Protect-A-Coat can be removed with one pH balanced shampooing.

The coat will tell you what it needs.

Protect-A-Coat is particularly valuable as a maintenance treatment between shows. It is not recommended for ring-day grooming because a heavier application may leave an oily residue.

Its job is to help maintain the condition, elasticity and strength of the coat so that when show day arrives, you have better coat to work with.

THE SUMMERWINDS® 1-2-3 TREATMENT

Now the three steps make sense. They aren't three products doing the same job. Each has a purpose.

1. SHINE-ONNN™ SHAMPOO

Shampoo cleans.

Clean the skin and coat while respecting their natural condition.

2. FINE-L-SHINE™ CRÈME RINSE

Conditioner conditions.

Condition, detangle, restore manageability, add moisture, body and sheen, and help maintain the coat's condition and texture.

3. PROTECT-A-COAT™ CONDITIONING OIL WITH SUNSCREEN

Protection protects.

Deep condition, help restore and reconstruct the coat, strengthen and improve elasticity, and provide protection against UV exposure and everyday environmental stress.

CLEAN IT. CONDITION IT. PROTECT IT.

That is the SummerWinds® 1-2-3 Treatment—not simply three products sitting on a shelf, but a complete approach to maintaining the coat you've worked so hard to grow.

Three steps. One complete approach to coat care.

THE COAT WILL TELL YOU

A beautiful show coat doesn't happen simply because an animal has a lot of hair. It comes from maintaining the health and condition of that hair—bath after bath, grooming session after grooming session.

It starts with a healthy animal. It continues with thoughtful cleansing, requires proper conditioning and benefits from protection between grooming sessions.

So the next time you look at your animal's coat and wonder why it doesn't look quite like the contenders, don't just ask:

“How do I grow more coat?”

Ask:

“Am I taking care of the coat I already have?”

Because the difference isn't always how much coat you grow.

Sometimes, it's what you do to protect the coat you have.

SUMMERWINDS® — COAT CARE BUILT ON EXPERIENCE

For more than four decades, SummerWinds® has been dedicated to helping breeders, handlers and pet owners understand that beautiful coats don't happen by accident.

Healthy skin. Properly cleansed. Conditioned with purpose. Protected for the future.

SummerWinds® — helping you preserve the coat you've worked so hard to grow.

Educational References

SummerWinds® educational articles are developed from our many years of experience in animal coat care, professional experience in cosmetology, and decades of working with chemists and formulators to develop and refine coat-care products. Our educational content is informed by veterinary and scientific resources and is intended to share practical coat-care knowledge.

SummerWinds® understands the difference between routine coat care and treating a medical skin condition. Persistent itching, irritation, hair loss, or other unusual skin problems should always be evaluated by your veterinarian.

Veterinary resources consulted:

• VCA Animal Hospitals

• Merck Veterinary Manual