Guess we should nip a myth right in the bud. There is NO SUCH THING as a NON-SHEDDING dog! That being said, the PWD is a single coated breed that has "hair" instead of "fur" like most canines - - what that means is their hair continues to grow unless it is cut AND they lose hair like a human does (imagine your bathroom floor when you clean it after a week!) The shedding is minimal in the PWD and can vary based on how often the dog is bathed, combed, etc. You will occasionally find a small ball of fur on your carpet, too. But, all that being said, I never have to rinse the tub after bathing them (if you have a shedding dog, you know that in and of itself is a miracle!) and even when I launder the towels from dog baths the lint trap in the dryer has minimal hair in it.
As for caring for a PWD coat, first and foremost, the PWD MUST be combed AT LEAST TWO TIMES a week to avoid developing mats. You could choose to keep the coat clipped short and that would lessen your grooming responsibilities - and this can be easily learned using clippers and guards. If you're looking for the fluffy perfect outline you see on a show dog, just know that behind that picture is 3-4 hours of grooming, from bathing through blow drying and hand scissoring!
The PWD must also have his ears cleaned regularly - especially if he is in and out of the water. Wet ears usually lead to ear infections! Nail trimming is a must as well and is best taught to a young puppy and done frequently.
One of the biggest questions asked by most spectator's at dog shows is WHY do people put theirdog in that "awful" Lion Cut? (where the front of the coat is long and the rear shaved). You should know that everywhere in the world, except the US and Canada, this is the ONLY acceptable trim in the show ring! This is the "traditional" trim of the breed. (The theory behind the trim is the long hair will keep the dog warm on the boats, but the rear is trimmed to keep the hair from weighting the dog down in the water). From a competitive stand point, it sometimes makes more sense to accent a particular dogs better qualities in this trim. Similarily, the Retriever Trim can be sculpted to accentuate the positive and camoflage the negative! It is also very common to see PWD's with wavy coats in the "Lion Cut" and those with curly coats in the "Retriever Trim." Lucky for those competitors in the US and Canada - you can show your dog in conformation events in either trim. (You can see more examples of PWDs in both trims by clicking on the PEDIGREE links on Liza's and Chloe's pages - they will take you to a page where there are photos of their ancestors.)
If you don't have the time to groom your dog yourself, you can expect to pay anywhere from $50-$85 per visit to the Pooch Parlour to fluff up Fifi - - and ideally that would be done every 6-8 weeks. if you're looking to show and want to learn, the best way is to just try it yourself and ask others questions and tips and keep working at it! If you have a pet at home, you could easily learn to master the pet trim - - and you'll save a lot of time NOT cleaning dog hair up out of your house by owning a PWD!
For guidelines on both the Lion Cut and Retriever Trim, click here:
It is recommended that anyone with allergies spend several hours in the home of a PWD owner to see if they have a reaction to the dog.
