****This page will guide you to find your way on my pages which will  show you how I groom and care for different hairless type, how I groom and care for the puffs, how I tape their ears, how I shave their faces, ears etc...****

Step by Step Grooming pictures and basic supplies

Here in Alberta we have a very dry weather thus keeping the little guys moisturized is a must.   I usually bath my dogs about every week or 10 days during the summer which include a daily feet and belly rinse because of the off-leash park.  My show dogs get bathed every 3 or 4 days.  I am very happy with using the Aveno Moisturizing Body lotion (for the hairless guys).  This lotion is based on oatmeal and is quite gentle on their skin.  We can get it here in practically in all Drug Stores and big Supermarkets.  When I bath them my main shampoos are either : #1 All System, Vellus, Pet Silk, Traleigh, or other good quality specially formulated Dog Products.  For Conditioners again I use a combinations of products.  The most frequent ones are : Coat Handler, Summerwind, Pet Silk, Vellus, Gold Seal conditioner, Traleigh and #1 All System.  I also use on the show ones a regular oil treatment by #1All System which is called the Humectant Oil or the Lanolin (but careful! some dogs will have a reaction to lanolin and may loose some of their coat) I never had that happen here but suggested to a friend to use it and her poor dog nearly lost all her coat...and she is a Powderpuff!  One last think I always use "bath gloves" (buff type gloves) on my hairless dogs.  They can be bought in most Drug Stores.  If you are going to do so too, please try it on your own body and this makes you feel on how much pressure you should apply to the dogs while shampooing them.  Although taking the dead skin off the body helps against black heads and leaves the skin nicer and softer you don't want to scrape their skin off either!   Go gently!                            

Many people ask me how I get such a nice skin on my dogs...well they are born with good skin.  Remember that Chinese Crested are almost like humans.  Some are born with a fair skin and some are born with a better skin.  Most of the young Crested will go through a "teenage acne" period.  This means that you may start to see more black heads and pimples to surface on the skin.  Don't get alarmed!  This is normal, but like human once again, some dogs will get anywhere from no problem, to little problem, to lots of problems, to dead serious problems.  It also has to do with bloodlines.  Some bloodlines will tend to have such a lovely skin and some other will tend to have problems.   Fortunately I haven't have to deal with too much skin problems.  My Ziggy never had pimples on his body but is quite allergic to preservatives and will scratch his poor neck till it bleeds.  I now feed him a Natural Food called Nature's Link and he is free of hitching!  My experience is that pimples (if they are to come) will start around the age of when their hormones are changing.  With a sex crazy breed like the Chinese Crested this can happen as early as 4-5 months of age until the age of a year old.  The best secret to avoid a big outbreak is to keep them clean.   During their acne period a nice daily wipe with a warm damp face cloth is sometimes the best remedies.  If the problem persist (and it can last for a few months) or gets worst, you may try a lotion like Benzol or a gentle scrub like Noxzema.  Remember to keep the skin clean.  Talk to your vet and he/she may suggest a mild antibiotics too.   Sometime especially at early age a Powderpuff is much easier to keep care of!

One last thing but not the least, as most people know by now is that the hairless dog is not always as hairless as it seems.  Some are naturally very hairless and as a result most of the time will not carry much sock or feather...most still have a nice crest thou.  Some hairless come with hair growing up the legs and along the spine...at this point most people will shave the excess hair off the body...and we have the extreme hairy hairless also...most of the time those are the ones who will carry the long furnishings...those who everyone is attracted to...  I find that my hairy hairless are more work to show than my powderpuffs...As a pet ask yourself if you want all that furnishing if you really want to have, or the ability to shave your dog in order to make it look like it is a hairless.  Sometime if you want a true hairless dog it is wise to compromise on the furnishing (not having long furnishings will still keep your dog's intelligence and health).  A true hairless dog has a softer skin as comparison  to a hairy hairless...Ok here is what you have to do for the grooming of a true hairless...Bath at least once a week with one of your favourite "quality" shampoo...by the way these shampoos may be purchased at any dog shows or here in Canada there is a place called "The Pet Supply House" in Ontario who carries everything your little heart may desire for a fair price.  I always give a starter kit to my new puppy owners...ok where was I...after bathing your dog you want to towel dry him/her a little, apply the body lotion and depending on your breeder's advise apply your conditioner...(I always apply my conditioner diluted directly on the hair without rinsing, but careful you can't do this with all conditioner!) Finish by drying the hair with a blow dryer...I use a professional stand dryer which makes my life sooo much easier...be careful if you use a regular blowdryer to make sure the temperature is not too hot... often feel with your hand under the heat to verify the heat...try to buy a dryer which will have many heat settings including a cool setting.  Sometimes in the summer  when it's warm and sunny outside,  I will simply bath, moisturize and let them go wild on the lawn!...Iif you own a hairier hairless, bath as usual and after the dog is dry, you will want to shave the excess body hair with a small clipper like the Oyster Finisher, the Contura from Wella or something similar in quality.  I always shave after their bath for the simple reason that the hair I am clipping is clean thus the life span of my clipper blades will last a whole lot longer.    Now here comes the worst scenario...if you own a very hairy hairless dog, first of all your breeder should be your best bet as far as different method they find works best... in a nutshell it would go like this: shave, apply magic, rinse, blow dry.   Too cut and dry for you?...ok ok relax go get a cup of coffee and come and find out how to do it...