All Sprayed up - Show Banding

with Allison Foley

Setting Up for Success

In this video we illustrate the little things, that if completed correctly from the beginning, will make it easier for you to groom your poodle. I often see people banding their poodle starting with chasing their dog around the grooming table. They have a rubber band in one hand and a brush in the other hand. Then they wonder why their topknot doesn't turn out. In my opinion, this is like trying to ice a cake in a moving vehicle.

Teach your poodle the basics and your end result will be so much better. Both you and your poodle will be happier as things will happen in a faster manner.

DO NOT just plunk your poodle down on a grooming table. They typically have a rough non slip surface. They are great to stand on but not too great to lie on (especially for up to an hour or more.) I always put down a towel, a thin dog bed, and I teach my dog to lie down straight (a crooked dog will result in a crooked topknot or or crooked maintenance bands). I use a bolster or neck roll so my poodle has a comfy area to rest its head. Also, this is a signal to your dog that it is time to be good and be still. Often we have no one to help us with our topknots and if our poodle is co-operative it gives you better results.

3 Ways to Put on a Collar

Make it a habit now to put your poodle's collar on BEFORE you begin to put the show bands in. It will always be the prettiest, most gorgeous spray up you have ever done, when you have somehow forgotten to put the collar in. The whole thing gets destroyed as you attempt to put the collar on over the tower of hair-sprayed hair.

#1 - Of course, the easiest way for you to put the collar on is to simply put it in the “part” that you made the day before when you banded or wrapped your poodle. Make sure to part the hair carefully at the back of the ears and simply lay the collar in there, before taking out the wrappers and brushing out the topknot.
#2 - When your poodle is already brushed out, follow these steps to put the collar on. First, put the collar on your arm so that you can easily get it over all that hair, while still using that hand to help hold the hair out of the way. With the collar on your arm and the dog brushed out, part the hair with a parting comb from the back corner of the ear to the back corner of the other ear, straight across the neck. Make sure the part is neat and to the skin. Slip the collar on from your arm, over the head and into the part. Brush the hair so you can no longer see the collar.
#3 - The last method is to band the collar in. This is most useful with thinner or shorter coated dogs, especially puppies, where the collar tends to slip down the neck and ruin the spray up. Once the collar is in the correct spot along the “part” (following method #1 or #2) and BEFORE you brush the hair over the collar, using a small rubber band, take a very small amount of hair from either side of the collar on the far right side of the neck (the off-show side) and band them together. Band the hair together close to the collar so that it will actually hold the collar in place, but not so tight that the collar cannot move around the neck. Be sure to cut this band out before removing the collar.

Show banding your puppy

Ensure the ears are out of the way and collar is in.
Measure for the bubble by making a pretend bubble
Make sure that the hair is not being held back too tightly as this moves the part lines and can ruin your topknot.
Part the hair where you had it pinched, straight across the skull.
With puppies, no matter what the variety, I like to use TWO bands at the same time. This helps hold all those little hairs puppies often have in the bubble.
Wrap the band tightly around the hair and pull the bubble, using one of the two methods described in "Pulling the Bubble".
Do not add bands in straight “sections” to the front corner of the ear. This generally gives your puppy a stark look, as there is often not enough hair grown for banding and a fan.
I like to use a "cheater band". Simply make a “part” one section back. Take a small amount of hair from each side of the “section” (left and right sides) and secure the two little “sections” into the “part” behind the loose hair, which would normally be in the band of the first section.
This gives you the volume of the hair you desire while still keeping the sides of the cheeks clean looking.
You can use two cheater bands if you think appropriate. Do what works for you.
Be sure to cover puppy’s eyes when spraying up.

Not enough hair for a bubble?

Showing a Puppy Without a Bubble

If your poodle puppy's hair is so short that by having a bubble, you are actually detracting from it's expression, then DO NOT put a bubble in it.
It is completely okay to not “bubble” a puppy with short hair, especially if that puppy is younger than 9 months. If so, add a cheater band.
To make a cheater band, make a “part” one section back. Take a small amount of hair from each side of the “section” and secure the two little “sections” in the “part” behind the loose hair, which would normally be in the “band” of the first section.
This gives you the volume of the hair you desire while still keeping the sides of the cheeks looking clean.
You can use two cheater bands if you think appropriate. Do what works for you.
Spray up the front of the puppy’s hair in a fan shape. Be sure to cover the puppy’s eyes when spraying up.

All sprayed up

Setting up for Success:

Make sure your poodle is lying down in a straight line. This is very important at this point. If your poodle is crooked your final result will be crooked. Spraying up happens in three steps, the front or fan step, the side-to-side step and the step where you join the two together. Double check to ensure the collar is on. Scan over dog and comb hair so it is falling more or less evenly on both side of your dog. I tend to spray-up without an assistant as I will know exactly where the dog’s head is at all times.

The Fan:
Roughly comb the hair into a fan shape at the front of the topknot around the bubble. Position your two fingers (index and middle) in the hair, lightly holding the front two bands. The rest of your hand serves to shield your dog’s eyes from the spray. Spray the front of the fan and make sure it is the perfect shape for you. The front sprayed fan now rests gently on your hand that is shielding the eyes. Take a very small amount of hair and comb it lightly forward onto the already sprayed fan. Be sure to leave a layer of air between each layer of hair. What I mean by this is, DO NOT smash or heavily comb any of the sections of hair together as it gives a much less voluminous look. Be sure to SPRAY AT THE VERY BASE OF THE HAIR, spraying up in several layers. If you spray higher up than the base, the weight of the hairspray will drag your topknot down and it will appear deflated.

Repeat this process, being sure to get a layer of air between each layer of hair until you reach the back of the occiput.

Side-by-side: You are now ready to switch to the side. Go to the show side (left side).
From the side, stretch the poodle's head out, so the dog’s neck is almost in a straight line with the topline and neck slightly arched.
**PRO TIP**- You do not want your dog to look pretty at this point. If the head is in the correct position for a stacked dog, then it is impossible to get the neck hair out and up where it needs to be to achieve the desired outline. Using a longer pinned pin brush, make a part to the right of the spine. From the back of the already “sprayed up fan” to the end of the jacket, part the hair to the skin with your pin brush. Where the hair is parted, take the 2/3's of the hair you are going to be spraying up and lightly brush it towards you, slightly flattening it out so you can see the base of the hair on the remaining 1/3. Take the hair “standing up” and brush the hair towards the front, not straight up or back but pointed towards the front. Once the hair is properly brushed, spray the hair AT THE BASE. Spray at the base to about 1/3 of the way up the hair shaft and no farther.

Always make sure the hair is pointing forward towards the occiput.

Be sure the side “sprayed hair” is touching and becoming one piece with the “fan section” that is already sprayed up. The hair at the occiput should be the apex of our topknot. Hold or tug the hair at this point, straight up to remind you that this is the most important part. Repeat the process until you get to the "spray line", that “no man's land” between the scissored jacket and the sprayed up hair.

Neaten and scissor this area at the very end of the spray up.

Move to the right side or “off show” side of the poodle. Starting again 2/3 of the way over, you lightly part the hair, but this time the new "baseline" is where you already sprayed.
Spray from this new baseline another 1/3 of the way up. You now have sprayed 2/3 of the way up the hair shaft.

The procedure for “spraying up” the second side is the same as the first side.
Brush the hair forward towards the occiput. The hair you are spraying is touching and becoming one piece with the already sprayed up fan section. As you get to the remaining 1/3 of the hair that has not yet been sprayed, you are going to move your baseline down to the skin again and spray 1/3 of the way up.
Carefully spray, brushing the hair towards the occiput until you get to the spray line on the non-show side. Switch sides again, going to the show side.
Your new “baseline” is the line where there is already hairspray. Brushing the topknot gently, let the hair “fall” to this new “baseline”. This method will require a gentle touch for you to get the feel for it. Using this as the new baseline, spray to the top of the hair shaft, in small sections, until you get to the spray line

Joining the Sections:

Hold your poodle's head with a slightly arched neck and look at your dogs outline. Do not worry about the messy looking spray line between sprayed hair and the scissored jacket, you will get to this at the end. Using your comb, put the comb tines in the hair, about 10% into the hair from the top. Gently pull the hair up and shape the topknot into the desired shape. Carefully and gently, spray where needed (i.e. where the hair is falling apart). Go to the front of your poodle and gently spray the fan back into the hair that is already sprayed up, side to side. You are basically spraying the fan backwards towards the occiput. Remember to put a layer of air between each layer of hair. Work the hair back, until you are at the front of the fan.

Remember, this is an artistic process. It will take multiple attempts for you to get your "look" and feel proficient at it.

Stand your poodle up and look at the outline. Tweak the outline as needed.

*Fixing the spray line* : Gently comb the area between what you have sprayed and the scissored jacket. Whatever doesn't spray up gets cut off, to gently blend the two together.

If working on a Standard Poodle, place your poodle on the floor and critically look at the topknot from all angles.

Depending on how many times the poodle has been sprayed up, there will be more or less hair to cut off, comb straight or add more hairspray to. No matter how consistent you become, there will always be little tweaks to do and hairs to deal with.

Breaking down the topknot

Leaving the Collar In

Now you have shown your poodle, and it is time to take the hairspray out that you just put in! I always remove the collar last and use where the collar was as a part line when maintenance banding. This way I know exactly where to put the collar the next day!