# Face comb



## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

I use the CC 005 comb for the body (and love it) but was looking for a good face comb -- any recommendations? 

Gabby is a year and blowing coat -- ive been keeping her short but I find the worst areas are behind her ears & top of neck. If i miss one day of grooming its too late, those darn matts!! She will not let me work on the matts on her neck (and i dont blame her, its such an awkward spot to work on) so I try spraying with detangler and working at it with just my fingers while watching tv, but it's not like getting a comb to it. 
Thx!


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Is Gabby wearing a collar?


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

No a harness and oddly enough the harness doesn't cause matting. She's due to go to the groomers soon, so I'll be getting the neck area clipped shorter ... But am wondering if I should be using a face comb on her chin and neck instead or the 005 (and just never miss a day of grooming!)


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Gabs said:


> No a harness and oddly enough the harness doesn't cause matting. She's due to go to the groomers soon, so I'll be getting the neck area clipped shorter ... But am wondering if I should be using a face comb on her chin and neck instead or the 005 (and just never miss a day of grooming!)


Kodi wasn't clipped, but he also has an easier-than-most coat. When he was blowing coat, the only way I could avoid problems was to groom him completely twice a day. If I did that, neither session took me more than 10-15 minutes. If I skipped, PARTICULARLY if I let him go to bed with ANY knots, he was a mess in the morning, and we both paid the price. Keeping him really, really clean, with baths moved down to every 5 days or so helped a LOT too. I found that clean, well conditioned hair matted much less than dirty hair!


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

It's amazing to me how quickly they form -- i normally do her in the afternoon and before bed, but I missed a day last week and now her neck is matted  we were doing so good too. She already had a groomers appt for next week, so I'm focusing on keeping the rest of her tangle free, she's so patient but the neck is just too difficult to get at. Hard lesson to learn.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I use a CC 008 Tail Comb on the face. I would think any fine tooth comb would work on the face. I only use the comb to comb out the eye goobers, comb the hair out of their eyes, and to comb the mustache. The comb is 16 teeth spaced per inch. 

Any recent pictures? Good idea about getting her cut shorter around the neck. Ask your groomer to get behind those ears too. 

My main grooming tools are the CC Comb 005, my wooden brush, fine tooth comb, and a small pair of very sharp scissors. 

Whenever I got to a mat that was going to be long in removing or the boys would not tolerate the mat removal (a mat that looked like bubble gum stuck in the hair without the stickiness). 

I would take my scissors and glide through the mat several times, then pick at it to loosen up the mat, then working from the outside of the mat pulling a few hairs through the mat and slowly work the mat out.

Sorry to ramble on...you are making a wonderful decision to keep Gabby short at this time. If I had to do it all over again, I would keep my boys in a shorter groom for at least the first 2 years.


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

Yes, I'm lucky to have an awesome groomer...she's going to get a short cut all over and special attention to the ears and neck (pics to follow Gabby has always been very good at the groomers and I know he'll have no prob with her (which eases my mind). When she 1st started matting it completely caught me by surprise and after 2 weeks of struggling with grooming I knew I needed to keep her short, it's not fair on her to have to sit thru hours of grooming a day when she should be playing etc. so we've gone short and it's been working awesome until my slip up and missed day of combing session. Thx for everyone's responses -- more frequent bathing makes sense too, we do it every 2 weeks but will do it weekly now.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Gabs said:


> It's amazing to me how quickly they form -- i normally do her in the afternoon and before bed, but I missed a day last week and now her neck is matted  we were doing so good too. She already had a groomers appt for next week, so I'm focusing on keeping the rest of her tangle free, she's so patient but the neck is just too difficult to get at. Hard lesson to learn.


 I just use a small comb for the face and hard to get at places. Try laying her on your lap with her on her back she may wiggle but just keep her from moving practice small sessions like 5 min. Don't let her get her way. After a bit they relax and just let you do anything. Zoey hates her legs and paw areas the most. I just say good girl a few times. If you think about it the groomer isn't going to be a gentle as you.


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

You are so right -- she doesn't even wiggle or squirm at the groomers, because she knows she can get away with it with me but not them
(smart). 

When bathing do you guys use only shampoo or conditioner too? Ive only been shampooing but maybe conditioner will help too ?


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Gabby probably still has that nice puppy hair. Yes use the conditioner, it helps get out those tangles.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

When mine are blowing coat I actually fill the sink with water and buy cheep human conditioner. I use up to a 1/2 cup and let them soak for at least five min. If your sink is big enough you can feel mats under water and work some of them out while soaking.


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## mamacjt (Aug 23, 2011)

I use the CC Ice on Ice. It's a leave in conditioner/detangler and I love it. I spray it on after towel drying and blow dry.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Suzi said:


> I just use a small comb for the face and hard to get at places. Try laying her on your lap with her on her back she may wiggle but just keep her from moving practice small sessions like 5 min. Don't let her get her way. After a bit they relax and just let you do anything. Zoey hates her legs and paw areas the most. I just say good girl a few times. If you think about it the groomer isn't going to be a gentle as you.


SOME of them will give in and relax. Kodi truly panics. He is GREAT about being groomed, but if I had tried to force him to stay on his back, I would now have a dog that was difficult to groom in general. He's good with the groomer too, but not because he "gets away" with anything from me.

And I'll tell you right now... A groomer BETTER be as gentle with him as I am! I stay with him every minute, and if I saw ANY sign of a groomer being rough with him, he'd be off the table and we'd be out of there that minute. Fortunately, the three groomers I've worked with have ALL been gentle with him. Partly because I've picked them carefully, and partly because I've (gently) taught him to behave while he is being groomed. The only thing that still needs work is trimming his nails, and even there, as long as I keep feeding cookies in the front end, we get those done with a minimum of fuss too.

BTW none of the 3 groomeers who has worked on Kodi has EVER asked him to lie down for grooming, and that's not because I've asked them not to. They ALL have groomed the dogs standing in a grooming slip. In Kodi's case, since he's usually very good on the table, sometimes they don't even bother to put the grooming slip on him.


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

I am very fortunate to have an amazing groomer. He is so very good with Gabby and just as important Gabby loves him. She is exceptionally good at the groomers... I stayed once to see what she did (kept out of her sight) and I was soo sooo proud... she sat on the table while he worked on her, it was the sweetest thing. Gabby tends to naturally sit while being groomed, and I think it's because I've been taking her to the groomers since she was young to get her use to it, when I try doing her laying down she thinks it's a game


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

YES, USE CONDITIONER!!!!! I can't IMAGINE not using it ... it seems everyone has something different that works for them! Just try a few and you'll find something!
I actually use a human Coconut conditioner Palmers "Protien Pack" and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it out ..


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## Gabs (Apr 15, 2012)

ok thx so much..her groomers appointment is monday...after that we will be matt free and will start with the weekly bathing w/ conditioner  I'm slowly getting at the matts underneath her chin area, but what a tricky little spot! Shes being such a good girl considering it's not fun for either one of us. Its funny, she wont eat the treats I give her while grooming but once we're done and I put her on the floor she sits there looking up, with that look "can i have them now"


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