# Adult coat?



## Oakley (Feb 16, 2013)

Oakley is almost 9 months old. He had one hair cut, the first time he saw a groomer. I didn't expect the cut. Now I am waiting for something to happen with his coat. It is much longer than his picture now. All of a sudden I find his hair look bad. It's very curly and oily. His hair is not matting. I brush him daily and wash and deep condition him once per week. I have noticed it is taking much longer to air dry near his skin. I only blow dry once in a while. His skin is very healthy. I dread every groomer appointment because I don't know if I should be trimming his hair at all. Most of the time he looks like he can't see.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I don't see a picture? A havanese with a curly coat is easier to maintain cut short. He is is probably still getting his adult coat in. Havanese have an undercoat and during the coat change it will get tangled even with a shorter cut. His texture will change some. Puppy coats I think are softer. I don't give mine as many baths as some people . My first home hair cut was their bangs and it was easy.I want a picture!


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## Oakley (Feb 16, 2013)

I don't know how to post a picture. I got Oakley because I have time to baby and maintain his hair. I just don't know how to decide what would suit his hair type. His hair is curly, about 3 inches long but looks much shorter. I look at pictures and love the long hair. I pin his hair out of his eyes. He looks like a beautiful chocolate brown shaggy teddy bear. I tried uploading a pic I took tonight. I didn't fuss with it. That's how it looks without fussing. I brushed him this morning. His hair is very soft and fluffy.


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## Tia (Nov 28, 2012)

Cute! I love him.

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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Awww! Oakley looks very cuddly!


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

He is really adorable!! If you air dry him, the hair with have more waves and have a different look than if you blow dry him and use a brush while doing so. You also mentioned that his coat seems a bit oily...maybe you should use a little less conditioner and make sure it is all rinsed out well. Or, try another brand of conditioner. and see how that works. He is still young and his adult is still not in..wait and see what happens. You said his hair was not matting and that's a good thing!! Enjoy your pup!!! Keep us posted and keep those pictures coming!


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

If you wash him once a week try to get natural sulpfate free shampoo. Regular shampoos have SLS or SLES (sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium laureth sulphate). Basically those ingredients are detergents and can be harsh on dog's skin because it strips it of natural oils. Once the skin is striped sebacious glands start to overproduce sebum and you get oily skin and coat. So you need something really mild. I am not going to recomend you anything because I live in Europe and choice here is quite different. Just google natural, organic sulphate free shampoo for dogs and you will get a good choice. Buy conditioner of the same brand. 
The other thing is that your handsome choco boy is going to blow coat any time now. Just be patient with brushing and COMBING. if he is not sort of very dirty try to wash him three times a month. In order to see try to make a topknot or fasten his bang with a hairpin. 
My Roki is three and half and in full adult coat. I love their full long coats. You can try to let his hair grow. if blowing coat gets out of control, you can clip him. One big truth is - hair grows back! 
It is also important which tools you use. For pup with such a coat you reallly need goog grooming tools. For Roki I use Chris Christensen gold series oval pin brush, CC wood pin brush, CC buttercomb #005 and little face and feet comb. Prices are bit higher, but quality is really awesome. I went through a lot of trial and error and spent a lot of money on tool just trying to save money. 
One more idea - wild salmon oil is very good suppelment for coat and overall health. You can buy as oil to spill over food or in capsules. Good nutrition is also VERY important in browing coat phase because their bodies use a lot og protein to build new, adult hair.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

I bet it is the conditioner you are using. Most dog conditioners are really heavy in oils. Read the ingredients and avoid any conditioner that contains oil. You really just need something that has detangling properties. Use a gentle shampoo that won't damage the coat as someone mentioned and follow with a good quality conditioner that doens't contain oil. They just discontinued the one i was using and I've been trying different conditioners trying to find the right one. There is a long conditioner thread recently in the grooming section that has lots of good suggestions. I just ordered one that was suggested on there and waiting for it to arrive (biogroom silk i think it was called).

Also, if you blowdry the coat rather than letting it airdry it will dry much straighter and be easier to manage. I just invested in a good grooming table and force dryer and it has been amazing (once i figured out how to use it with help from this forum). I recently decided to keep my havanese in a long coat and haven't regretted the decision. My girl is 18 months old. I too have the time to put into coat maintenance i love grooming my girl!

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=24362&

Oakley is beautiful! I love is colouring!


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## Oakley (Feb 16, 2013)

Wow a lot of responses. Thank you. He is going to the groomer today. I decided not to cut his hair because I can't decide. The conditioner he uses is from the groomer. It is Snow Season hypo conditioner. I will use less often. The question though is, as far as brushing him daily, don't I have to dampen his hair first. I use an untangle product. It contains conditioning properties. All his products are hypo allergenic. The combs and brushes recommended, I have asked my groomer to search for before. Today I will ask her to order me a sulfate free shampoo and again see if she can find those combs and brushes. Thank you so much. He will be all smoothed out this afternoon  I will try another picture later.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Oakley said:


> Wow a lot of responses. Thank you. He is going to the groomer today. I decided not to cut his hair because I can't decide. The conditioner he uses is from the groomer. It is Snow Season hypo conditioner. I will use less often. The question though is, as far as brushing him daily, don't I have to dampen his hair first. I use an untangle product. It contains conditioning properties. All his products are hypo allergenic. The combs and brushes recommended, I have asked my groomer to search for before. Today I will ask her to order me a sulfate free shampoo and again see if she can find those combs and brushes. Thank you so much. He will be all smoothed out this afternoon  I will try another picture later.


You can dampen his hair just with water, if you want, when you comb him out. I use a solution of 9 parts water to one part Kodi's regular conditioner. (BioGroom Silk) You can vary this by using more or less conditioner until you find what is best for your guy's coat.

You may not be able to get CC products through your groomer, but just go to the CherryBrook website, and you can order them there. They also usually have some (though not always everything) on the HRI store website. Or if you Google Chris Christensen, I am pretty sure you can order directly from them.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Oakley is ADORABLE! You've received some great suggestions on grooming him. I want to second what Karen says regarding watering down the detangler you spray on before brushing him out. I use Isle of Dogs Detangle Mist and put a little of it in a smaller spray bottle that contains mostly water, and this works very well on Emmie's coat. -Jeanne-


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

I looked up the conditioner you are using. i have a lot of allergies myself so I am used to reading labels. It's interesting; they don't list the ingredients at all and simply say "trade secret" on the label, but do say it has a "dash of dimethicone". That certainly could lead to a greasy buildup over time for sure. Also, are you diluting it to the directions? you may want to dilute it more and make sure you rinse it well.

How experienced is your groomer? There have been lots of grooming disasters around here, so be careful. Many nice well meaning groomers have given unwanted cuts/shave downs/ etc to havanese owners that want to keep their havs long. Unless she is an experienced show groomer be cautious taking her advice. She may be well intentioned but may not really know what she is talking about. I have learned so much from the experienced people here on the forum and am still learning!


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## Oakley (Feb 16, 2013)

I noticed there were no ingredients on the conditioner also. My groomer and I have come to an understanding  Oakley loves her. I started grooming daily from the first day he came home and before he turned 4 months he was at the groomer. The first time I said don't cut his hair. She cut his bangs. A few weeks later I brought him back and I never specified a haircut at all. She puppy cut him. I was VERY upset. So now we have a good working relationship. Again as much as Oakley loves her I am glad we went through that honestly. 

The picture I put was of Oakley at home. Him going hiking in the wood to the lake. I would never go out with him, without his hair done. That is an honest look of his actual hair type for advice. 

Here are 2 pictures after Peggy (his groomer) was finished with him today. I am so worried about this adult coat and I so hope I can stick through it, to see him in his beautiful adult coat, which I understand is just so by age 3 years.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Oakley said:


> I don't know how to post a picture. I got Oakley because I have time to baby and maintain his hair. I just don't know how to decide what would suit his hair type. His hair is curly, about 3 inches long but looks much shorter. I look at pictures and love the long hair. I pin his hair out of his eyes. He looks like a beautiful chocolate brown shaggy teddy bear. I tried uploading a pic I took tonight. I didn't fuss with it. That's how it looks without fussing. I brushed him this morning. His hair is very soft and fluffy.


 He is really cute. I like the length he has but would love to see his eyes.His coat doesn't look too curley for a long coat. I think if you like long coats give it a try you can always cut it .


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

He is adorable!


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