# How long untill show coat



## miller123 (Aug 13, 2011)

I was recently thinkinng about growing miller into show coat, and wondering how long this takes? Is a show coat super hard to maintain or easy? pros and cons of show coat, thanks, and also if you have any pics of your dogs in show coat that would be awesome so i could see what it looks like. THANKS


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

miller123 said:


> I was recently thinkinng about growing miller into show coat, and wondering how long this takes? Is a show coat super hard to maintain or easy? pros and cons of show coat, thanks, and also if you have any pics of your dogs in show coat that would be awesome so i could see what it looks like. THANKS


I am assuming you mean that you just want to grow him into a natural, long coat, right? Because I believe he is neutered, so you wouldn't be showing him in conformation anyway.

I have read that it takes 3 years for a coat to fully develop on a dog who has never been cut. Unless the dog has been shaved to the skin, I would think it would be somewhat less time to grow a dog out from a puppy cut, because they already have SOME length to their hair. My guess is that they would look pretty furry after a year, though it may take somewhat longer for it to reach full length.

As far as how hard it is to maintain, that is VERY dependent on the dog. Those with less curly, silky coats and with less undercoat are MUCH easier to maintain than curly coated dogs, those with profuse undercoats, or worst, both!

I believe Miller is just over a year now, right? If so, you are not completely past the blowing coat stage. If he has blown coat once, he probably has a couple more go-rounds ahead, though in all likelihood, they won't be as bad as the first. If you start growing him out now, and you find that he mats too much, I wouldn't give up for ever, but you might want to consider keeping him short for a while longer, then growing him out when he's over two. (most of them have finished the puppy coat blowing by then)

Kodi has the silky, non-curly type of coat with only a moderate amount of undercoat. Other than when he was blowing coat, his coat has not been a problem for me to maintain, and he has never been cut down. I do comb him out almost daily, just because I like him to look nice. But I have been away for up to 5 days, and no one has touched him while I was gone, and he has not had any knots when I returned. I do find that a clean coat is easier to comb through, so he gets bathed every week to 10 days. (unless he gets into something stinky earlier!uke::biggrin1 Daily maintenance is less than 10 minutes, including putting up his top knot. Every 3 weeks he gets his nails, feet and sanitary trimmed, but you'd have to do that with a dog in a puppy cut anyway. (timing varies depending on how fast your pup's nails and hair grow... Kodi starts slipping on contacts if his feet aren't done every 3 weeks) Kodi is NOT a pampered indoor-only dog. He goes on hikes in the woods with us on a regular basis, and is allowed to get muddy and dirty. We just deal with what happens after the fact. I DO try to keep him away from thistles, as they are BRUTAL to get out, and hurt your fingers while you're removing them!!!:biggrin1:

Here are a couple of recent photos of Kodi but you can also see a progression of his coat from small puppy to adult at:

http://www.havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=15736&highlight=Belton

In the pictures below, the ones toward the top are more recent, after I grew his bangs out He was 3 on April 30, and those photos range from April through June. The last two are from Sept. of last year, so he was about 2 1/2. Looking at these photos I noticed that his coat is a little less fuzzy this year. But I don't think this has anything to do with the length of the coat, just maturity.


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## shimpli (Mar 24, 2010)

Ache is in long coat. The only haircut she has had was when she was 6 months and it was just bangs and maybe 1" in her body. She is 2 years 4 months now. Bangs grow VERY SLOW... ohh my. To keep with her long coat I bath her once a week and I brush and comb her twice a day. It just takes me around 10-15 minutes everytime I comb her. I don't know how much time I would spend combing her if I do it every couple of days but I can imagine it would be a LOT! That's why I prefer doing it everyday X 2. Blowing coat was very easy with her because of this routine. Here are some pics... ( I can't find a pic of her standing)


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

I don't have any recent pictures of Lizzie, but like Ache she has never been cut except for an unfortunate bang incident at about the same age. Her topknot looks a lot like Aches. She is now 2 years and 5 months old. I bathe her about every 7-10 days and I have gotten lazy and really only comb her out on bath day. She generally has some mats on her hind legs and shoulders, but they comb out easily. I do comb her bangs and face daily due to food and putting in a topknot. I find her very easy to take care of.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

miller123 said:


> I was recently thinkinng about growing miller into show coat, and wondering how long this takes? Is a show coat super hard to maintain or easy? pros and cons of show coat, thanks, and also if you have any pics of your dogs in show coat that would be awesome so i could see what it looks like. THANKS


 I grew out Zoeys coat for about one and a half years. I cut about 4'' off a couple mo ago. The first picture is her show coat the second is after her trim. I find it much easier to maintain shorter and she gets a lot of complements.


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

Whimsy is 2 and 1/2 years old now and I has never been trimmed except for her spay and then it was underneath and a little up the sides. She has a nice natural long coat.
I give her a bath every 7 to 10 days. I brush her every day taking about 15 min. Her coat is very easy to manage and only gets a small tangle every now and then. We both enjoy our daily grooming time together.  I keep her hair trimmed around and above her eyes.( her butt and feet get trimmed also) She has never had a topknot. Here are a couple of pictures..I have posted them before but will put them out there again.


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