# Shiny coats?



## Sparkle (May 17, 2012)

Can Havs have shiny coats? Kallie has a beautiful thick coat, but it has no shine at all. It looks very dry. Is this normal? Or should I be using some kind of special conditioner on it? She has no mats/tangles, easy to comb thru. Just wondering if it will ever be shiny.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

shiny??? not sure.... pretty sure Tillie's isn't shiny .. unless she is wet!


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## Sparkle (May 17, 2012)

Just wondering. I know some of the black Havs look shiny.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

It's difficult to see a shine on a white coat bc shine is white and the dog is white, hence the contrast on a dark dog. Also, Often a white coat could be shiny but it is only dirty from the dog's natural oils attracting dust and dirt. Imagine not showering for just one week, how dull will your hair look? A nice bath usually does the trick. If not, you can try supplements and a high quality diet, and then of course there's genetics.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

How old is she? The adolescent coat is often dull looking. The adult coat should be the best one.


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## mellowbo (Aug 12, 2007)

Of my four, only one has a shiny coat, but he is the only one that is a real black and white, so maybe that is why. His black is a shiny blue/black.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

Here is Hanna at 10 months old, before and after a groom. Her coat looks kind of dull in the before, in the after there is a flash from the camera and you can see the shine where there is a bend in the coat.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

awwwww, she is so beautiful!!! but I have to laugh, because we ALL know that they REALLY look like the 'before' picture 99.9% of the time!! lol
I love her face!!! gorgeous!


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

True! As soon as she shakes after she's "done" I think, so, why did I go through all that??? I think the before is her "cousin it" picture too, that was a good thread.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Funny you brought this up I was just thinking the same thing. Maddie is black but her coat doesn't shine. My sisters Australian Shepard has the prettiest shiny coat and the texture is different. It also never mats. Zoey is a black and white and it is a very thick coat the black does shine but not all that much her white is very white and is a softer texture than the black . I bought a product to try to make Zoeys coat shine for a show . I didn't like the build up it gave I think it was called show sheen. I have been thinking about adding coconut oil to their diet. I feed Acanna and it has fish in it which is suppose to be good for their coat. Sometimes I wounder if I'm not rinsing well enough during the bath and they have conditioner left on? Both mine have their adult coats at least I assume they do they are two years old.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

Any improvement in coat from a change in diet or coat change will only be in the new growth, not the entire coat. Outside of that, it would be genetics, from what I underst


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

And, sorry for the 2nd, I pressed post by accident.To see if a coat is shiny or not, try bending the hair with your fingers in a well lit area, this should work on white too. The bend will have a shine, if not the coat is dull. Try before and after a bath too.


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## Sparkle (May 17, 2012)

Kallie's only 5 months. I'll check w/her breeder. Her mother was shaved down for the birth of the litter, so I couldn't tell with her. Daddy was black & shiny. She's on Wellness - what the breeder was feeding them. I didn't think about puppy vs adult coat. Guess that's part of the charm of the breed - we'll just wait & see how she turns out!


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

Cherish the puppy coat while you have it - it's only there for a couple of months.


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

Roki's coat was kind of dull and mattting quite badly during adolescence, but now it shines really nice and most of the time without any mats. His white parts have some kind of silver shine. Even our groomer said that she has never seen such silvery-diamond shine and she is havanese breeder. His peachy parts are now very shiny and getting darker and darker. On second pic sun is shining on him and the quality of coat is more visible.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi's black and white parts are both shiny. At casual glance, the black LOOKS shinier because you can see the highlights more easily. But, especially if you take a picture of him with a flash, you can see that his white parts have a silky, satiny sheen to them.


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## HannahBearsMom (Jul 31, 2011)

Maccabee's coat is shiny when blow dried. I usually let him air dry, so he hasn't been shiny lately. He's getting groomed on Saturday. I'll post pics.

I'm not looking forward to when he blows coat, but I am looking forward to seeing his adult coat. If his coat is anything like his father's, be will be even more handsome than he is now.

ETA: When I took Maccabee outside yesterday evening, his head, feet and tail were very shiny even though he desperately needs a bath. I'll post some post-grooming pics this weekend.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

I think the silky coats are much shinier than the cottony ones.


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## Sparkle (May 17, 2012)

Last night was bath night for Kallie. After shampooing & rinsing, I've started filling the laundry tub til it's about 1/2 way up on her body & adding a bunch of conditioner. Then just constantly pouring it over her. I let her soak in this for about 5 minutes & she ends up soooooo soft! This was a tip I learned from a post on this forum. Once all blow-dried, she is just beautiful. Dull/shiny - still absolutely beautiful. She's lying beside me asleep right now & the way the light's hitting her it looks like there's glittery threads running all thru her. But I also used a whitening shampoo on her this time. Maybe that's what's making the difference!

Roki is gorgeous. I forget, how old is he? I'd love to keep Kallie's adult coat that length. We'll see.


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

On Christmas Roki will be three years old. He has never been clipped short. Our grommer just cuts off ends (with scissors) three times a year. Kallie has very nice pachy colur and I wouldn't wash her with whitening shampoo. What I have learned from expeience is that the milder is shampoo, the better results you get. I avoid all shampoos wich have sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) in it. It is harsh for hair and skin and can dry and destroy both. I apply same rules for my own cosmetics. 
We also need a picture od that sweet baby Kallie!


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## Beau's mom (Oct 6, 2011)

Beau has a beautiful shiny coat -- that is particularly shiny after he is bathed. It generally lasts a week or so and just gets duller until the next bath. We use a prescription anti-itch shampoo and a good conditioner. Of course, he is a _very_ handsome black and white.


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