# Too Cut Bangs & Eye Hair or not?



## havanesebyha

My baby is getting a puppy clip tomorrow due to mats on the undercoat. If I want to show her within the next year what is the best to do - leave her bangs and hair around her eyes alone or have the groomer trim these to match the rest of her? She got a puppy cut before and the groomer clipped her bangs but left her nice tail hair and ears. Is it best to start off again with the same length all over or leave her face alone? Do any of you all recommend any great shampoo/conditioner? That is my problem - I switched to an oatmeal based shampoo and it matted her hair up so bad so am now using Nature's Specialties - Plum Silky Shampoo + Conditioner, but the damage of the mats are too much,  that is why I have decided to opt for a puppy cut!

Thanks for any advice!  

Libby


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## MopTop Havanese

Hi~
If you are going to be showing her, you shouldn't cut her at all. Havanese can't be shown with any trimming except the paws, pads and private areas. I am not sure a year would be enough time to grow out a puppy cut. Every dog grows at a different pace. I have a girl that I cut down 1 1/2 years ago, and her coat is now almost touching the ground. But I also have a girl that I cut into a puppy cut last summer and she only grew about 4-5 inches in the past year.
I use Pure Pawz shampoo and Coat Handlers conditioner.

Tell us more about your girl, where did you get her? What's her name? And were are the pictures! LOL LOL LOL!


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## Havtahava

Libby, if you are getting ready to show Kohana, she can't be trimmed at all.

If you want, I'll be home this weekend and I have some free time. Would you like to skip the groomer appointment and bring her over for a dematting session? We can probably save a lot of the coat anyway.


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## Judy A

Along these same lines....I have a question about the trimming around the eyes and face in general. Izzy's muzzle hair sticks up every which way. She has a lot of goop from her eyes that make the hair messy. Her hair and eyebrows are always in her eyes and I haven't decided to give her any kind of cut yet. I would like to just trim the hair from the corners of her eyes to start, but I'm afraid to do it. My question is: Is that an OK thing to do? Also, will that muzzle hair eventually grow out and stay out of her eyes? I feel so bad for her because she can't see and her eyes are always full of matter. HELP??!!!


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## Havtahava

Judy, can you remind me how old Izzy is? It sounds like you plan to show her. Is that right?

Like people, some dogs just tend to get more gunk in their eyes than others. I find that I need to clean the eyes of some of my dogs more often than others, but I try to do once a day. As she gets older, some of that hair will grow longer and will lay down more so it doesn't stick up in her eyes. I have trimmed two of my dogs in the past in the inner corner of the eyes, but once you do it, you have to keep doing it because it grows up the same way. If you can get through the short hair stage and help train it by coming it with a small comb, you may be find it easier as it grows. Then again, if it is truly irritating her eyes, then you should probably trim it to give her less irritation. Do you have someone near you who can help show you? 

If you are not showing her, cut her any ol' way you please if you think it will help.


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## Julie

Judy,
I asked this same question on another site and alot of breeders who show their dogs etc.offered up a suggestion for me with Quincy.I am not showing him(he is neutered)but have never cut his hair in any way,other then the rear end and paws.If you would prefer to not always trim that hair in the corner of the eye---the stray hairs that stick up in the eye....just put a little vaseline there.It will not hurt them,and the vaseline acts kinda like a glue or hair gel,but safe around the eye area.I also used this to help keep his top knot up and away from his eyes,but use as little as possible.


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## irnfit

Katie, do you use the Reconstructing Shampoo from Pure Paws? 

I don't show mine, so I do trim around their eyes. Kodi - not too mch, but Shelby has a lot of hair around her eyes, and it's always sticking up. I also trime around their feet and their rear.


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## MopTop Havanese

Michele~
Yes it's the Pure Paws Ultra Reconstructing shampoo.
I keep trying different types (I tried Crown Royale, the smell was to DIE for but it left them poofy..) and I keep going back to the Pure Paws.


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## irnfit

Thanks, Katie.
I've been going back and forth with Plush Puppy and Coat Handlers. I ordered sample kits of both. I like the Plush Puppy so far, but always looking for something better


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## havanesebyha

*Thank you!*

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all the good advice. Kimberly I'm going to have the groomer try to brush the mats out tomorrow instead of clipping and I am also going to work on her tonight to loosen them. Big mistake - last time I bathed Kohana I didn't blow dry her and just towel dried her  . Kimberely thank you so much for offering to help me dematt her! I hope the first time we meet she will look gorgeous and mat free! 

I'm at work now and can't send any pictures of Kohana as they are on my home computer except baby, baby pictures here at work.

Thanks,

Libby & Kohana


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## judith

*kimberly*

gee, i will be in san jose next week to visit my daughter may i join your dematting group? just kidding, coco has the worst mess of 5-6 mats under her chin. i am afraid they will have to be cut off. they came overnight and just keep getting bigger and bigger. i have used conditioner, the hair is just so fine it won't separate.


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## Havtahava

Libby, if you change your mind, you have my e-mail address.

Judith, definitely. C'mon over! 
By the way, if she has mats and you give her a bath, it only makes them worse, no matter how much conditioner you use. Their hair seems to allow the water to act like glue instead of a detangler. I used to detangle my daughters hair with extra conditioner and then run it under water, so I thought I could do the same, but it doesn't work that way for Havs.


By the way, if any of you want to try it, I've been told by two people that you can rub cornstarch into a mat when you are trying to comb it out and it should help it detangle a little. I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know if it would work.


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## marjrc

I was also told that once you start cutting hair close to the eye like that, you almost have to always keep it up or it grows back in a way that can irritate the eye and become a big problem. I've never cut Ricky's hair there and though Sammy had cut bangs when we got him at 7 months, his eye hair was never cut back so that's good. 

Good luck with tomorrow's grooming, Libby! Love the couple of pics you've put in the gallery so far. Kohana is a cutie!


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## judith

thanks, i will try the cornstarch tomorrow. i feel like i have messed with the mats so much that coco will run when she sees me coming! kohala's photo looks so much like coco. cream with light sable ears and sometimes also alomg her back. it seems to me that this is the most common color combo on our board?


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## havanesebyha

Thank you Marj. You know I think you are right about the eye hair and Kohana's hair around her eyes are just starting to lie down and be good - I battled this for the longest time and I don't want anyone to touch it! If we can't get the mats out at least her hair grows fast - I hope. I am so mad at myself for not blow drying her two weeks ago. 

Seeing all of you with your multi Havanese I want another one for a playmate for Kohana! Your two have such a pretty color and it looks like it has stayed dark - you are so lucky!

Thank you,
Libby


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## havanesebyha

Kimberly,

I may be kicking myself tomorrow morning when the groomer takes a look at her. I wish she could do it on Saturday, but three of the groomers are going to a dog show including mine. I really need to learn how to do all of this myself - have you ever tried those grooming schools or video classes to learn how or did you just practice a lot. I really envy you and your beautiful girls! Thank you so much for the offer - I really appreciate it!

Libby


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## havanesebyha

Hi Katie,

Luckily Kohana's hair grows quickly, but hopefully I can salvage it before the clippers get to her. She looks really cute in a puppy cut like a new puppy again, but I know they are not to be trimmed in the show ring. I need to get really disciplined and get her a grooming table, instead I let her sit on my lap while I sit on the floor, but she really does much better just standing and letting me brush her. Do you have a super brush that is good for mats besides a metal comb or the mat tooth comb? 

Thanks for the advice!

Libby & Kohana


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## Havtahava

Libby, I'm afraid someone has made it seem harder than it really is. You are definitely capable of grooming Kohana on your own; you just don't realize it yet.


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## Judy A

Geez...I should have gotten online to read all this good information last night....but, I was really in a hurry to get Izzy bathed and ready to make a trip to KS. this afternoon. Anyway, I made a decision to cut the hair from the corner of Izzy's eyes, then kept going....trimmed a little between her eyes and her bangs. No ,I'm not showing her, so it really doesn't matter, but had I known that in time this pesky little hair would lay down, I might not have trimmed her. Oh well, it's done and I appreciate all the good advice. I think I will try the vaseline on her muzzle hair as it is always sticking up! I just wanted to show off her cute little face to my relatives, it's just you don't get to see it very often! I comb her everyday, bath her once a week, and clean her eyes every day, sometimes more than once. Now, I can almost see her eyes!
Thanks again to everyone.....


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## marjrc

Thank you, Libby. We love our boys dearly. Ricky had quite a bit of gray and brown highlights as a pup, some red/sable too. Most of that is gone now, but I'm sure there will be more gray soon. Sammy's got a white streak from his tail down to under his belly, like his bum is split! lol The rest of the 'white' is a lovely cream color and so far there is no sign of change so who knows. Sammy is most likely mixed with Maltese, though his Hungarian breeder swears he is purebred Hav. Several who have seen him think otherwise, but that's o.k. He plays and acts like a Havanese and Ricky is totally thrilled with having a new brother who is only two weeks younger than him. I think there will be many years of fun ahead. 

Judy, I completely understand about not seeing the eyes! My mom keeps askign when we're cutting Ricky's bangs, but at the same time everyone loves his 'teddy bear' messed up look. I will cut a little around his head/face because it's just so huge right now, but still not sure about what I'll do around the eyes - if anything! 

I only use combs. I have a large pin brush but I just don't like it. The dogs aren't crazy about how it feels and I find it doesn't work deep into the hair. I use a 4" flea comb with two widths and a comb that has two varying heights of tine. 

Good luck!


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## havanesebyha

*I have a new puppy again....*

Hello Everyone,

It looks like I have my puppy back again as the groomers couldn't get Kohana's mats out and ended up shrearing her like a little lamb!  The groomers even showed me her clippings and it was practically in one piece! All my brushing never got down to her skin and it just packed it in so they had no choice. I will never let her dry naturally again.

She does look super cute though and I can really see her beautiful Almond brown eyes. Thank goodness it is all uniform and looks very neat - she just is a long way off from showing. So, now what I am going to do is switch to a metal fine tooth comb and get a good grooming table and learn from my mistakes and do it right this time. I should've had a table when she was a small puppy and kept up on it. Her hair does grow fast. She still has her nice tail and most of her ears (hair that is and her complete ears). 

This will be a super haircut for Agility and by winter when Agility will be inside her hair will be much longer and she'll be looking more like she should.

Any grooming tables any of you recommend and not a super big one?

Thank you all ~ I am dissappointed she needed to be clipped but she does look like a puppy again.

Libby & Kohana


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## juliav

Libby,

if her hair grows back quickly enough, you might be able to show her next summer. Oh, and please post the pictures in the gallary or in the puppy cut section.


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## havanesebyha

Hi Julia,

I will take some pictures of her tomorrow. My Kohana looks a lot like your Bugsy ~ how old is Bugsy? What a cutie!

Libby


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## Havtahava

Libby, I still haven't heard of any commercial groomers who will take the time to demat because it takes so long (their patience as well as needing to tend to other clients). It seems like they always take clippers to the body instead. I think Cosmosmom's Auntie Lois is the only groomer I've heard that will take the time to work with the dog, but maybe that's because she's a "master groomer", too.


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## juliav

havanesebyha said:


> Hi Julia,
> 
> I will take some pictures of her tomorrow. My Kohana looks a lot like your Bugsy ~ how old is Bugsy? What a cutie!
> 
> Libby


Hi Libby,

Bugsy is turning 11 months on Monday and he thanks you for the compliment.  His hair has grown quite a bit and I am really tempted to give him another puppy cut for the summer.


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## marjrc

reece said:


> I have been using the Master Grooming Tools Precision Pin Raker and I really like it.


Paige, is this something that thins or cuts as well as detangles?

I used regular scissors to cut Ricky's hair, but I think I will have to invest in some thinning shears if I want to keep doing this cut on him. We shall see.

Libby, I'm so sorry to hear that Kohana had to be sheared completely! I'm sure you were disapointed. It is true that we really need to get right down to the skin when combing our Havs. Those mats are sneaky and can quickly become overwhelming. You will have a much easier time of it now that Kahona is smooth like a puppy. I'll be looking out for pictures!! 

I have always combed the boys on my kitchen table. I easily hurt my back so working standing up isn't the best for me. It works great for me, but I am tall and the table height is perfect for my arms. I'm sure there are tons of tables to choose from out there. I suggest you start a new thread in this forum "grooming" and see what others recommend.


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## marjrc

Oh yes! I know what that is! Thanks for the explanation, Paige.


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## Al Henderson

My wife keeps Derians bangs cut from hanging down over his eyes. 

Main thing to keep trimmed or groomed as best you can is his little behind. I found this out one day when running late for work. He did his numbers and then he proceeded towards me with his rump dragging the ground and looking at me as if saying "HELP".

I mean it was tangled up so much, not even a pin brush could get it out. Myself and wife had to bring him and give him a bath to get it out. That taught us a lesson to do do regular trimming on that area.


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## Laurief

We call them dangleberries in our house - haha. Even with the area cut short, they still get them, but they are much easier to clean if the area is trimmed on a regular basis. We have a box of baby wipes in the kitchen and when they see us coming with it, they all run


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## DAJsMom

We call them Klingons.  Eeew! No one told us about that aspect of a long-haired breed until Dusty's breeder did the day she came to live with us! Oh well!


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## The Fussy Puppy Gang

They're called danglies over here. I, too, had NO idea this was a common thing until we got Pepper.

A 'sanitary trim' is definitely helpful, but not always a cure. We keep a box of paw wipes handy for just such occasions. 

Pepper's face has been cut into a 'teddy bear' trim. His bangs are cut away from the eyes. Do I understand correctly that this means we'll have trouble growing his facial fur back?

Wanda


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## marjrc

The danglies, dingleberries, Klingons and whatnot I can deal with. It's the smooshy, peanut-butter textured paste that is sometimes there that horrifies me!! :jaw: Impossible to wipe off, so they need a butt bath, with LOTS of water and EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW actually shampooing the area with your hands, getting it all off and rinsing again and again before the 'coast is clear'. THEN on to combing out all those lovely tangles because you had to rub so much. :frusty: :frusty: :frusty: 

I had to do it with both Sammy and Ricky last week. Oh, what joy!!!


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## whitBmom

EEEEEEEEWWWWW I hate those sloppy ones too!! Oh the many joys


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## susaneckert

Yes Im with Katie on this WHERE ARE THE PICTURE ! and like she said every dog is differrent some grown fast and other likes to take there time in grown back.Like my little Yoda


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## Beamer

Hmm, I just had a GREAT idea for the July Photo challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol...

ewww.. just kidding.......................uke:


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## susaneckert

EWWWWWWWWWWWW


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## Laurief

Marj, me too - I can say that rubber(surgical) gloves makes it a lot easier!! I order a box thru my office supply place, Quill, and I get 2 boxes at a time. I am one of those strange people who cannot stand touching raw poultry, so I use rubber gloves a lot!! But they are great for bum baths too!!!


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## irnfit

I think we need to write a new Havanese book - Things They Never Told Us - about butt washing, not being able to close the bathroom door, etc.


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## good buddy

ound: Haha!! I'm laughing right along WITH you since we had our first butt bath today! Poor little Rufus went out to potty and and the darned "tootsie roll" stuck!! He was mortified! The poor little angel kept hunkering down again and again in hopes it would drop off like usual and it just wouldn't! I grabbed some leaves and then tried a stick to swoosh it away and that was no good either since he had now managed to squish it into his coat real well in all his attempts to disloge the thing! uke: 
I finally had to just use my fingers *ewwwwwwwwwwwww* and hurry my little one into the house for a fanny wash. I will now go make sure both baby bags have fresh wipes!! :bathbaby:


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## Havtahava

Awww, poor Rufus and poor Christy. (But the mental picture made me laugh!)


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## good buddy

Havtahava said:


> Awww, poor Rufus and poor Christy. (But the mental picture made me laugh!)


He made me laugh a bit too!! I hope he doesn't make me laugh too often like that! :jaw:


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## Judy A

Why is it that those nasty little "klingons" always happen when you are leaving or in a hurry for some reason or another?! LOL, I'm reliving some our own adventures with these "visitors from inner space"! My husband, who didn't want another dog, had to deal with "them" while I was gone for a week. He stepped right up and took care of everything. I was so proud of him! LOL.


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## Leslie

Not quite sure how this got from bangs and eye hair to butt washing.  But, I can tell you I've been cracking up reading these. ound: It's also good to know I'm not alone in the "wiping/sponge bathing the dog's butt" department. This place and you folks are great! :cheer2: 

~Leslie


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## Laurief

We are a little nuts aren't we??:crazy:


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## LuvMyHavanese

I keep a hose & shampoo outside now just for these reasons. Christy, you cracked me up ound: when you said you look for leaves & sticks to get the tootsie roll off. I find i do that all the time while i am praying that it comes of clean & dont have to do the butt wash. Isnt it funny how we 'know' it will happen just by their movements? 
I just wish i could get my husband to to the butt check. He will just say 'Honey, i think they have something on their butt' as he lets then run inside the house.:frusty::biggrin1:


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## MaddiesMom

My husband yells, "Butt Patrol"!!! :biggrin1: :biggrin1: :biggrin1:


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## Doggie Nut

Oh that's a good one....I call it "Poop Patrol".....but as the Aussie's say....I may have to "pinch" that one mate!!:thumb:


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## SMARTY

I figured this out; Smarty cannot go out until I brush her butt. I want no tangles in the way of poop. The other day it was like she had a net to catch it all. The leaves and sticks just made it worse. Then she started dragging it and poop was everywhere. :faint: What a mess, it was Father’s Day, company was there and we had to have a butt bath. Needless to say the kids wondered why I wanted a long haired puppy. I simply said this was not mentioned on the Havanese website.:gossip: The butt brush is now by the door.


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## Jan D

Well, I had my first "dingleberry" experience this morning...

Havee new there was something left behind that shouldn't have been--he kept rocking and rolling and wiggling with no success. It was actually very funny what he was doing...


Until I had to go after ituke: 

Let's get :focus: I'd rather read about bang trimming


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## LuvMyHavanese

Ooops! Thought that was the subject. Sorry!! MAybe we should start a 'Butt wash' or 'Dingleberry' thread.


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## Laurief

Have you guys ever seen the commercial for the steam cleaner? Kid yells, "Mom, look at (the dogs) new trick" and she turns around and the dog is "skooching" his butt across the carpet!! It is hilarious - but we go thru all the time. 
Laurie


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## LuvMyHavanese

Yes, i have to laugh every time i see that commercial.


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## whitBmom

I haven't see that Laurie, but that is too funny  I guess that steam cleaner would come in handy


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## Cosmosmom

Both my dogs are companion dogs and bith are neuterd . I had their coat longer when they were in the desert as I have yet to find someone I trust . I spent a lot of time brushing and combing .
Now we are back to auntie Lois - they have puppy cuts but they look great - she keeps their legs fairly long and also the bib & tucker as my Mom would call it ( the chest) she does a scissor cut never shaves except the belly and not every time .
The last time I walked in I could not get over the amount of hair she cut off and they still looked adorable ..
She trims the moustache and eyebrows but it all looks natural bot too short .
Ahnold had longer bangs when I got him but I had trouble with Tulip and her doo when I babysat her so I knew I would have to have his bangs clipped.
My husband likes to see their eyes .. 
I think the key is finding a good groomer and keeping them happy . Of course not for people who show your dogs - you dogs look amazing not to mention you have special rules to adhere to ..


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## marjrc

freeway1976 said:


> Hmm, I just had a GREAT idea for the July Photo challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> lol...
> 
> ewww.. just kidding.......................uke:


O.k., Ryan..... that's just sick!!! LMBO !!

Ah yes! Gloves would work nicely! thanks for the tip, Laurie.


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