# How develops the coat during blowing coat?



## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

Hi there,
I´m new to this forum and already read a lot of blowing coat threads before I decided to join the membership. I have to say this is amazing here and there is so much useful information!
To introduce myself - I am the proud mom of a 4 month old Havanese beauty called Lilly. She is the cutest little thing ever and I love her so much. I´m from Germany and Havanese are pretty rare here, so I had a long journey to find a breeder where I could actually choose between several puppies. This was very important to me, as I wanted to choose the dog with the right personality for me and the most important aspect I wanted in my future dog was a nice face and loving eyes.  I didn´t really pay attention to coat types or colours - I just let my heart choose and I´m so happy now! 
My breeder is very nice and she tries to help me with everything but as I asked her about what happens when they are blowing coat she told me that that was actually nothing - the coat only gets longer...but when I look at my little one who has so less hair on her chest and belly that you can see her pink skin through I wonder if this can be true. Because all Havanese I`ve seen before have (in my eyes - i didn´t touch them) thick coats and and it seems when they have a puppy cut that you can´t see the skin because there is so much hair everywhere tough it is only 1/2 inch long. In general I understand what blowing coat is - I just wanted to ask if somebody also had a Havanese puppy which had not so much hair and what happened with him/her during blowing coat? Did the coat get thicker? Can you still see the skin? As I´m completely into the "long puppy cut" as Hank and Sierra have I wonder if I can do that with her later, because when there is not so much fur it won´t look so nice I guess. 
Don´t get me wrong i LOVE my little furball and would never ever trade her for the most perfect dog in the world (because she is the perfect dog  ) - but I´m just a curious person and can´t wait until time will show ....
Sorry for the long text and my slightly bad english - I´m so glad that I found this forum!!!!


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Welcome!!!! Lilly is very cute. 

My Lizzie has less hair on her belly and chest, too. I can see her skin. Her belly hair never grew back very thick after it was shaved when she got spayed. I have Lizzie in full coat and I would have to say that her hair isn't super thick. It's light and fluffy. I can see her skin when the wind blows or I pet her and separate her hair. 

I am sure that Lilly's hair is just perfect!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

When I got Rosie I was told that she would "blow" her puppy coat. I had had other dogs that did this and it was no big deal. The puppy fuzzy coat just came out and the adult coat came in and that was that. I am still not real sure what is happening when the Havanese does this. But to answer your question, when I got Rosie she was 4 months old and her coat was already pretty long but extremely thin. And you could see the skin through it. The first time I bathed her, the fine hair just seemed to dissolve and she looked like a little speckled smoothcoat puppy. Well I just thought that she was going to be one without an undercoat...then it started getting thicker and thicker and then started matting pretty bad. Best I could tell the adult coat was coming in or undercoat (don't know how one tells the difference) and was matting with the longer hair. I put up with this about three weeks trying to keep the mats out and then gave up and had her trimmed in a long puppy cut. Made our ives much simpler and then as the hair got longer the blowing coat stage was over and it hasn't been all that hard to keep her brushed and groomed since. So yes the coat was extremely thin when I got her and then thickened up.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Rosie at 4 months
After puppy cut at one year--notice the ticking. I didn't like it. The last two were taken this summer. Her coat grew back out and is real thick. And you can't see the ticking.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

You couldn't see Kodi's skin on his chest, even as a puppy, but you still can on his belly, especially if you ruffle it. His coat was not thin as a puppy, but he definitely got more undercoat after blowing his puppy coat. He doesn't have NEAR as much undercoat as some Havs, though. I've seen some that are so think you can hardly find their skin. I think there is a lot of variation in the breed.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> Rosie at 4 months
> After puppy cut at one year--notice the ticking. I didn't like it. The last two were taken this summer. Her coat grew back out and is real thick. And you can't see the ticking.


Interesting that the ticking doesn't show as much now that her hair is longer again. Not that I have any intention of cutting Kodi down, but one of my fears was that if I did, he's have the black ticking (he doesn't have as much as Rosie, but he definitely has some on his back) would be all through his coat, all the way to the ends.

LOVE seeing Rosie's puppy picture, BTW, I don't think I've seen it before. Boy was she cute! (still is, of course!) ... and I'm NOT saying that just because I'm partial to black-headed white Havs!ound:


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

Wow, thanks so much for the quick replies! Time will show, but I´m sure she will be super pretty as she has this super feminin face with that small nose! I also love her coat colour which is gold-sable with irish pied marking... "sable" translated to German is "zobel" and zobel is my last name  so that´s kind of funny.
I guess Havs are such little showbags so I can´t wait to see what Lilly turns out - from the colour to coat type etc...but I think that the topic of blowing coat isn´t that popular in Germany as I couldn´t find any information about it. Also almost every havanese I saw here is shaved super short and I never saw one in full coat except at my breeder. That´s kind of sad and that´s why even they can´t tell you what blowing coat is as they never even recognized it with that super short coat. 

I already spent hours reading threads here and I feel so understood  it´s great when you can share experiences.


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

Rosie is such a cutie!!! She has a beautiful face and those pretty eyes! I think ticking is pretty funny because you only see it when they are in a puppy cut. Love that she has this nearly all black face.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I hope you strive to have a long coat or a long puppy cut. I feel that if one had wanted a short haired dog, they should have got a beagle. I really think that the reason people give up is that they strive for perfection. Rosie is a pet so we aren't fanatical about her grooming. I am not adverse to snipping out a mat if it is going to hurt her to get it out. Also, I prefer the brush to a comb. I use the comb to run through after brushing to see if I have any mats. I usually put her in my lab while watching TV and brush for about 15 minutes or until she gets antsy and wants down. Usually she is content to lay in my lab and let me brush. I can't imagine spending hours grooming her as some on the forum say they do. To me that is "puppy abuse" and besides I have other more important things to do besides brush Rosie. I do it for relaxation and our cuddle time.

Karen I was afraid that Rosie would wind up looking like the extreme ticking dog on the "Colors of the Rainbow" web site. I just wish that there was some way to make her mustache lay down. It sticks out like some old cowboy. When her little face is combed, it is so different. It is tiny, but after she shakes the hair back out she looks like she has a giant head.


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## DonnaC (Jul 31, 2011)

As I've said elsewhere, I am torn on this subject. I do feel as though the grooming at this stage (Baxter is almost 8 mos) is damaging our relationship -- he hates having the mats on his feet and tummy combed. And, because we have a dog door -- and let him use it freely -- and because our back yard is dead due to the drought in Texas, Baxter is frequently carrying a lot of twigs and leaves around. On top of that, every morning he has a good RLH through the dew-ey weeds and then through the dust, so his paws are a complete mess. All of that is making me lean toward a long puppy cut.

On the other hand, I agree that the breed is supposed to have the long hair, and the long hair is so cute. I have been hoping to have the patience to wait for Baxter's to get to its full length at least once.

At the very least, I'm cutting the tummy mats tonight. I've seen several of the folks here say, even though they're keeping the hair long, they're cutting or shaving the tummies. So, I'm going to spare Baxter the trauma of a tummy comb.  Wish there was a solution for his legs and paws. Poor guy.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> Karen I was afraid that Rosie would wind up looking like the extreme ticking dog on the "Colors of the Rainbow" web site. I just wish that there was some way to make her mustache lay down. It sticks out like some old cowboy. When her little face is combed, it is so different. It is tiny, but after she shakes the hair back out she looks like she has a giant head.


I think it gives her character!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

DonnaC said:


> As I've said elsewhere, I am torn on this subject. I do feel as though the grooming at this stage (Baxter is almost 8 mos) is damaging our relationship -- he hates having the mats on his feet and tummy combed. And, because we have a dog door -- and let him use it freely -- and because our back yard is dead due to the drought in Texas, Baxter is frequently carrying a lot of twigs and leaves around. On top of that, every morning he has a good RLH through the dew-ey weeds and then through the dust, so his paws are a complete mess. All of that is making me lean toward a long puppy cut.
> 
> On the other hand, I agree that the breed is supposed to have the long hair, and the long hair is so cute. I have been hoping to have the patience to wait for Baxter's to get to its full length at least once.
> 
> At the very least, I'm cutting the tummy mats tonight. I've seen several of the folks here say, even though they're keeping the hair long, they're cutting or shaving the tummies. So, I'm going to spare Baxter the trauma of a tummy comb.  Wish there was a solution for his legs and paws. Poor guy.


And as Lucile said, don't make yourself crazy over it... or torment him! Even if your goal is a long coat, there are LOTS of people who decide that the blowing coat stage is just too much for them. They do a puppy cut then, and then when coat blowing is over, let them grow out again. There's no crime in making it easier on both of you.

When I got Kodi, I knew I wanted him in a long coat IF I could do it without it being too hard on either of us. I was lucky to get a silky haired dog who got through blowing coat without it being too much of a nightmare. (though we had our moments!) But if blowing coat had been worse, I definitely would have considered a puppy cut, at least to get through that awful stage!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

I totally had Tillie shaved down when she was about 9-10 months because the nonstop grooming WAS affecting our relationship! I don't think there is anything wrong with doing that, I had to accept that I was NOT a failure, that I was doing what is best for me and my pup.
As I am discovering they DO grow back out and once they are through the blowing coat phase, THEN you can grow them out, it is a LOT easier after you get through that rough patch!!


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

I am embarrassed to say but if Jack did the blowing coat thing, I totally missed it. There was one time around 9 mos, I thought he may be blowing coat but it was just the rain and heavy morning dew that made his legs hard to comb. He is 15 months now.

He is such a relief compared to Nessie, my Aussie. When she does her winter shedding, it is a nightmare for 4 weeks. Nessie has a super thick undercoat. I actually think she is triple-coated. I fill a grocery bag of her hair every day for a whole month.


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

Luciledodd I totally agree with you! I wanted a long hair dog and when I said I love the long puppy cut I mean a fully grown coat with only a little trimming. About 1/2 to 1 inch only. I really think when people are going to shave their pups as soon as their hair gets longer then why did they get a havanese in the first place? For example my mother...she really honestly asked me when I would go and cut her a little bit because it starts to look a bit long....she is only 4 months old!!! I want her to grow her coat out and them decide how much to cut eventually. i just said that I like the look of a long puppy cut and I'll see how I can manage her coat during blowing coat.


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Lucile, I agree with you. Lizzie is first and foremost a pet. She goes outside every day rain or shine and gets dirty and wet. She picks up leaves and stuff (a slug once ewwwww). I comb her daily, but it lasts no more than 15 minutes. My husband and I were talking about how much we love to see her hair move when she runs. Too pretty! I do admit that there was about a month where she had mats and I was frustrated, but now she is pretty easy.

Ileenlilly-that is so funny about your last name! Her coat is a pretty color.


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

I'm wondering what colour she will be as an adult - it is so exciting to watch because when I got her she looked reddish all over and her coat was growing out creamy white but now has started to grow dark apricot on her backline and tail and she looks more golden. But when she looses her puppy hair when blowing coat, then this is no accurate hint what colour she will end up with, right? I mean when her adult coat comes in it can have a differnent colour than what her puppy coat is growing out now, because these hairs won' stay. Am I right?


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Lynne, we also love to see the hair moving. I think that is what stole my husband's heart. She will stand on her hind legs and sway and the hair moves and it is like she has on one of those fringed dresses that were poplar in the 1920's. No other dog that I know of has hair that moves like that.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> Lynne, we also love to see the hair moving. I think that is what stole my husband's heart. She will stand on her hind legs and sway and the hair moves and it is like she has on one of those fringed dresses that were poplar in the 1920's. No other dog that I know of has hair that moves like that.


They look like they should be in a shampoo commercial!:biggrin1:


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Ileenlilly said:


> I'm wondering what colour she will be as an adult - it is so exciting to watch because when I got her she looked reddish all over and her coat was growing out creamy white but now has started to grow dark apricot on her backline and tail and she looks more golden. But when she looses her puppy hair when blowing coat, then this is no accurate hint what colour she will end up with, right? I mean when her adult coat comes in it can have a differnent colour than what her puppy coat is growing out now, because these hairs won' stay. Am I right?


 I think you can see from the root what color is coming in . I still cant even see the under coat but I do need new glassesound: 
Lucile I agree that 4 hr is puppy abuse. That is one of the reasons I was considering cutting her down. I think I may be way to gentle at brushing or just don't have the hang of it yet. Although this last week has been much easier only have spent 5 hr so far total and we had a bath. 
I took the girls out for a nice long off leash walk. Maddie is about 2'' shorter than Zoey she looked so cute running threw the tall grass and splashing in the puddles she got socking wet because she is short. Zoey was only wet from the legs down. Any way Maddie was a mess compared to Zoey .Zoe dried out with no problems Maddie needed another bath.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Finn is 8 months old today. He is looking like a woolly bear. When he was smaller and after a bath, when he was still wet, I could see quite a bit of skin through his hair. And he dried quickly. Not so much these days - it is getting quite thick. He was bathed at the boarding place nearly a week ago before we picked him up, and he has been a breeze to comb since then. I need to inquire as to what they used on him. Poor little guy, however; his topknot was out this morning and he ran right into the x-pen that I had zig-zagging across a doorway. With that hair all fluffed out he looks gigantic. I love the movement of the long hair when they run, but I also think they look cute in the puppy cuts, and younger. They are just a cute breed in any haircut! 

Lucile, such a cute puppy Rosie was! She is still a pretty girl. I like the ticking thing. It is weird that it doesn't show when the hair is longer. So it must just be in the undercoat?


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

Welcome to the Forum! :welcome:

Your puppy is so pretty, and your English is excellent.

We would love to see more photos.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Linda, Rosie's skin is speckled. Before she got the undercoat, she looked like a beagle puppy or dalmation. So I guess the ticking is where the skin is black. It is strange.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Luciledodd said:


> Linda, Rosie's skin is speckled. Before she got the undercoat, she looked like a beagle puppy or dalmation. So I guess the ticking is where the skin is black. It is strange.


 I think its sort of cool looking like salt and pepper. Zoe has some surprise areas that I keep finding.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

She looked like she had soot all over her, especially as it started to grow. I even had someone ask if she had gotten in the fireplacee or something. I hope that I never see it again.


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

Thank you Starr!  I will try to upload some pictures when I'm home.



Luciledodd said:


> Linda, Rosie's skin is speckled. Before she got the undercoat, she looked like a beagle puppy or dalmation. So I guess the ticking is where the skin is black. It is strange.


Lilly too has some speckled skin on her belly, chest and right above the nose. And she has pink and black coloured paws! This is o cute!!! For the rest of her body I'm not sure as the coat is thicker there. It looks so funny when she sleeps on her back and you ca see the dots on her belly and paws  But I don't think this will cause ticking in her case, because I read that ticking only occurs with parti coloured dogs. I will show you some pics later. Is this very common for Havanese to have speckled skin? Well I guess you only see it with those who have a thin coat


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

AND she has two coloured claws...black and white...totally funny...


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I hate the black nails. I am never sure where to trim them. But I do think they are cute. Your angle fur baby is sure a pretty one. Congratulations and lets see those pictures.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> I hate the black nails. I am never sure where to trim them. But I do think they are cute. Your angle fur baby is sure a pretty one. Congratulations and lets see those pictures.


Almost all Kodi's nails are black. (he has a couple of pink ones) I hate it too... one of the reasons I pay to have the groomer trim them!:biggrin1:


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

krandall said:


> Almost all Kodi's nails are black. (he has a couple of pink ones) I hate it too... one of the reasons I pay to have the groomer trim them!:biggrin1:


 I have Maddies done at the groomer also. I got lucky and Zoeys are clear! I was taught how to do Maddies but I'm scared. Their is a slit ridge you can feel with the cutters it is like a arch that is where you cut.


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

Here are the pictures of my baby


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

These are from tonight...we just finished brushing, doesn´t she look pretty?


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Well, the pictures were worth waiting for. Georgeous puppy.


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

The pictures in the first are when she was about 13 weeks old. As you can see her coat already lightend up but looks more and more gorgeous. When she was lying in my lap the other day, I parted her hair and one could see what colour is growing in. t´s a dark apricot and it is beautiful - hopefully that will stay! She looks like a rainbow :biggrin1:
Lilly is such a sweetie and LOVES sleeping on her back, haha! But she has such fine hair on her belly, that it will always form these "braids" (I don´t know a proper translation) which are all matty and so hard to comb...and even harder to avoid. Any tips?


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

what a little doll!!!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Suzi said:


> I have Maddies done at the groomer also. I got lucky and Zoeys are clear! I was taught how to do Maddies but I'm scared. Their is a slit ridge you can feel with the cutters it is like a arch that is where you cut.


Yeah, in theory I know, but he's so wiggly about it that it's just too hard to be worrying about quicking him at the same time.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ileenlilly said:


> The pictures in the first are when she was about 13 weeks old. As you can see her coat already lightend up but looks more and more gorgeous. When she was lying in my lap the other day, I parted her hair and one could see what colour is growing in. t´s a dark apricot and it is beautiful - hopefully that will stay! She looks like a rainbow :biggrin1:
> Lilly is such a sweetie and LOVES sleeping on her back, haha! But she has such fine hair on her belly, that it will always form these "braids" (I don´t know a proper translation) which are all matty and so hard to comb...and even harder to avoid. Any tips?


She is adorable!!! When I lectured in Hannover a couple of years ago, there was a Havanese club at the convention. (so I was able to get my Havanese hugs, even though Kodi was at home!)


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

awwwww, she is adorable!! looks a LOT like my baby did at 13 weeks ... 
as for the belly hair, fuzzy knots... I shave it! 

here is Tillie at 13 weeks!


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

Ileen - Lilly is soooo pretty! The camera likes her, too.

My Buffy has speckled belly skin. When we first brought her home at 9 - 10 months, the speckles were smaller and more like freckles. Now they are larger and there is less pink belly skin to see.

When Buffy's belly hair gets tangled, I usually scissor it off. She really loves belly rubs but hates to have me comb or brush her belly. Since she is not a show dog, it is not an issue. It also helps to have this hair short during the Winter so it doesn't get all wet during our rainy season in California.


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

TilliesMom said:


> awwwww, she is adorable!! looks a LOT like my baby did at 13 weeks ...
> as for the belly hair, fuzzy knots... I shave it!
> 
> here is Tillie at 13 weeks!


Yes really! I already saw this pic of Tillie. I was reading a thread the other day where members posted pictures of their dogs when they were puppies and how they look now. She is super cute with that slight apricot on her back and a good example for how much colour the sables loose. But I still hope that Lilly will keep hers, her coat grows in dark apricot...so maybe there is a chance 

As for the fuzzy knots - do you really shave it like 'shaving legs'??? Doesn´t that look strange? Will these knots become even more a problem when blowing coat? As you can see from the pictures her hair forms into streaks, bigger ones on her upper body and those tiny little ones on her belly. Does conditioner help to prevent this?


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

Wow, is she a cutie! You can just cut with scissors those little belly and chest mats. They hurt to comb out. When Lizzie gets those fuzzy knots in her hair I wet them down and comb them out. Many of the members here like to put cornstarch on the mat and comb it out. It works, but I don't like the feel of it. I have a lot of luck combing Lizzie out after a bath and a good conditioning.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I don't shave, just scissor pretty close. I don't go up as far as Buffy's belly, but don't really have to. Now that Rosie is an adult, I don't trim anything except around her wee-wee and sometimes there is a knot that I snip off.


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## jessegirl (May 13, 2011)

Ileenlilly said:


> These are from tonight...we just finished brushing, doesn´t she look pretty?


Cutie Pie!!!!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

I use the same shaver I use for her paw pad hair and do not go down to the skin, just basically use it to quickly take off all the fuzz on her lower belly and on her inner back legs that always balls up!


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## Pattie (Jun 25, 2008)

How dear and sweet she looks!


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## Ileenlilly (Nov 3, 2011)

Thanks for all of your replys and comments! :biggrin1:

She doesn´t like me combing either, but I do it late in the evening so she will sleep while I´m doing it. For what I have heard so far, this is a common 'problem'.

Does that belly get as long as all the other hair? Does this also get thicker and more compact during blowing coat or will it stay like this?


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