# curly puppy help



## 4kiddos (Jun 29, 2013)

I am new to the forum and will be getting my first Havanese in a couple weeks. We are considering choosing a puppy with an awesome personality but his coat looks very curly for a 7 week puppy. Has anybody had a puppy that was this curly or know of one that was this curly? I am wondering what his adult coat will look like. If it will be very curly, will I be able to blow dry out the curl? How difficult will it be to take care of? I'm wondering if I should choose a different puppy.

Thanks for the help.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

*Curly puppy help*



4kiddos said:


> I am new to the forum and will be getting my first Havanese in a couple weeks. We are considering choosing a puppy with an awesome personality but his coat looks very curly for a 7 week puppy. Has anybody had a puppy that was this curly or know of one that was this curly? I am wondering what his adult coat will look like. If it will be very curly, will I be able to blow dry out the curl? How difficult will it be to take care of? I'm wondering if I should choose a different puppy.
> 
> Thanks for the help.
> 
> ...


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## Sammi's Mama (Jul 19, 2012)

Oh how cute!!!!! Looks so much like my Sammi!!! I kept her in full coat until 9 months and then went with short cut. I just could not keep up with the mats despite combing twice a day. We are in Alabama and even in February she was so much happier. The short coat turned out so pretty with the curly coat. Looks like crushed velvet! I wish I knew how to post a pic from my phone.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

huh. Have you been to the breeders house? Met the parents? Seen where the pups live?
As far as curly coat goes... be prepared to keep your pup in a short cut... most good breeders will rarely, if ever have a true curly coat in thier line.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

TilliesMom said:


> huh. Have you been to the breeders house? Met the parents? Seen where the pups live?
> As far as curly coat goes... be prepared to keep your pup in a short cut... most good breeders will rarely, if ever have a true curly coat in thier line.


My brother has a curly Hav. He loves him. He just has to keep him in a puppy cut. Most people think he's a poodle and it drives my brother nuts! He bought his Hav from a good breeder, so I think it happens from time to time, but don't think it's the norm for good breeders to have curly Havs....Also, his pup did not hav curly hair until he blew coat. As a pup his coat was straight.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Sometimes you don't know until the adult coat comes out. That's what happened with our first stud dog, Trip. If one carries two copies of curly, it will be curly to start with. If it carries only one, it can modify the coat. It's always been mostly a guessing game until they came out with the DNA testing for coat type.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

*Curly puppy coat*



Tom King said:


> Sometimes you don't know until the adult coat comes out. That's what happened with our first stud dog, Trip. If one carries two copies of curly, it will be curly to start with. If it carries only one, it can modify the coat. It's always been mostly a guessing game until they came out with the DNA testing for coat type.


Bailey must have had one copy of the curly gene, as he was not curly from the get go. I don't remember whether it happened before or after blowing coat, as it's been a long, long time, but I tend to think it was more his adult coat than puppy coat.


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## Ewokpup (Nov 3, 2012)

Bear has what our neighbor describes as 'curly trousers'. His hair gets curly around the rear half, but when he's just been groomed or brushed out it looks more wavy. He has had a short cut since we got him a month ago, but I've seen pictures of when he had longer hair and it was more wavy than curly. So I think once it gets longer the weight will kinda pull the curl out. My brother actually used to keep his hair long or real short to get rid of his curls. The weight of the longer length kept it from being too curly, and it also made it easier to create a really nice mohawk. ;-)


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## MopTop Havanese (Sep 25, 2006)

I had a curly boy, Rolo that I kept in a nice short cut. He was the sweetest boy and I loved his curly hair!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

He is a cutie pie. And black and tans are nice. Just depends on if you want a long coat or not. I think the ones with curly hair look good short . Let us know what you decide.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Here is my brothers curly boy. He is a cutie pie. You can't quite see just how curly he is but when you touch his body, you can feel the dense curls. He feels very different than my 3. I couldn't imagine not keeping him in a puppy cut. I would think his coat would just matt like crazy.


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## 4kiddos (Jun 29, 2013)

There are other puppies is this litter that have a straight coat, although the mother has a curlier coat. If they get one curly gene from the mother, will the adult coat be curly or just wavy. I would like to keep the coat in a longer cut, but I don't want to have to comb it every day to keep the mattes out.


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## Diann (Apr 25, 2011)

4kiddos said:


> There are other puppies is this litter that have a straight coat, although the mother has a curlier coat. If they get one curly gene from the mother, will the adult coat be curly or just wavy. I would like to keep the coat in a longer cut, but I don't want to have to comb it every day to keep the mattes out.


This is Charlie, our curly Hav. He is just as sweet (maybe a little bit more snuggle-ishous than our wavy Hav). Charlie is kept in a short cut and I do not comb him every day. I should, but I don't because I spend all my time caring for the coat of my long-haired wavy beautiful Havanese.

If what you want is the wonderful Havanese that you see in the magazines and on the web, you WILL be maintaining that coat every day (I hear) for the first three years. However, if you want everything else that truly makes the Havanese the charmer that they are, you will not be disappointed in your cute curly Hav. People will not know he's a Hav unless they know the breed, then they'll know for sure by the gait. However, they will love him and want one just like him, until they find out the cost of a Havanese.

That's another thing, as others have mentioned, this curly coat is not the desired coat for the breed. These curly coats should not be bred and you should not pay the price of a standard Hav. IMO, these dogs should be given away to pet home and not sold as premium stock. That, is what I think makes the breeder a "good breeder".

You will fall madly in love no matter what.


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## 4kiddos (Jun 29, 2013)

Charlie is adorable. Was he curly as a puppy?

I know we will fall in love with the Havanese no matter what the coat is like. I have done a lot of research to find that it is a wonderful family dog. I just love the looks of the flowing soft wavy coat.


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## Diann (Apr 25, 2011)

4kiddos said:


> Charlie is adorable. Was he curly as a puppy?
> 
> I know we will fall in love with the Havanese no matter what the coat is like. I have done a lot of research to find that it is a wonderful family dog. I just love the looks of the flowing soft wavy coat.


The picture of him when he's black and white is when he's a puppy, probably about 5 months old. We didn't know him before that. We we're graced with Charlie by a breeder like I mentioned in my post, one that knew we'd love him and that he shouldn't be sold at the going rate for a Hav. The breeder loved the breed and her dogs more than money.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

4kiddos said:


> There are other puppies is this litter that have a straight coat, although the mother has a curlier coat. If they get one curly gene from the mother, will the adult coat be curly or just wavy. I would like to keep the coat in a longer cut, but I don't want to have to comb it every day to keep the mattes out.


In my opinion, if the pups has a curly coat and you want to keep him longer, you will have to comb him daily or he will matt. My guys have straight to wavy coats and I comb them every couple days, if not daily.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

4kiddos said:


> There are other puppies is this litter that have a straight coat, although the mother has a curlier coat. If they get one curly gene from the mother, will the adult coat be curly or just wavy. I would like to keep the coat in a longer cut, but I don't want to have to comb it every day to keep the mattes out.


This is an addition to my original response re Bailey's curly coat. Thinking back, he did not have a curly coat as a puppy, but developed it as he matured. I don't have any picture of him as a pup that I can post, as at that time (1996), we were using film in our camera. I did, however, find one of him at 11 years old in his short coat and, although the picture exposure is not good, you can get the idea of a curly adult coat.

If you keep this type of coat long, it just gets very bushy and does not show as a long flowing coat, as it doesn't lie flat. As I mentioned, I also have curly hair and can't have it long as it does the same thing. The best bet with this type of coat is a short clip as it does mat up very easily. BTW, Bailey's dam had a straight coat and his sire, a curly coat. At that time, breeders were not testing for the curly gene.


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## Diann (Apr 25, 2011)

Mary, I'm amazed at how similar Bailey and Charlie look alike from these lectures.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

*Curly puppy help*



Diann said:


> Mary, I'm amazed at how similar Bailey and Charlie look alike from these lectures.


Wow, you're right, Diann. I just went back and checked the pictures. Looks like the same little faces. Handsome boys


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

I found one more of Bailey and Tyler with better exposure than the other shots in the sun. Here it is.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

4kiddos said:


> There are other puppies is this litter that have a straight coat, although the mother has a curlier coat. If they get one curly gene from the mother, will the adult coat be curly or just wavy. I would like to keep the coat in a longer cut, but I don't want to have to comb it every day to keep the mattes out.


My personal opinion is that if you want to keep a Hav in long coat, you do NOT want one with the curly gene. If that is important to you, I'd look for a breeder who DNA tests to specifically breed away from curly.

As othershave said, there is NOTHING wrong with this puppy as a wonderful pet, but his coat will always be difficult to maintain. I would worry that the others might get curlier in thier adult coats too, and therefore be hard to keep in long coat unless the breeder has determined through DNA testing that the other pups don't carry for curly.


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## 4kiddos (Jun 29, 2013)

lfung5 said:


> My brother has a curly Hav. He loves him. He just has to keep him in a puppy cut. Most people think he's a poodle and it drives my brother nuts! He bought his Hav from a good breeder, so I think it happens from time to time, but don't think it's the norm for good breeders to have curly Havs....Also, his pup did not hav curly hair until he blew coat. As a pup his coat was straight.


Did either of the parents of your brothers puppy have a curly coat?


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## 1stladysoul (May 17, 2013)

Ewokpup said:


> Bear has what our neighbor describes as 'curly trousers'. His hair gets curly around the rear half, but when he's just been groomed or brushed out it looks more wavy. He has had a short cut since we got him a month ago, but I've seen pictures of when he had longer hair and it was more wavy than curly. So I think once it gets longer the weight will kinda pull the curl out. My brother actually used to keep his hair long or real short to get rid of his curls. The weight of the longer length kept it from being too curly, and it also made it easier to create a really nice mohawk. ;-)


I think this puppy is adorable, regardless of his coat. In my opinion the personality is most important, unless you plan to breed or show.

Curly trousers is an excellent description as Skye's coat is flowing and wavy except for her tail and rear end. Since she is not out of the house much, I am trying to see how her coat fairs by keeping it long at least until she is 6 months. Although grooming to prevent matting is rough.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

4kiddos said:


> Charlie is adorable. Was he curly as a puppy?
> 
> I know we will fall in love with the Havanese no matter what the coat is like. I have done a lot of research to find that it is a wonderful family dog. I just love the looks of the flowing soft wavy coat.


 I think you have answered your own question. You don't have to take the first pup that comes around. There are lots of good temperament pups with the type of coat you want. Or you could get one of each! LOL


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## 4kiddos (Jun 29, 2013)

Suzi said:


> I think you have answered your own question. You don't have to take the first pup that comes around. There are lots of good temperament pups with the type of coat you want. Or you could get one of each! LOL


Ha Ha! That's funny that you said that. We have been struggling with that decision. We can't decide which one we want and would love to take all of them.


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