# Control fuzzy coat?



## abi38 (Mar 23, 2017)

I recently went to a dog show. The show Havanese seems to have much flatter and shinier coat (not poofing out so much). Make me wonder if I can do something about my dogs' coat.

Zelda has super soft cotton feel coat. The hair is very fine and light and not very long (only about 6" at shoulder), so probably does not have the weight to help pull the hair downward. She is 3 and never had a haircut, so either she just doesn't have long hair gene or I am bad at not breaking it while brushing.

I used Coat Handler and now Nature's Specialty. Never noticed any difference. Tried CH detangling spray. Most recently bath I waited 10 minutes for the conditioner work its "magic", and used watered down Show Sheen while still wet. Even she was super smooth to the touch afterward she still looks the same. So far nothing I do changes that.

Link has a different texture coat, heavier and feel more hair like. Also much longer (11"+) even he's not even 2. His coat looks flatter, but not the shiny slick look.

So is there anything that I can do to make Zelda's coat flatter? Or is it just the way she is?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I think their coats are just the way they are. You have to remember that those show ring Havanese don't look like that running around home every day either. There's a LOT of primping and prep that goes into presenting a Havanese in the show ring, even though the breed standard says otherwise! 

As far as length goes, that COULD be partly your grooming practices. Most Havanese owners who keep their dogs in long coats comb them rather than brush them. Depending on the brushes you are using you could be breaking some of Zelda's softer coat. (and, BTW, a "show/breeding" Havanese SHOULD have a very soft coat... it should not feel like human hair) Also, spayed females sometimes have less coat, just because of the lack of hormones. (but unspayed females often "blow coat" and look terrible after a litter, so pick your poison! )

I also would avoid using Show Sheen. As a horse person, I know it is tempting. But Show Sheen is VERY drying. It's fine for a horse's coat that will be shed twice a year, but not so good for a fine, soft, Havanese coat, where each hair should last for several years.

One way or another, though, Zelda DEFINITELY is a normal, long (normal) coated Havanese, and cute as a button. The coats in the breed DO vary tremendously. Don't worry about it. She looks adorable, looks obviously Havanese, and you aren't showing her in the conformation ring anyway!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Scout has a similar coat to Zelda's. He has a lot of coat, but it is very fine and light. The groomer has tried several different shampoo and conditioners on him in the last four years. We've been using Pure Paws Silk Basics line for a few years now. Occasionally she has tried a different product, but always go back to the Silk Basics line. She applies the conditioner leaving it on few minutes and then combs it through to the skin. If his coat is dry she then applies the Silk Cream conditioner for about five minutes before rinsing. His coat is sooo soft and silky when she is done. I think there is a Silk leave-in conditioner which I have not tried. I really like the H2O Hydrating Mist for brushing and combing. Every coat is different, but this is what has worked for us. Zelda is darling! I like their poofy coats! Here's the Scouter's coat blowing in the wind. :grin2:






Sorry don't know how to rotate!


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## abi38 (Mar 23, 2017)

No, I didn't mean she's the short hair variety  (Tho I think they look adorable and wouldn't mind getting my hand on one) I normally use both pin brush and combing, depending on how the hair feels at the time. While they are not show dogs but I'd still like the "look". When I decided on a Havanese I was planning to keep it at puppy cut, but once the hair grow out I just can't cut it. Maybe some day.

About Show Sheen, I am hoping by watering it down quite a bit it won't be as bad and that was only 1 try. So is Show Sheen for Dogs just as bad? What about other dog specific products that also contain silicon like The Stuff, Ice on Ice or the Nature's Specialty's version? One thing I notice with this one application of Show Sheen is it does keep stuffs off the coat better and the feel clean longer. It has been 2 weeks since last bath and normally they'd start to feel grimy by now. So if there are similar products that are better I'd like to use that.

Thanks Heather for the product suggestion. I'll try that next time around.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

The pure Paws Hydrating mist must contain silicon because it has a slippery feel. The coat feels very soft and it controls the poofiness. :biggrin1:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

abi38 said:


> No, I didn't mean she's the short hair variety  (Tho I think they look adorable and wouldn't mind getting my hand on one) I normally use both pin brush and combing, depending on how the hair feels at the time. While they are not show dogs but I'd still like the "look". When I decided on a Havanese I was planning to keep it at puppy cut, but once the hair grow out I just can't cut it. Maybe some day.
> 
> About Show Sheen, I am hoping by watering it down quite a bit it won't be as bad and that was only 1 try. So is Show Sheen for Dogs just as bad? What about other dog specific products that also contain silicon like The Stuff, Ice on Ice or the Nature's Specialty's version? One thing I notice with this one application of Show Sheen is it does keep stuffs off the coat better and the feel clean longer. It has been 2 weeks since last bath and normally they'd start to feel grimy by now. So if there are similar products that are better I'd like to use that.
> 
> Thanks Heather for the product suggestion. I'll try that next time around.


I didn't know there was a dog version of Show Sheen... I'm only familiar with the horse one. The dog one must have come along later. I've tried "The Stuff", and find that it is a bit drying and heavy for my dogs' light coats, AND the scent is overpowering. I gave it away! I don have a couple of friends with Havanese with heavier coats and they swear by it. I use Ice on Ice, and that does a lovely job, and is VERY lightly scented. (almost no scent) My favorite grooming spray is a mixture of Ice on Ice and a diluted amount of my regular conditioner. I usually use CC Spectrum 10 conditioner (again, because it is so lightly scented) but Biogroom Silk seems to work just as well, if you don't mind the perfume smell. I buy the concentrated form of Ice on Ice, then mix my own spray bottle, putting a little of that in, then some conditioner, filling with water and shaking!


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## abi38 (Mar 23, 2017)

Thanks. The Spectrum 10 shampoo/conditioner sounds promising from some google search. I'll try that next after finishing my current supply of stuffs. So far Nature's Specialty or Coat Handler conditions produces same result.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

abi38 said:


> Thanks. The Spectrum 10 shampoo/conditioner sounds promising from some google search. I'll try that next after finishing my current supply of stuffs. So far Nature's Specialty or Coat Handler conditions produces same result.


I've tried Coat Handlers, in fact I bought a gallon of it because a friend raved about it. I gave it away, I didn't like how it worked on my dogs' coats at all. I am lucky in that all of mine have fairly similar coats. They all have the silkier coats without a TON of undercoat... Two of them are really easy to maintain. One has a VERY fine, fluffy coat, even though she doesn't have a mass of undercoat, and she mats more easily. We cut her down when she was blowing coat, intending to let her grow out again afterwards. But she is also our littlest, and vey slight. When I look at photos of her when she had a long coat, she was still cute, but she looked BURIED in all the hair. She just looks "right" somehow in her puppy cut. (and that means I only have to maintain TWO long coats!  )


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