# Matting Pup



## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Morning All,

Duke went to the groomer today and sadly he is going have most of his hair chopped. He got extremely matted it started by he was neutered on the 8th and we went easy on the brushing because he was in recovery... then I went on a week long holiday... he stayed home with Dad but lets just say Dad is not nearly as diligent as Mom  So his sides of his body became badly matted, his whole belly matted, his legs matted.... so today is grooming day.
Keep in mind Duke has not had a hair cut yet! He has been groomed but not the length so he was LONG. Anyway he is going to be so naked after this grooming I'm a little sad but hey I can put all his adorable sweaters on him. I'm going to post a before and after photo when I pick him up. 

Wish Duke luck with his new do! Thankfully his face will still be adorable, just a naked body


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## mikeabarber (Nov 24, 2017)

I await with interest. As no doubt does Duke.

Mike

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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

I'm sorry. I love the full coats the best. But, you have to deal with reality, and life is a challenge at times. Like all the folks here say, his hair will grow back, eventually. You'll just have to keep on the brushing/combing daily right off the bat if you intend to let it grow again.

By the way, my beautiful full-coated Tucker is now 10.5 years old and with some health issues, so he is now clipped down. I still love him, even without his beautiful coat.

Good luck.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

I'm sure he is still adorable!


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## Chi-Chi's Mom (Dec 10, 2015)

Been there. Twice. The first time she had to be shaved to the skin. It was awful, but only for 4 weeks. Second time she had to be taken down to a short puppy cut that I actually liked. (see avatar taken in August). She is now at about 3.5 inches and I think we are going to let it continue to grow. Next year I am scheduling 3 groomings around my vacation: the day before I leave, 5 days later and 5 days after that (the day before my return). I'm sure Duke will still be a cutie. Will be waiting for his new picture!


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Click the link to see the cuteness! 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2tll53mhymb236e/.filtered-BB88C8AE-0E19-4DF3-87BD-3728169AD454.MP4?dl=0

PLUS here is his before and after he is still do cute


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Now the process begins to grow him back to a length  It's so weird seeing his little legs he was such a floof before. I know this was the best for him there was no way his mats were coming out! Life happens thankfully it will grow, I think by Christmas he will loook ultra adorable.


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## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

I noticed Duke is 10 months old. That is the age that the puppy hair he was born with starts to come out. He is literally shedding. Those hairs get wrapped around the new coat coming in and mats seem to appear overnight. This happened with Tux and I cut him shorter at about 2-3" so I could manage it better. He HATED being brushed even with me gently trying to maneuver every blob of hair so as not to pull or tug. He would run to his favorite chair when he saw the hairbrush coming out of the closet.

Once that stage was over, his coat is now growing out and without the constant mat patrol. Combing is easier even with a few knots here and there. With the puppy coat there was hair EVERYWHERE. Now only a few hairs appear in the comb, and Tux actually relaxes when I groom him. It WILL get better.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Duke looks very cute! I went through countless shaving with my first Havanese. It won't take long for him to be a fluffy pup again. 😊


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

He is still adorable! Please do keep posting photos as his hair grows out. Our groomer said if we can make it to 18 months it will get easier, and it did. Shama tolerates being groomed much better than she used to, although she still HATES having her face combed!


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## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

The exact thing happened with Kosmo, it is why I haven't posted pictures in so long. I am very sad my beautiful dog is bald except for head and tail. I left town for four days, came back to mess, had him neutered and left him be to the point the matting spread and overpopulated. Wish I knew 10 months was witching hour for his coat. Because he is sable, black tips on body are gone forever. Of course, he could care less, it is silly and vain humamma that is a wreck.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Yup - Duke is still cute!


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Tux's Mom said:


> I noticed Duke is 10 months old. That is the age that the puppy hair he was born with starts to come out. He is literally shedding. Those hairs get wrapped around the new coat coming in and mats seem to appear overnight. This happened with Tux and I cut him shorter at about 2-3" so I could manage it better. He HATED being brushed even with me gently trying to maneuver every blob of hair so as not to pull or tug. He would run to his favorite chair when he saw the hairbrush coming out of the closet.
> 
> Once that stage was over, his coat is now growing out and without the constant mat patrol. Combing is easier even with a few knots here and there. With the puppy coat there was hair EVERYWHERE. Now only a few hairs appear in the comb, and Tux actually relaxes when I groom him. It WILL get better.


You know exactly what I'm dealing with I would brush the mats completely out and then not even 20 mins later it was a total mess again. I wish I could have just cut him shorter but it was beyond that point! I think once his hair grows we will keep Duke in a puppy cut length.

Duke is LOVING His new hair cut, he is still so adorable to me I love him with or without hair I'm just excited for when it grows back but in the meantime I'm going sweater shopping!! Christmas is my fave time of the year and Duke is going to get some awesome sweaters 

I will post progress pictures of Duke so everyone can see his hair grow back!!


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Duke got a old man sweater, he looks so grown up with his short hair! You can really see the poodle in him with his short hair he looks less Havanese


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Handsome Duke!


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Awwww - that's cute!


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## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

DuketheDog said:


> Duke got a old man sweater, he looks so grown up with his short hair! You can really see the poodle in him with his short hair he looks less Havanese


Oh phooey on the poodle look. He is definitely Havanese with those big almond eyes and that cute button nose. You can take the hair off the Havanese, but you can't take the Havanese out of the personality! Look at that adorable tail too!


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Tux's Mom said:


> Oh phooey on the poodle look. He is definitely Havanese with those big almond eyes and that cute button nose. You can take the hair off the Havanese, but you can't take the Havanese out of the personality! Look at that adorable tail too!


You have that right! SO MUCH PERSONALITY. Thank you!


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Photo update!

Duke has got EXTREMELY cuddly since we had to shave him. Which I'm not complaining at all about because before he was the most independent dog ever. Now he likes to come snuggle and it melts my heart.


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## Jojofergy (Jun 27, 2016)

I have shaved sprocket down twice the first time was cause I was having trouble keeping up with grooming and decided to shave him before I had to deal with major mats the second time was cause he was sooo cuddly the first time I wanted that again lol I think he got colder without all that hair so tend to lay on me a lot more? Idk that's my guess but I do love how cuddly he is when shaved and how soft! I also love not having to groom every day but I'm getting use to the look still lol 


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## Sailor12/25 (Dec 28, 2017)

16 weeks and starting to get some mats....should I take her and have combed out and/or trimmed? I have tried my best to keep her from getting matted, but a challenge!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sailor12/25 said:


> 16 weeks and starting to get some mats....should I take her and have combed out and/or trimmed? I have tried my best to keep her from getting matted, but a challenge!


You need to either learn how to keep her combed out yourself, and keep up with it, daily if necessary, or have a groomer put her in a shortish puppy cut. Either decision is fine... entirely personal choice. But taking her to a groomer WITH mats just about guarantees that she will be cut VERY short. And the groomer won't be wrong, it is painful to have deep mats in numerous places combed out, and no groomer wants a dog to have that experience with a stranger.


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

Sailor12/25, even if you have him cut down to a puppy cut, her will STILL MAT while he is blowing coat. You will need to use a comb, not just a brush, to get the mats untangled down to his skin.


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Sailor12/25 said:


> 16 weeks and starting to get some mats....should I take her and have combed out and/or trimmed? I have tried my best to keep her from getting matted, but a challenge!


If you visit your local petstore the staff is typically extremely helpful to find you the right solution for your dog. Bring your puppy with you and ask for help get them to show you which tools are the best for your dog! When I first got Duke I had a zillion question down to asking what type of dog shampoo was the best for him. at 16 weeks they shouldn't be getting that knotted, you could also contact a groomer for a lesson on puppy coat care and have them brush your pup really good and then you maintain, brushing should be done every single day with lots of reward to get them used to it!

Hope that helps


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

For everyone else that was following this thread here is a Duke Fur update! Looking soooooooo dam cute


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## CaroleG (Aug 13, 2016)

If they are short, do they still matt?


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Yes the coat can still mat if short so you still need to comb through every day or two paying close attention to tail and ears where hair is longer. The difference is that comb outs are much quicker with a short coat. If you want to grow him out again the short coat provides an opportunity for you to get into the habit of line combing the coat, working on getting Duke to accept increasing periods of combing, before the coat is long enough to get horribly matted again. You may find the you prefer the easier care of a short coat and that is fine as well.


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

CaroleG said:


> If they are short, do they still matt?


YES they will still matt if you don't upkeep, currently Duke is at a perfect length we don't brush him everyday... but we do however check for matts and make sure his skin is healthy and nothing crazy is happening with his fur, he is so silky now that it would be hard for him to mat.. his tail still needs brushing as it is long!


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## hlang (Jan 21, 2018)

If I counted right your last image is taken about 2 months after the haircut and I really like that look! Duke is a handsome fellow.


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## Lucy Ricardo (Mar 5, 2021)

DuketheDog said:


> For everyone else that was following this thread here is a Duke Fur update! Looking soooooooo dam cute


My poor baby girl got very matted from being in the snow and the groomer shaved her down. It was is a really shocker to see what they did. How long did it take before Duke started getting fluffy again and is his coat growing back to normal his texture? I read, after the fact, that Havanese are a double coated breed and should never be shaved. I feel so badly.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Lucy Ricardo said:


> My poor baby girl got very matted from being in the snow and the groomer shaved her down. It was is a really shocker to see what they did. How long did it take before Duke started getting fluffy again and is his coat growing back to normal his texture? I read, after the fact, that Havanese are a double coated breed and should never be shaved. I feel so badly.


It is nonsense that they should never be shaved. When they say that, they are talking about a different KIND of "double coat". They re tak=lking about the northern breeds like Huskies or Chows... Dogs with a dens undercoat that "blows" twice a year. You can ruin THAT kind of coat with shaving. Not a Havanese. Havanese hair grows throughout their lives. Your girl's coat will grow back as good as new! Just keep up on the grooming so she doesn't get matted again! 

As far as how long? Think about how long it took from birth to the length you liked it best. That is APPROXIMATELY how long it will take. Every dog is a bit different!


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

Lucy Ricardo said:


> My poor baby girl got very matted from being in the snow and the groomer shaved her down. It was is a really shocker to see what they did. How long did it take before Duke started getting fluffy again and is his coat growing back to normal his texture? I read, after the fact, that Havanese are a double coated breed and should never be shaved. I feel so badly.


It depends on what you call "shaved." When Ricky was about a year old, we got frustrated with matting so we had him put into a "puppy cut." Momi was almost in tears when she saw him. We were not happy with his look at all! We vowed NEVER to do that again. Putting a dog in a puppy cut is okay if that's what you are looking for. It is not okay to shave (buzz cut) a Havanese.

Havanese hair growth will depend on the individual dog, it will vary depending on the dog, climatic conditions, etc. In Ricky's case, it took about 6 to 8 months to grow him out from a puppy cut to a full coat. His coat is beautiful today and VERY easy to maintain with proper tools and conditioners.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

It doesn’t “ruin” a Havanese coat, absolutely, but some people notice the hair feels a bit different compared to what they remember when their puppy was naturally short, because when it’s cut the ends are blunt. I usually notice it right after a haircut, and he looks so fresh and clean it’s not a big deal. If it’s a really good haircut, from a really good groomer, or cut with scissors, it’s unlikely even someone obsessive like me would be able to tell, some even point cut with scissors to give it a more natural texture at the ends. Usually the cut ends have a more natural feel on their own in about a month. It’s just because hair is growing in cycles at different times. 

I’m really lucky I’ve realized, that my Havanese grows really fast. He’s 3 and he’s been cut short and grown out many times already. Except for his nose  I don’t know why the hair there takes so long to grow! Between his eyes was shaved sometimes last year, because I forgot to tell the groomer not to. Since then he’s had another trim where his hair wasn’t cut between his eyes or on his nose, and it’s only grown about and inch and a half. In comparison, she took at least 2 inches off of his body, and he’d grown more than that, closer to 4, I just wanted him a bit longer. So only shave between the eyes if you like it and want to keep it up!


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