# Haircut - length for less matting?



## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

Willow is almost 9 months old and we have not yet cut her hair, other than the groomer doing some trim around the eyes, some thinning, and sanitary trim. Her hair is about 7 inches long and very "fluffy". She still has her puppy hair and I spend 20-30 minutes a day brushing and combing her. As a result, she gets very little matting except after she wears her harness for a walk. We are planning a trip where she will be wearing her harness for longer periods of time and I would like to know a good length to cut her hair that would help prevent matting. She is at the age where she is/will be blowing her coat (from what I've read, dreading that!). I don't want to cut her short if we don't have to, but would like a more manageable coat that is less likely to mat. We would appreciate your feedback and suggestions based on your own experiences. Willow is our first dog with hair, not fur, so it's a learning experience. Thanks! Helen & Willow


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Unfortunately, the only way to get a length that will REALLY help matting, especially under a harness and ESPECIALLY while blowing coat, is to go with a very short cut. Any length at all will felt under a harness left on for any length of time.


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

That's what I was afraid of. Other than matting, is there an obvious sign when Willow's starts to blow her coat? Right now, I am getting small amounts of hair on the comb/brush so it doesn't appear that she is losing any large amounts. I've read that the blowing coat stage can begin between 8-12 months. Thanks for your feedback!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Darlah has some good tips here Blowing Coat - talemakerhavanese.com


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*length*



krandall said:


> Unfortunately, the only way to get a length that will REALLY help matting, especially under a harness and ESPECIALLY while blowing coat, is to go with a very short cut. Any length at all will felt under a harness left on for any length of time.


I can attest from personal experience that even a longer puppy cut will mat like crazy (haven't tried a very short puppy cut yet). We spent a few days in DC over the weekend and Perry was a trooper walking around (around 4+ hours on Sunday doing all the monuments - I had his shoulder bag for him when we were actually in the monuments or if he got too tired but he was good walking the whole time). At the end of the day he was soooo super matted under his chest that it took hours to get the mats out from his 'armpits' and I ended up cutting out he ones under his chest harness strap.

He was in need of a cut (got it done today) so he was longer than a new puppy cut.


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## Barbara Levy (Apr 22, 2016)

I have Loki in a shorter cut than I would like him to be. At 12 months, it became impossible to keep the mats away. I was spending an hour a day - and still didn't have them all. I seemed like a never ending cycle. We were both miserable. I got him cut shorter than I probably would like him but left his beard, ears and tail long. Now that I am used to it he looks really cute! It takes me 10 minutes a day to clean and comb his face and to comb his ears, tails and feet, especially after they get wet. Every other day I run a comb through his coat...We are so much happier. 

The top two pictures were the day he first got his haircut (he is all fluffed out). The bottom picture was Monday after he had a bath. It has been 2 weeks since a haircut. He air dried so you can see how curly and short his hair is...


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

Thank you for the feedback; it seems like it is not possible to keep the pups from matting under a harness...


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

Thank you for the great feedback and pictures! Loki looks adorable with his short haircut; it may be the way to go to keep Willow mat free (or at least somewhat that way)!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

helenmeyer1 said:


> That's what I was afraid of. Other than matting, is there an obvious sign when Willow's starts to blow her coat? Right now, I am getting small amounts of hair on the comb/brush so it doesn't appear that she is losing any large amounts. I've read that the blowing coat stage can begin between 8-12 months. Thanks for your feedback!


You'll see that she starts matting a lot more. (If she is going to... some don't blow coat too badly). With all of mine, the first sign was mats developing behind their ears. My oldest one blew coat enough that it was a pain in the neck, but was manageable. The middle one matted badly enough that I put her in a puppy cut. Her puppy coat was downy-fine, and the mats were difficult to get out and obviously hurt. Then she looked so cute in the puppy cut that we've just kept her that way! The youngest one was very VERY easy. She only had occasional, minor matting. The only time I really had a problem was during her first heat, when she was also blowing coat. She matted pretty horribly under her panties!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

helenmeyer1 said:


> Thank you for the feedback; it seems like it is not possible to keep the pups from matting under a harness...


It is, but only with a really short cut.


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

Thanks for the great info so I know what to look for when Willow starts to blow her coat. Maybe she'll be one of the lucky ones that doesn't have a lot of matting. One can only hope!! As you can see from her picture, she is very "fluffy".


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## Bowie's Mom (Oct 1, 2016)

Bowie will be 1 in July...have been using the Gooby harness until recently...noticing mats in the armpits. Switched to the rolled leather harness from Collar Direct on Amazon, seems to be working well! He is still in a mostly full coat...I've trimmed his bangs and a bit off the legs and body.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Bowie's Mom said:


> Bowie will be 1 in July...have been using the Gooby harness until recently...noticing mats in the armpits. Switched to the rolled leather harness from Collar Direct on Amazon, seems to be working well! He is still in a mostly full coat...I've trimmed his bangs and a bit off the legs and body.


Rudy has a longer coat now. What size harness did you get for Bowie?


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## Bowie's Mom (Oct 1, 2016)

Bowie measures 14" at the girth (behind front legs). Using the measurements Loki's mom posted I bought an extra small. I really like it. I was having him step-in the harness, then putting it over his head...but found out it's more comfortable to put it over his head first, then tuck his legs in.


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

davetgabby said:


> Darlah has some good tips here Blowing Coat - talemakerhavanese.com


That was a good article Dave. Thanks for the link.


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## Hava Novice (Aug 30, 2016)

Oreo will be a year old next week, and he is definitely blowing coat. I already had him in a puppy cut because my husband wants me to bathe him once a week, and it takes the better part of an hour to bathe and blow him dry when he has much length on him. Even with daily brushing and combing, we are finding quite a few little hair balls around the house, so I am taking him in for a shorter cut, and will probably keep him pretty short until this coat blowing is over. I like him fluffy, so I will be sad. Good luck with your decision!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Scout and Truffles coats had never been cut except paws and muzzle trim on Scout. Scout is five years old and recently noticed that he finally wasn't matting. Unfortunately due to the surgery on his leg he had to be cut very short. I really do like the short cut and will probably keep it that way. It's going to be a long time before it will all be even again. The groomer was here today and she noticed in three weeks how much his coat has already grown. We will see how much it will grow in the next six weeks. I think he is enjoying the freedom of having not be brushed and combed daily. Truffles is 3.5 yrs old and recently her coat has changed from fine and silky to thick and fluffy. Now it seems her coat has begun to mat. 😟


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

I saw the picture of Scout you posted right before his surgery. He looked great but quite different!! Thanks for the feedback.


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## Barbara Levy (Apr 22, 2016)

Bowie's Mom said:


> Bowie measures 14" at the girth (behind front legs). Using the measurements Loki's mom posted I bought an extra small. I really like it. I was having him step-in the harness, then putting it over his head...but found out it's more comfortable to put it over his head first, then tuck his legs in.


I put it on Loki the same way. It is so easy.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

I will pray for you when and if Willow starts to mat with the coat blowing phase.  Sophie would get huge mats in the morning, I'd chop them all out, by evening more HUGE ones. I wish now I had just had her cut down short through that time rather than put her through the multiple times a day cutting out of mats. A friend of mine has a little guy who didn't mat at all during coat blowing! Not fair LOL. He looks a lot like Sophie with very similar coat type so I don't know why he was so different. 

I have learned to groom Sophie myself (it's not always pretty) and right now kind of cut her shorter than I meant to. But boy is the maintenance nice!


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## CaroleG (Aug 13, 2016)

I bought a Collar Direct rolled leather harness from Amazon and it works must better than a mesh harness.


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

CaroleG said:


> I bought a Collar Direct rolled leather harness from Amazon and it works must better than a mesh harness.


I took a look at the harness you mentioned. Has your dog ever slipped out of it? I've had a couple of harnesses that Willow somehow was able get out of. Does it fit pretty snuggly?


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## CaroleG (Aug 13, 2016)

No, never. There is a round thing on the lesh that you can push down towards the dog's neck.


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## jilliow (Jan 6, 2017)

After reading about the rolled harness on this forum I bought one for Becky.

Its great, easy to put on and very secure.:smile2:


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

jilliow said:


> After reading about the rolled harness on this forum I bought one for Becky.
> 
> Its great, easy to put on and very secure.:smile2:


Thanks Jilliow. I appreciate hearing what others are saying about this harness.



CaroleG said:


> No, never. There is a round thing on the lesh that you can push down towards the dog's neck.


Ok, thanks Carole - I think I'll try one. I know her mesh harness is causing some matting.


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

Looking at the Collar Direct rolled harness, I am not sure what size would be best for Willow. Her chest girth is 15" so she is at the very top of the XS size (11-16") and the very bottom of the S size (15-25"). Any recommendations from those of you who have purchased this harness?


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

helenmeyer1 said:


> Looking at the Collar Direct rolled harness, I am not sure what size would be best for Willow. Her chest girth is 15" so she is at the very top of the XS size (11-16") and the very bottom of the S size (15-25"). Any recommendations from those of you who have purchased this harness?


I'm just guessing here, but if I were you I would try the XS size. Amazon is really good about returns if it doesn't fit.


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## DuketheDog (May 1, 2017)

Woo this thread is awesome, Just ordered a collar from Collar Direct! Got a nice new collar with Duke's name on it and our phone numbers, right on the buckle!


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## jilliow (Jan 6, 2017)

helenmeyer1 said:


> Looking at the Collar Direct rolled harness, I am not sure what size would be best for Willow. Her chest girth is 15" so she is at the very top of the XS size (11-16") and the very bottom of the S size (15-25"). Any recommendations from those of you who have purchased this harness?


Becky is 17 inches around the chest and the small size fits her perfectly.:smile2:


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

*Willow's New Haircut!*

Thank you everyone for your responses to "Haircut-length for less matting". From all the information you shared regarding matting, we decided to have Willow's hair cut short as we were planning a long trip where she would be wearing a harness all day for several days. I am so glad that we had her cut before the trip! While she did get a few small mats, they were manageable. She looks adorable and our grooming sessions are much easier. She is not blowing coat yet, but I know we will all be a lot happier when that starts with her short "hairdo"! I have attached pictures of when she came back from the groomer.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

She looks adorable!!! 😊


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

What a sweet, cuddly girl! Thanks for the photos!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Willow looks very cute!


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## CaroleG (Aug 13, 2016)

A harness is okay, but avoid any harness that is like a vest.


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## CaroleG (Aug 13, 2016)

It looks great. Will try to print a photo to show my groomer. Thanks!


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

Your Willow is beautiful!


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

I love the name Willow!


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## Helen & Willow (Jan 18, 2017)

We went to Alaska last year and drove through the community of Willow. We thought that would be a great name for our next dog (we did not have our Willow at that time). Their claim to fame is that they have the best view of Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley) in all of Alaska. Willow's AKC registered name is "Willow Fame of Alaska"...


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