# Pet Groomer Comments & Tidbits



## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I learned something new today. I was out with the boys at the local pet shop and I wanted some information on products in the store. The manager of the grooming shop came out, she recognized the Havanese breed, imagine that! I was really surprised she recognized the breed because she is the first person in 3 years! 

Anyway..., just chatting...I was wondering if there was anything to help the coats lay flatter. Learned, to try to use a good spray on conditioner while drying and....because they have been clipped they will always have a poof to them. 

I asked about the staining of the beards, "they are pets, the professionals use the powder to whiten their Havs." "It is in the chemistry of their bodies." I can deal with this, but I do think, the longer the beards stay wet, the worst the discoloring gets. I will try to get the boys to use the water bottle especially in the winter...My own opinion...think the hair drys slower in the winter time. 

I also asked about eye stains, and she does recommend the eye rinses and also a No Tear Type Shampoo, so the shampoo does not cause any extra tearing. And, to use high quality food that does not have ingredients that would cause staining of the eyes. "We use the eye rinses before and after shampoo."

Nice information gathered...So....I am going to continue to clip my boys, maybe sooner than Springtime now, now that I now know, they are going to poof now, due to the first clipping. I will have a blast with my clippers on the boys and never look back! 

I am going to try out the eye rinse on Jack, continue the cleaning below the eye with the eye pad cleaner. 

Continue to use my spraying while grooming, but I will look into grooming hydrating type spray to use while drying.

Any feedback?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

My groomer, who also sits for Kodi when I'm away, always bathes him before I pick him up, because I'm allergic to her dogs. He always looks particularly silky when she does him, and feels WONDERFUL!!! She told me that she always sprays him with Espree Aloe Hydrating Mist while she's drying him. I bought some to try after his next bath, so I'll let you know how it works for me... whether it's the product, or just that she's better at it than I am!:biggrin1:


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Has Kodi every had a clipper cut?


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I did find some hydrating grooming spray that I already had that I can use between bathing and during grooming, so I will try. I want to see what the coat looks like after misting and blending down with hand strokes. It did scale back the poof in the hair after the boys were misted. Let me see what the coat looks like after dried. I only misted the coats. 

But, I am also thinking when the hair is dried and pulled brush, it might be more manageable by professional groomers compared to my hit and miss drying. 

Comments?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

HavaneseSoon said:


> Has Kodi every had a clipper cut?


No. He's never been cut at all.


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## El Bueno Habanero (Oct 20, 2009)

I have done many clipper cuts on Fedja in the past, and honestly I don't believe that to be the reason for puffy coats. A lot depends on the hair type I think. Fedja has a cottony coat, and much of it too. I know a hav who has been shaved down once, now having long coat again and it's not puffy at all.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Observations after the grooming hydrating spray. With Dexter having black hair, you can actually see the difference. The spray did calm down the poofy frizzy/dry look. Much like if we put a mouse to our frizzy hair. Maybe it is just the wintertime too. We have 30-40 degree weather here lately. And, the boys have lots of static in their hair when I am combing them.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Linda, what are the eye rinses you speak of? Would that be the contact lens solutions that were mentioned in another thread? I was giving some training treats that have food coloring in them, and Finn is getting some staining. These treats were made in the US and they were soft and the guys really liked them, but they have red, blue and yellow food color in them. I contacted the company and asked why it was necessary to add food coloring to the product. They responded that the products without the color did not sell well, that they weren't visually appealing or some such foolishness. Grrrrr.


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## Lsprick (Jul 8, 2010)

Gracie's white coat is cottony and profuse. I tried a new conditioner last week - Coat Handler. Pam King said that's all she uses. Gracie's coat is not as frizzy and flyaway and has been easy to comb out. Good thing I'm happy with it, cause I buy that stuff by the gallon jug!


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## El Bueno Habanero (Oct 20, 2009)

I loooove Coat Handler . Fedja's hair has never been so soft before. Best buy for me personally. There is only one shop that sells it here in the Netherlands arggg, so it's not easy to get, but surely worth the trouble.


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## Becky Chittenden (Feb 4, 2009)

I never brush my dogs without misting and rubbing in conditioner. I mostly use coat handler, but I don't think brand matters much. Probably any conditioner watered down would work fine.
Lately I've been adding a little Greek yogurt to the food and Oliver's mouth staining is noticeably improved, not gone, but better. The yogurt is organic


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

With the winter cold temperatures, the static in the hair is terrible..........terrible! I am misting constantly while combing. 

As for the Eye Rinse I am trying, or should I say....Jack is trying. It is just an eye type solution. According to the label: It is an irrigation solution, help reduce irritation and prevent tear stains. Ingredients: Boric Acid, Filtered Water, Sodium Borate, and Sodium Chloride. These are basically the same ingredients for eye drops.


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## Narwyn (Jan 24, 2010)

HavaneseSoon said:


> I asked about the staining of the beards, "they are pets, the professionals use the powder to whiten their Havs." "It is in the chemistry of their bodies." I can deal with this, but I do think, the longer the beards stay wet, the worst the discoloring gets. I will try to get the boys to use the water bottle especially in the winter...My own opinion...think the hair drys slower in the winter time.


While some "professionals" use 'chalk' (what is really corn startch/baby powder), not all do. Both of mine have dazzling white beards and not a powder in sight... and they're not the only ones. LOL. It IS the chemistry of their bodies, IMO, but don't assume the white beards are all fake!

Also, if you do have a wet beard issue, pack some corn starch in there with a makeup brush or your fingers, then brush or comb it out. It absorbs moisture and will take it with it as you brush out. Of course be careful not to get any in the eyes.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Lsprick said:


> Gracie's white coat is cottony and profuse. I tried a new conditioner last week - Coat Handler. Pam King said that's all she uses. Gracie's coat is not as frizzy and flyaway and has been easy to comb out. Good thing I'm happy with it, cause I buy that stuff by the gallon jug!


Interesting that she's switched over to Coat Handler's...when I got Kodi, she suggested BioGroom. I find that they both work about the same on Kodi's coat, but I like the smell of the BioGroom better.


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## Lsprick (Jul 8, 2010)

Oh, I love the scent of Biogroom, too! You know your dog has just been bathed. She still smelled like that, but I think the Coat Handler is a good choice for her cottony coat. I just ran out of the Biogroom conditioner, but I liked it also.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

I use both coat handler and bio groom and bio groom has a smell, coat handler is great esp. if your dog is curly, but no smell. I love crown royal for the smell, but that is my problem. 

As for staining of beard and eyes. My girl Misty had a medical problem that I wrote about awhile back we went to a specialist at NC State Vet hospital, they have a trial going on right now with white dogs. My girl had interdigital pyoderma, she had beard staining and horrible foot staining but no eye staining and this was a clue to her problem. I learned so much, eye staining has to do with eye structure, it is not a bad thing health wise as it means the eyes are doing what they should...tearing. Maltese, poodles, and west highland terriers suffer from this in large numbers. There are other dogs that have it too **** Tzus for one. It is not attractive I agree but it is not necessarily a health issue.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Has anyone tried the coat handlers new H2O shampoo and conditioner. It is suppose to be great for a wavier thick coat.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Narwyn said:


> While some "professionals" use 'chalk' (what is really corn startch/baby powder), not all do. Both of mine have dazzling white beards and not a powder in sight... and they're not the only ones. LOL. It IS the chemistry of their bodies, IMO, but don't assume the white beards are all fake!
> 
> Also, if you do have a wet beard issue, pack some corn starch in there with a makeup brush or your fingers, then brush or comb it out. It absorbs moisture and will take it with it as you brush out. Of course be careful not to get any in the eyes.


 Kat do your dogs drink from a bowl? and what food are you feeding? also is the water good their? 20 questions


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## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

For those of you who use Coat Handler, which one do you buy.

Right Now I am using CC Spectrum 10 shampoo and conditioner, as well as Spectrum 10 intensive treatment. I am happy with it, but I will never know how good CH is if I don't try it.

For those of you who have used both, which one do you prefer?


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

HavaneseSoon said:


> With the winter cold temperatures, the static in the hair is terrible..........terrible! I am misting constantly while combing.
> 
> As for the Eye Rinse I am trying, or should I say....Jack is trying. It is just an eye type solution. According to the label: It is an irrigation solution, help reduce irritation and prevent tear stains. Ingredients: Boric Acid, Filtered Water, Sodium Borate, and Sodium Chloride. These are basically the same ingredients for eye drops.


 Hum I have whiting stuff that has Boric acid and I was afraid of it getting in Zoeys eyes. i cant remember the other ingredient.
I have problems misting because the moisture makes my comb harder to glide threw. And she just waves up again. I use a small amount of nurtagina human triple action leave in conditioner I add it after I have combed her out.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Carefulove said:


> For those of you who use Coat Handler, which one do you buy.
> 
> Right Now I am using CC Spectrum 10 shampoo and conditioner, as well as Spectrum 10 intensive treatment. I am happy with it, but I will never know how good CH is if I don't try it.
> 
> For those of you who have used both, which one do you prefer?


I've never used Coat Handler shampoo, but I have used the conditioner, and the CC Spectrum 10 products. I think of Coat Handler as an "every bath" sort of conditioner. It does a good job. With the CC Spectrum 10 intensive, I find that it is too heavy for Kodi's coat if used regularly. If I have to bathe him more than once during a week (like if I'm really working on getting him bright white before a show) I may use the Spectrum 10 intensive ONCE to put more moisture back into his coat. But I couldn't use it for every bath.

I suspect you are going to find that different products work best for each of your guys. Bumi has such a profuse coat that I bet he can stand more conditioning to tame it a bit. If Toby is like Kodi, too much conditioner will just weigh his adult coat down.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Items have levels of ingredients, too much of something is always bad. There are products that say do not get into the eyes and some products that are made for the eyes. 

It is just in how it is made. Look at human eye drops and you will be amazed at all the stuff that is in the ingredients.


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## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

krandall said:


> I've never used Coat Handler shampoo, but I have used the conditioner, and the CC Spectrum 10 products. I think of Coat Handler as an "every bath" sort of conditioner. It does a good job. With the CC Spectrum 10 intensive, I find that it is too heavy for Kodi's coat if used regularly. If I have to bathe him more than once during a week (like if I'm really working on getting him bright white before a show) I may use the Spectrum 10 intensive ONCE to put more moisture back into his coat. But I couldn't use it for every bath.
> 
> I suspect you are going to find that different products work best for each of your guys. Bumi has such a profuse coat that I bet he can stand more conditioning to tame it a bit. If Toby is like Kodi, too much conditioner will just weigh his adult coat down.


Karen,

I bathe them every 2 wks and use the Intensive Treatment only every other time. I agree, is a bit heavy, even for Bumi's coat.
For Toby I only shampoo and condition, he doesn't really need the treatment.

I just saw that CC has a shampoo for black coat, I was thinking of buying it. I really love their products, they leave the dogs very silky and smelling great. But I have heard so many good things about Coat Handler that I want to give it a try.

Do you know what is the best place to buy it?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Carefulove said:


> Karen,
> 
> I bathe them every 2 wks and use the Intensive Treatment only every other time. I agree, is a bit heavy, even for Bumi's coat.
> For Toby I only shampoo and condition, he doesn't really need the treatment.
> ...


I usually buy from Cherrybrook.


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## Lsprick (Jul 8, 2010)

Carefulove said:


> For those of you who use Coat Handler, which one do you buy.
> 
> Right Now I am using CC Spectrum 10 shampoo and conditioner, as well as Spectrum 10 intensive treatment. I am happy with it, but I will never know how good CH is if I don't try it.
> 
> For those of you who have used both, which one do you prefer?


Zury, I have used CC White on White shampoo and their every day conditioner (forgot the name). I thought the shampoo was too drying, so next I tried Biogroom shampoo, conditioner and their silk coat treatment and am happy with those. I also use CC Ice on Ice grooming spray before i brush her. I like Biogroom's price point, too, a lot.

I don't need any products that build up her coat, it is nice and fluffy all on its own. I'm making a point not to rinse all the conditioner out of her coat during her bath. I think leaving some of it in helps condition her white hair, which may get dried out from the whitening shampoo.


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## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

Thank you Leslie.
Toby's breeder did recommend the BioGroom shampoo. I may give it a try as well.


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## CarolWCamelo (Feb 15, 2012)

*Total Newbie here! (Camellia and Carol)*

I'm very new here. Just found the forum a few days ago. I'm reading all over the forum, as much as I can.

Camellia came to me as a private rescue, on 16 August 2010. very beloved neighbor who has a Havanese recommended her groomer - how fortunate Camellia and I are, because this groomer is really wonderful. The groomer, Kate, is now not taking new clients, so I'm glad we got in before that happened!

Kate sees to the safety and comfort of the dogs; there are never more than two at once in her shop (unless more than one from one family). Because Camellia is terrified of all other dogs, even Havanese, and thinks the solution for her is to drive other dogs away (bark-bark-bark), things can get tricky, but somehow, Kate manages it so Camellia isn't barking!

Our last grooming, 24 January, a cute little (Bichon-ShihTzu?) was in a cage. Dog was much smaller than Camellia, who is HUGE for a Havanese - at a good weight, she's 8.6 Kg (she's stable at that weight - about 19 pounds).

I asked Kate, the first time we went, to clip Camellia down into a puppy cut, which she did. I'd been brushing constantly, and was losing the mat-battle. Lots of brush, thorns, pollen, around where I live. Camellia looks good to me, clipped down.

I wash her once a week with a special shampoo, and spray her after her coat is dry, and then spray once between baths, using a special shampoo and spray, DOUXO, which my vet prescribed for Camellia after she turned up with a rather severe case of atopy, which requires full-time antihistamines. This condition also had Camellia reverse-sneezing, really miserable. We've managed to get the reverse-sneezing down a lot, so now it's rare.

http://www.douxo.us/dermatology/douxo-dermatology-dogs-allergies-shampoo.html

Shorter version of that link:

http://tinyurl.com/6zvmrsr

If you look at the Product Data Sheets, you get instructions on using this stuff.

Camellia doesn't like to be washed, but she is very cooperative, all the same.

We've been using this stuff about 3.5 months. It is supposed to replace the missing skin barrier of phytosphingosines - the missing barrier being the cause of the constant environmental allergies. The DOUXO page explains it pretty well, if I remember right.

Camellia's coat is curly and thick, so the DOUXO people told me to use three times as much spray as they describe in their instructions. I've become fairly skilled in applying the spray. It takes about an hour to dry, as thickly as I apply it (just along the back, from whence it distributes itself).

Camellia does seem to find the shampoo and spray very soothing.

Luckily, this was not a pre-existing condition, so my vet insurance company (Trupanion) covered 90% of my first purchase, and I've just made a claim for a second. In Canada, it seems you can only get it from vets. I just told Trupanion this will be an ongoing refill expense, because my vet wants me to continue (forever) with this schedule - once-weekly baths, twice-weekly sprays. Sorry, Camellia - but it makes you feel a lot better!

Yeah, I know, Mummy, but I hate baths (00)

I know you do, Camellia, but you are very good in the bath. ;-^


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

HavaneseSoon said:


> Items have levels of ingredients, too much of something is always bad. There are products that say do not get into the eyes and some products that are made for the eyes.
> 
> It is just in how it is made. Look at human eye drops and you will be amazed at all the stuff that is in the ingredients.


 How do you know its okay for a dogs eye? Did you look it up? 
PS I goofed I wanted to know if anyone had used Pure Paws H2O shampooe and conditioner?


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