# Will I regret trimming this…?



## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Jolene has sweet little eyes, but you can almost never see them (especially in pictures) because of the hair in front of them. It sticks up at a diagonal, but is not the hair closest to the eye— a bit closer to the nose— so I’m hoping that if I trimmed it, it’s not the kind that would poke her as it grows out. It’s also the only hair that has any tear staining, so wouldn’t mind getting it out of the way for that reason…. Any thoughts?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

If you start, you will have to do it continually. And it will only look good RIGHT when you first do it. While you don’t think it will poke her, that’s because it is is soft and curved now. If you cut it, it will stiffen, and it WILL get pokey. 

It’s up to you, of course, but I wouldn’t doit. It DOES get heavy enough to lie down, but only if you let it! Ducky is 5 months and is JUST getting to the point where it is BEGINNING to stay down for a LITTLE while after I groom him!

What he usually looks like:









What he looks like right after his hair his done… for a LITTLE while! LOL! It’s a process!:


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Never tried it so this is NOT a recommendation, but wondering if you could put a little bit of hair gel on it to "hold" it down a bit?


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

That’s exactly how Sundance looks when his hair is short! If I understand what you mean, about trimming just a tiny bit of hair, it’s really personal preference, and the more you cut the more maintenance can result. As long as you aren’t shaving it, or cutting between the eyes, i think you can experiment a little and see if you like it or if it grows too fast and bothers you. It’s not the same as dealing with the aftermath of a dramatic shave between the eyes as it grows out  Keep in mind, longer hair is heavier and lays down a little better, so you might want to consider how long you’ll keep her and wait a little longer before you give it a try.

I would definitely leave all of the hair between the eyes unless you plan on trimming it frequently. Tying it back is actually lower maintenance than cutting it, once you learn how to do it quickly, except for people that take their Havanese in for very frequent grooming. Sundance’s face is shaped so that even if his hair is short it will always fall in his face. I have grown to love his little topknot, and his floppy hair, regardless of the length of his coat.

I personally don’t mind a tiny bit of thinning below the eye closer to the nose, directed down, with scissors. It’s more subtle than a “scoop” with trimmers. It grows out a little easier and isn’t as difficult to maintain. I dont like how cutting out tear stains changes the shape of the haircut on Sundance’s face, but I’ve done it a couple of times. Sundance’s hair is thick so even when it’s long it tends to pile up and block his eyes. Sometimes it’s thinned just a tiny bit underneath and it lies lower. But he has an adult coat that is more dense. I don’t think it would work well on a puppy with a lightweight, short coat. It might even make it worse, since short hair can push long and create volume.

Basically my opinion is yes, there are smaller thing you can try besides cutting between the eyes, but i think I’d give it just a little more time.

If you do a double top knot, one lower almost between the eyes and one above, her hair is long enough to keep a lot of it out of her eyes. I have also done one top knot with a teeny tiny clip a little lower to hold the hair growing up from between the eyes.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Also want to add, hair in their eyes doesn’t seem to stop any fun  It bothers DH more than it bothers Sundance. He can play just as well and barks less out the window, haha. I actually think Sundance’s vision isn’t that great, even for a dog.


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## GoWithTheFlo (Oct 11, 2018)

My preference is to leave the nose/ corner eye hair to flatten down as it grows or you will be forever trimming it to stop it scratching their eyes.

Flo is a pet so I _do _trim her a fringe above her eyes (I think you call this bangs) but that’s because I am not particularly dexterous and a top knot wouldn’t be my forte😘


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> Never tried it so this is NOT a recommendation, but wondering if you could put a little bit of hair gel on it to "hold" it down a bit?


You CAN, and I do for a lesson. The problem with doing this on a daily basis is that it gets gunky and builds up, so you end up having to bathe it out VERY frequently. Here is Ducky with "Sit'N'Stay" (Doggy hair gel) on his face before it was quite long enough for a top knot!


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Thank you all for the feedback! I will let it be for now, and just try to do my best with it until it starts to lay flatter! 

We had a super dramatic evening here after a lovely day: Jolene’s first hike (in the sling of course), and a nice dinner with friends which we never do on a Sunday night, she wriggled out of Rob’s arms coming in from outside (trying not to be mad at him and use it as an important reminder that you have to hold her tightly because she is so squirmy sometimes!) She fell hard on her side, though thankfully on carpet… she was super upset for a minute and then seemed to shake it off, but she was limping a little on her back leg 😢 She didn’t squeal at all when I felt her body all over, and didn’t seem too upset, but just wanted to go to bed, when 5 minutes earlier she’d been in full on wild barracuda mode. We didn’t want to take any chances so decided to take her to the emergency vet to get looked at— I wanted to at least be sure all of her vitals were okay.

She was seen eventually and vet said her vitals were all fine, and there was no obvious fracture— and that she didn’t show any discomfort when mobility was tested or when her leg was felt all over. They also did a scan for anything internal, and said she looked ok. They think it’s soft tissue, and that a few days of rest will take care of it. So we are keeping an eye on her, and will take her in for an x-ray if she continues to favor it after a couple of days— right now she’s intermittently putting weight on it, and seems pretty normal otherwise. Does that sound right to you all or wouod you suggest trying to get her in for an x-ray regardless?

Im so frustrated because I know accidents happen, but we have been obsessive about not letting her jump down from things (except she loves to climb on her crate and jump into her bed, but that’s a very soft landing). She uses Charlie’s ramps for the couch and outside, and I intend to keep that up. So just really, really hoping that she doesn’t suffer any long term effects from this, and thankful that it wasn’t worse in terms of where or how she fell. It was SO scary!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I’m sorry.  These things DO happen. Puppies are squirmy. I’m sure your husband feels terrible enough without being reminded.

If it were my puppy, I think I would ask my PC vet for a consult with an orthopedist just to be safe. Just find out what they have to say. The problem is that if there is a hairline crack through a growth plate, it can lead to uneven growth and a really crooked leg that you don’t see for months, even though she stops limping after a few days.

I don’t know what they can do about it, but MAYBE there is something they can do something if they know about it early. And if there IS no hairline fracture, you will have peace of mind that she really IS fine rather than waiting until she is full grown to see if she has problems with it later…


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

krandall said:


> I’m sorry.  These things DO happen. Puppies are squirmy. I’m sure your husband feels terrible enough without being reminded.
> 
> If it were my puppy, I think I would ask my PC vet for a consult with an orthopedist just to be safe. Just find out what they have to say. The problem is that if there is a hairline crack through a growth plate, it can lead to uneven growth and a really crooked leg that you don’t see for months, even though she stops limping after a few days.
> 
> I don’t know what they can do about it, but MAYBE there is something they can do something if they know about it early. And if there IS no hairline fracture, you will have peace of mind that she really IS fine rather than waiting until she is full grown to see if she has problems with it later…


Appreciate that…. We’re going to call her normal vet in the morning and see what we can do. I suppose it can’t really _hurt_ to get an x-ray under normal circumstances (and we got insurance on day 1 thankfully), I just really wanted to het her out of there ASAP last night because I was worried about her winding up with KC or something from the emergency vet! And youre totally right, I’d probably be worrying about it for months so it’s better to address now! So grateful for you @krandall and this forum! ❤


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

krandall said:


> I’m sure your husband feels terrible enough without being reminded.


oh he does for sure… my scolding is purely in my head 🤣


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## LeleRF (Feb 18, 2021)

LWalks said:


> Thank you all for the feedback! I will let it be for now, and just try to do my best with it until it starts to lay flatter!
> 
> We had a super dramatic evening here after a lovely day: Jolene’s first hike (in the sling of course), and a nice dinner with friends which we never do on a Sunday night, she wriggled out of Rob’s arms coming in from outside (trying not to be mad at him and use it as an important reminder that you have to hold her tightly because she is so squirmy sometimes!) She fell hard on her side, though thankfully on carpet… she was super upset for a minute and then seemed to shake it off, but she was limping a little on her back leg 😢 She didn’t squeal at all when I felt her body all over, and didn’t seem too upset, but just wanted to go to bed, when 5 minutes earlier she’d been in full on wild barracuda mode. We didn’t want to take any chances so decided to take her to the emergency vet to get looked at— I wanted to at least be sure all of her vitals were okay.
> 
> ...


Aww, gosh I’m sorry Lisa! We for sure have had some similar scary _almost_ incidents with Mr. wiggly pants Chase though he has been settling down and maturing a bit more in the last few weeks. I think I’d also err on the side of caution and check in with my regular vet, and knowing my worrywart self would push for an X-Ray if it was even a consideration. Good luck to you and sweet little JoJo. ❤ Keep us posted!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

LWalks said:


> Thank you all for the feedback! I will let it be for now, and just try to do my best with it until it starts to lay flatter!
> 
> We had a super dramatic evening here after a lovely day: Jolene’s first hike (in the sling of course), and a nice dinner with friends which we never do on a Sunday night, she wriggled out of Rob’s arms coming in from outside (trying not to be mad at him and use it as an important reminder that you have to hold her tightly because she is so squirmy sometimes!) She fell hard on her side, though thankfully on carpet… she was super upset for a minute and then seemed to shake it off, but she was limping a little on her back leg 😢 She didn’t squeal at all when I felt her body all over, and didn’t seem too upset, but just wanted to go to bed, when 5 minutes earlier she’d been in full on wild barracuda mode. We didn’t want to take any chances so decided to take her to the emergency vet to get looked at— I wanted to at least be sure all of her vitals were okay.
> 
> She was seen eventually and vet said her vitals were all fine, and there was no obvious fracture— and that she didn’t show any discomfort when mobility was tested or when her leg was felt all over. They also did a scan for anything internal, and said she looked ok. They think it’s soft tissue, and that a few days of rest will take care of it. So we are keeping an eye on her, and will take her in for an x-ray if she continues to favor it after a couple of days— right now she’s intermittently putting weight on it, and seems pretty normal otherwise. Does that sound right to you all or wouod you suggest trying to get her in for an x-ray regardless?


Oh goodness,,,puppies are so wiggly. Truffles really gave me a scare when she was six months old. I was watching her come down the stairs and when she stepped on the hardwood I heard her cry. She would not put any weight on her front leg. I was frantic and called the specialty hospital in our area. Because she was a puppy they said to bring her in. X-rays were done and everything appeared normal. The vet said growth plate could possibly be injured, but she seemed ok. I guess Truffles just landed wrong and it probably scared her. Anyway...five years forward and Scout started holding his back leg up. When we went to Scout's appointment I was surprised to see the same vet that had examined Truffles. Scout had a meniscus and two ACL repairs by Dr. Sharon Ullman at SAGE in RWC. She took wonderful care of Scout. 😊

Jolene is the cutest little thing! 🥰 Love the little hair sprouts. Truffles has never had the hair in the corner of her eyes cut. It's still a challenge to see her eyes with eyelashes and flyaways. I found a gel that holds well and doesn't cause any stickiness later, SHOW Picture Perfect. I smells like pineapple. 😊


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I wanted to mention that I suggest that when handling young puppies off the ground, they should ALWAYS have a harness on. Teach everyone in the family that while carrying the puppy, keep one finger hooked though a strap of the harness at all times. Then, no matter how much they wiggle, they really can’t get completely out of your hands. They might be momentarily hanging upside down by their harness, (HOW would I know that?  ) but they won’t hit the floor!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Lisa so sorry to hear about the mishap with the little one! I hope all is well.


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## GoWithTheFlo (Oct 11, 2018)

Sorry to hear about Jolene’s misadventure, hopefully it will just be short term.

Unfortunately mistakes are always going to happen, that’s life! I’m not saying that we should go around behaving recklessly but I do mean try to be kind to yourself when it does, and try to make sure you change something so it can’t as easily happen again😘

Have I ever dropped my daughter or Flo???…no I have not👼😇

Have I ever shut my daughter’s hand in her bedroom door when she was younger and then pulled it tight because I thought it was just something hanging on the door in the way???😳😳😳😳😳
Or managed to make Flo bleed when I’ve quicked her whilst nail trimming???🩸🩸🩸

Ahem where is the tumbleweed emoji when you need it🙀


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

GoWithTheFlo said:


> Sorry to hear about Jolene’s misadventure, hopefully it will just be short term.
> 
> Unfortunately mistakes are always going to happen, that’s life! I’m not saying that we should go around behaving recklessly but I do mean try to be kind to yourself when it does, and try to make sure you change something so it can’t as easily happen again😘
> 
> ...


I have to say anyone who has never quicken a nail, hasn't clipped many nails...


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Thank you all for the kind words. Called her vet first thing (they’re closed Mondays) and they saw her earlier today. Our vet also does rehab, and did a very thorough exam of range of motion etc, and couldn’t discern anything wrong, but she agreed that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Her concern was getting Jolene still enough (without sedation) to catch the little tiny bones clearly, but they managed to get a pretty clear picture. She took a look and said that to her eye it looked fine, but that she wouldn’t trust herself to catch something really tiny so sending it for radiology review. We should hear back tomorrow!

Oh and a size update: at her first vet visit exactly 2 weeks ago (and 10 weeks and 2 days) she weighed 2.76 lbs. Today she weighed in at 3.34 lbs… so she’s gained a little under 10 oz in that time. She definitely seems bigger, but I still can’t get over how tiny she is! Meanwhile, my mom’s Hav puppy (who is about a week younger) weighed in at 6.2 lb on Friday!


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## GoWithTheFlo (Oct 11, 2018)

That all sounds Lisa positive😊. Let’s hope there’s even more good news coming along tomorrow!

Awww she is just a tiny little pocket rocket to love💕


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yay! That all sounds very positive, and a real weight off your mind!


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Just got radiology report back: no sign of any injury to growth plates or joints, so they suspect soft tissue injury which should heal on its own! If the lameness persists for more than a week, the vet suggests another x-ray, with sedation-- they weren't able to get every possible view because she's a wriggly little puppy, but did get the main ones to be concerned about, as the vet didn't think sedating her was called for at this point. So fingers crossed that it just goes away on its own-- she certainly doesn't seemed bothered by it at all, while she's still favoring a bit, she has a tendency to occasionally take a few steps just on her front feet only (I will try to catch this on video at some point, it's hilarious), so three 'good' legs doesn't seem to be slowing her down.... Thanks for all the well wishes!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

What a relief! And SO good that you knew enough to check it out thoroughly rather than just waiting and hoping for the best!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

LWalks said:


> Thank you all for the feedback! I will let it be for now, and just try to do my best with it until it starts to lay flatter!
> 
> We had a super dramatic evening here after a lovely day: Jolene’s first hike (in the sling of course), and a nice dinner with friends which we never do on a Sunday night, she wriggled out of Rob’s arms coming in from outside (trying not to be mad at him and use it as an important reminder that you have to hold her tightly because she is so squirmy sometimes!) She fell hard on her side, though thankfully on carpet… she was super upset for a minute and then seemed to shake it off, but she was limping a little on her back leg 😢 She didn’t squeal at all when I felt her body all over, and didn’t seem too upset, but just wanted to go to bed, when 5 minutes earlier she’d been in full on wild barracuda mode. We didn’t want to take any chances so decided to take her to the emergency vet to get looked at— I wanted to at least be sure all of her vitals were okay.
> 
> ...





krandall said:


> I wanted to mention that I suggest that when handling young puppies off the ground, they should ALWAYS have a harness on. Teach everyone in the family that while carrying the puppy, keep one finger hooked though a strap of the harness at all times. Then, no matter how much they wiggle, they really can’t get completely out of your hands. They might be momentarily hanging upside down by their harness, (HOW would I know that?  ) but they won’t hit the floor!


This!!! and NOT just for puppies. Perry jumped out of my arms when he was over a year - which is how he first tore his CCL. And even now I always hook a finger through his harness because as soon as I get close to the ground to put him down he's all squirmy and WANTS down NOW.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

LWalks said:


> Just got radiology report back: no sign of any injury to growth plates or joints, so they suspect soft tissue injury which should heal on its own! If the lameness persists for more than a week, the vet suggests another x-ray, with sedation-- they weren't able to get every possible view because she's a wriggly little puppy, but did get the main ones to be concerned about, as the vet didn't think sedating her was called for at this point. So fingers crossed that it just goes away on its own-- she certainly doesn't seemed bothered by it at all, while she's still favoring a bit, she has a tendency to occasionally take a few steps just on her front feet only (I will try to catch this on video at some point, it's hilarious), so three 'good' legs doesn't seem to be slowing her down.... Thanks for all the well wishes!


I'm planning an update on Perry in his leg thread, but trust me (from personal very recent experience!) they have NO problem on 3 (or even 2) legs!! Perry is being very stubborn about using his front leg post-surgery. The PT vet says that there is no reason for him not to, and he will use it when he's not paying attention (like when he's playing) but 2 1/2 weeks post cast-removal and he's still completely happy to run around on 3 legs rather than use the 4th.

Perry hasn't really gone around on flat ground on his 2 front feet... but pre-surgery he would regularly run down the stairs and do multiple steps on his front 2 feet.

Lately while Perry is hesitant to use his front left leg, he HAS on more than 1 occasion decided to mark (when we're outside) by lifting is back right leg WHILE still keeping the front left up. He's not perfected it yet, but he can balance on the two diagonal legs for a few seconds at a time.


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## LeleRF (Feb 18, 2021)

Aww so happy to hear the good news for little JoJo and a bonus update on Perry!


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