# Recommendations for Grooming and Supplies



## Jneling (Dec 8, 2020)

Zoe is almost 4 months old and while not ready to be groomed yet, we did have to have some matting removed at her last vet appointment. Any suggestions for scissors or clippers for the occasional clean up at home? I would imagine we will be keeping her hair closer to a puppy cut.
Also her hair has been extremely frizzy recently -- no doubt the dry cold and getting a blow dry after bath twice a week. Anything to put on her hair to smooth it? I was reading about the grooming sprays -- will those help? I try to brush her once a day as well as the bath every 3-5 days (which means a blow dry that often). She definitely gets poop stuck in the hair around her butt -- several times a week, I end up just washing her butt to get the poop (when we know it is stuck to her).

Thanks!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Well, mats are generally removed with careful combing, not with scissors or clippers. And daily grooming should also mostly be combing. That is probably what is leading to leaving mats behind. A brush just won't find, let alone remove mats from a Havanese coat.

A good sharp set of hair cutting shears from Sally's will work fine, and they are cheap. Good clippers are expensive, and cheap ones pull and do a terrible job. So make sure you really will use them enough to want to invest in a set. Andis makes good ones.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Are the ends frizzy or overall? If it’s the ends, I find they get frizzy when I’m harder on his coat and it’s sort of like split ends, so a grooming spray when brushing helps with that. If it’s frizzy all over, you might need a different conditioner.

If her coat is dry-frizzy you may also be able to manage it by backing off baths a bit. Mine also needed baths more frequently but twice a week isn’t especially common. Mine does best around every 5 days now but usually has to live with once a week. There were times as a puppy when he needed more frequent baths and times when we stretched it. Grooming spray with the daily brushing kept him pretty fresh. 

If part of the reason for the more frequent baths is poop stuck on her butt, trimming there can help. But several times a week sounds like a lot to me. When mine had poop getting stuck often it was too soft. Now his poop is more firm and it doesn’t happen often at all. Maybe keep an eye on her poop? If it isn’t diarrhea but isn’t pretty firm, it might still be something to look into. Mine had some digestive issues and had trouble with diarrhea. After it was resolved, anything seemed good to me in comparison. But over time, other small adjustments did help, even when I didn’t know there was room for improvement.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

If you are planning on taking her to a groomer in the future I would suggest taking her soon to start getting her used to it. Molly’s first trip to the groomer was just for a bath, nail trim and sanitary trim. This gets them used to being handled by someone other than you, in a strange environment, and will give a level of comfort for future grooming appointments.


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## Jneling (Dec 8, 2020)

Do you mean Sally Hansen shears or Sally’s beauty? Also, any recommendations for dryers or grooming sprays?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Jneling said:


> Do you mean Sally Hansen shears or Sally's beauty? Also, any recommendations for dryers or grooming sprays?


Sally's Beauty Is FINE. Just a cheap pair.

Your regular people hair dryer, as long as it has a low heat setting is fine for a puppy. If you are going to keep your dog in show coat you will probably want a fancier dryer later. But a regular human dryer with a "warm" setting is FINE for a puppy or a dog in a puppy cut.

I think most people here, including me, make our own grooming spray... a combination of concentrated CC Ice on Ice, water, and our favorite conditioner. My favorite conditioner is CC Spectrum Ten.


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

Here are a few of my Favorite Things. Chris Christianson has the ultimate combs at a High Cost. I bought two of them because they are highly recommended. I, also, purchased an Andis comb which is CHEAP! About $9 compared to $52 bucks. I personally cannot tell the difference in these combs but I of course use the expensive CC Combs because I have them. 
*
The CC 006 Butter Comb for the Face is a PERFECT for using all over the body on a puppy*. It's especially good for picking out matts. Patti is almost 3-years and I now use this comb on her face, feet and to pick out mats. The CC 005 the larger comb I use to comb her body. The brush is good for well....brushing, but it does not get out matts. You don't need a brush for a puppy.

I like using Thinning Scissors on difficult matts. You can cut through the middle of them and then - sometimes - comb them out if they are not too matted. As mentioned, you can buy scissors at a Sally's Beauty Supply and get Andis combs at Pet Co. (I think) Thinning Scissors are good for shorting the hair on the dogs Butt Behind

I used my hair dryer on Patti until she got older and purchased a cheap Pet Dryer later. I occasionally bath Patti and do some minor grooming. If your dog is inside the house most of the time and you only take her out to walk and pee/poop I doubt she'll need a weekly bath. She can probably go a month if not outside. I have a fenced yard and Patti is in and out of the house all day and into the evening and I have her bathed every other week. I cut back from once a week because of the cost.

Patti has been going to a groomer since she was 10 weeks old. Its! SUPER IMPORTANT to comb your puppy's hair everyday, maybe twice a day because matts are a huge! problem.

Sometimes people have to shave their dogs because matts at the base of the skin and be impossible to comb out and cause painful skin problems.

Now that Patti has matured her hair has matured. It's gotten prettier as she's gotten older. It's, also, easier to manage even when it's kind of longish. It doesn't matt as bad but you still have to comb the hair frequently during the week. Three or four times a week from my experience.

Check Out these You Tube Videos on how to Groom and Bath Tiny Toys ... A Korean Groomer - Shu and Tree ( I want this Groomer :grin2


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