# shaved! how long...



## haley

How long does it take for a puppy's hair to grow after being SHAVED! Reggie was too matted to save and the groomer totally shaved my cute little fluff ball!  My fault I know for not keeping up with brushing especially after baths, but I miss all his hair!!!


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## Tessa's Mommy

Hate to tell you this, but a groomer cut Cooper's hair to 1/2 inch long one time (without my permission). I didn't need to have him groomed or clipped again for 10 months and the fur on his ears has still not grown as long as it was before this so called groomer got a hold of him. This was two years ago.

He was still cute though like all Havs are, whether long haired or short so I'm sure your pup still looks great.


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## haley

oh no! that is sad news! of course he is still a cutie, but he barely even looks like a hav anymore with what she did to him!!!


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## krandall

It depends on the dog. Some grow slowly, but there's a Hav that goes to our training center whose owner let him get matted. He was shaved nekkid in Feb., and he's getting nice and fluffy again already.

Groomers do make all sorts of dreadful mistakes when people ask for puppy cuts, but you really can't blame a groomer for shaving a matted dog. It's just not fair to the dog to try to comb out a coat that is really matted right down to the skin. It's a shame how many people let their Havs get this way, especially when they are blowing coat. I'm sure most don't mean to let it happen, but just don't realize HOW MUCH work it is to maintain a coat while they are going through that phase. (or for that matter, just daily maintenance)

We have a lot of people coming to our training center now with young Havs. These are nice dogs from good breeders, but the new owners are CLUELESS about coat care. They are totally shocked when a groomer tells them the dog needs to be cut down. A common response is, "But I brush him every week!" 

Kodi has an easy, silky coat as an adult, and I STILL groom him daily. It only takes about 10 minutes, but it needs to be done every day to maintain it at its best. If I didn't care about losing more hair, I could probably (now, as an adult) go several days in between grooming, and just remove the knots that had built up then. I prefer to prevent mats than to remove them.

Even with a silky type coat, I had to COMPLETELY comb Kodi out a minimum of twice a day while he was blowing coat, and it took a lot longer, because I found mats each time. People with dogs with more profuse undercoat, or more cottony coats find that their pups mat as soon as they look at them!

There's nothing wrong in deciding to by-pass blowing coat by putting the dog in a short puppy cut until they are past the blowing coat ages (usually the worst is over by 18 months or so) even if your long-term goal is to keep the dog in full coat. But it's better, if possible, to make that decision BEFORE the pup is full of mats so they don't need to be shaved to the skin.


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## haley

yes, I take full responsibility. I told the groomer that if taking out the mats would hurt him not to do it, I didn't want the first experience at the groomer to be a negative one. I have learned my lesson, Reggie is my first dog ever so I am learning as I go along and I clearly need to make more time for brushing when his hair starts to grow. Thanks for the info!!!


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## krandall

haley said:


> yes, I take full responsibility. I told the groomer that if taking out the mats would hurt him not to do it, I didn't want the first experience at the groomer to be a negative one. I have learned my lesson, Reggie is my first dog ever so I am learning as I go along and I clearly need to make more time for brushing when his hair starts to grow. Thanks for the info!!!


Sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad! And that is exactly the problem these other people have had... they are all AT LEAST first-time Hav owners, if not first-time dog owners. They didn't know any better. One was actually brushing her dog every day, but just sort of "fluffing" the surface with a brush, without ever realizing that she never got down to the skin.

And you did just the right thing telling the groomer to clip him rather than hurt him with tons of dematting. His hair will grow back, and YOU can decide how long or short you want it to be! Havs are adorable in puppy cuts too, and lots of people just don't WANT to deal with a long coat. The nice thing is that YOU get to choose!:biggrin1:


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## haley

No need to apologize! All of your info is always very helpful!!!


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## Thumper

I've wondered the same, but I'd imagine, like people, some grow quicker than others. My hair grows SOOOO slowly.

I agree, its better than a brutal dematting and it looks like its going to be a hot summer 

Kara


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## Lizzie'sMom

Lizzie has never been shaved, but her bangs were cut a few days before Christmas and the top of her nose shaved 6 weeks before that. Her nose is now grown back pretty well and her bangs can just now go into a topknot. If you think you want a long coat you should get a comb and be sure to get him used to being combed every day. The comb seems to work better for me. I felt like the brush was only getting the top of the coat. I, like Karen, only spend about 10 minutes a day with Lizzie. She will have a new mat somewhere every day, but I spray it down and comb it out. Lizzie runs to the couch or chair when I get the combs out, but she tolerates me fussing with her pretty well. And I have resorted to cutting some of the mats that show up on her feet.


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## TilliesMom

I had kept up with Tillie's coat very well, BUT blowing coat hit my girl hard and fast! She is a very cottony and I was spending 3 hrs a DAY grooming her... so I CHOSE to have her cut down, this was on March 30th and now, 2 months later she is starting to get fluffy again! BUT if her matts ever get super bad again, I wouldn't hesitant to shave her down again. I think in a lot of ways, I was a lot more relaxed when her coat was short and I loved being able to FEEL her skin and give her a full body rub!! And I "let" her go and play harder without worrying about the matting I would have to deal with after!! Also, her nose was shaved, up near her eyes and that is growing out SO slowly... and there is just nothing I can do right now, but wait. sigh.... needless to say, I do ALL of her grooming now! :clap2:
here are 2 pics, one of her on the day she was shaved (my son said she looked like a "bobble head" LOL), and then one taken 2 days ago, you can see how much she has grown in 2 months, not a ton, but enough to be fluffy again!
OH, also, be SURE to keep up (or start) grooming and combing every day even when the coat is short so they are still in that habit as it grows and also so you can tackle any matts as they start! Tillie's hair is maybe an inch and a 1/2 now and she definitly gets matts already! crazy!!


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## sashamom

A suggestion for you would be to brush him a little very day even now so he will be accepting of the routine when he really needs it. Now would be good for a soft brush because it would feel good and not pull. Linda & Sasha (Sasha will let me groom her back area but fights the legs and tummy so I speak from experience about getting them to accept the grooming.) LOL


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