# How much grooming is really necessary?



## jmombo (Jul 7, 2013)

I understand the importance of frequent brushing to avoid matting, bathing for cleanliness and keeping the nails trimmed. But I adore the look of the long haired hav and don't have issues with the time it would take to maintain it. So, I'm wondering just how much grooming, beyond those 3 things, is REALLY necessary. Is there anything wrong with going au natural with hair on ears/feet/bangs? Does anyone just leave them be?
Thanks


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

I keep Whimsy in a long coat..I do trim the hair around her paws and keep them round looking and also on the bottom of her feet between the pad a bit. It gives her more traction on floors with out carpeting. I have never pulled hair from the inside of her ear, as there really isn't much at all. I choose to keep her in bangs to see her eyes, but that is certainly not something everybody does. A lot of dogs have long hair that covers the eyes but it is put in a top knot. I also trim around her butt area a little bit. I have never trimmed the hair on her body. Well, to answer your question, I guess the things I do aren't REALLY necessary, it is just up to the owner as to how much beyond brushing and bathing and nail trims that you want to do.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I had to shave Emmie in Jan 2013 as she was blowing coat but since then I haven't cut her hair at all. Her coat is getting longer and so far it's going pretty well. She gets bathed every 2-3 weeks, nail trim once a month, brushed every other day, and leaves and stuff pulled off her legs every day. I also wipe or wash her paws whenever she comes inside our house. I wish I had time to groom her more but I don't. She still looks really cute to me even when she's shaggy and disheveled!! I love the look of the longer hair, especially on her feet and face. I've also found that her eyes are less weepy and there's less eye **** to clean up now that her bangs have grown out. And when she's not wearing a top knot (which is most of the time) people tell me she's looks like a miniature sheep dog. LOL -Jeanne-


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## DebW (Jun 11, 2013)

Emmie's adorable!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Thanks Deb! Emmie's a bossy little (8 lb) firecracker with lots of energy. She's always up for a long walk, run, fetch, playtime with her BFFs...I love her so much.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Gotta trim the feet a bit, otherwise it gets really dirty quickly, and matted between the pads, and gotta trim a little bit around the bum, otherwise the poop sticks a bit (i just trim with the scissors once a month or so, or whenever she starts to get "cling-ons"). I don't do anything with the head other than a top knot from time to time or when i want to dress her up. However, it is a fair bit of work to keep them mat free and clean. A lot of us thing it's worth the effort, so if you like the look then go for it!


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

I have never personally groomed (washed and cut) Django. I'm too much of a chicken. The groomer comes every 5 weeks. We keep him in a puppy cut. I brush his teeth every day, check under the hood every time he does his thing, I clean his eyes every day and sometimes 2x a day and he gets his nails trimmed at the vet every 6 weeks. I try to wipe his paws after a walk when I remember, I brush him every couple of days and am trying to get my fingers in his ears to pull hair, it's a slow process and he's not a fan of it. He's pretty low maintenance. He's also a clean dog. He's not a digger and he doesn't roll around in anything gross while we are on our walks.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Django is so cute and I'm jealous that he doesn't like to roll in stink spots. Emmie loves doing that and when she sees other dogs rolling around in something she runs over for her turn. So far I haven't seen or smelled anything too gross on the grass she's rolled in but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. -Jeanne-


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

The hardest part is getting through the adolescent coat change, where for some dogs mats form right before your eyes. Brushing once every 3 days is not going to cut it for preventing getting shaved (for the difficult coats) and prevention is key. Best to fully brush and comb twice a day for that period. I had a difficult time with my dog and I'm a groomer. Now that she's an adult and the summer I can get away with combing just twice a week. Many people on the forum keep their dogs in long coat, with variations in bangs, eye trims, feet legs belly and sanitary. It's a personal choice.


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## jmombo (Jul 7, 2013)

atsilvers27 said:


> The hardest part is getting through the adolescent coat change, where for some dogs mats form right before your eyes. Brushing once every 3 days is not going to cut it for preventing getting shaved (for the difficult coats) and prevention is key. Best to fully brush and comb twice a day for that period. I had a difficult time with my dog and I'm a groomer. Now that she's an adult and the summer I can get away with combing just twice a week. Many people on the forum keep their dogs in long coat, with variations in bangs, eye trims, feet legs belly and sanitary. It's a personal choice.


Thank you to everyone for your input, it's very helpful! Also,atsilvers, I saw your dematting video and want to thank you for that as well. I plan to do what grooming needs to be done, on my own. I am sure that it will take some patience and practice, but I know I'll get a little better each time.


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## RoutineAvocado (Feb 6, 2013)

We do all our own minimalist grooming. Bathe about once a week because she walks multiple times a day in the city and gets icky. Rains a lot. Also use ear cleaning wipes after bath. Using a battery-powered mustache trimmer, we clip out the hair between her toes about once a month and a little around her butt. We also clip nails about once a month but are taking her to a workshop next month where we'll get a nail board and she will learn how to file her own nails. We'll see how that goes! Keeping my expectations low.  I've rounded the hair on her paws once to even them up, but it doesn't grow there very fast.

On a daily basis, we pick out any eye crusties and comb her out. But she doesn't really NEED it every day. We brush her teeth a few times a week.

This sounds like a lot when I write it all out but it really doesn't take long. The groomers around here are a pain and expensive. And we'd still have to do baths and comb outs between visits.

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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

i have this book and it's really helpful.

http://www.havanesefanciers.com/nosetotailbook/

it's a whole book on how to groom your havanese.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

I agree re 'Nose to Tail', it's really good; so is "Click for Grooming" by Karen McCarthy (amazon.com have it, where it says it's by Kay Laurence - it's published by Kay's Learning About Dogs group, and I think Kay edited it, but anyway, it's helped me a lot.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Jack is 3 years old and he is in a long groom. The belly is shaved (tender areas to comb when there are tangles). I do trim the paw pads about once month or so, so they have better traction when walking or running. 

Jack gets his corners of his inner eyes wiped each day to control the tear staining.

I am letting his bangs grow out, so no more trimming around the eyes.

I can comb out Jack about once every 3 days or so. When folks says brush out their Havs, I sure hope they are meaning combing out. A brush will not get out the tangles/mats. Line combing is a must to learn. 

Dexter is in a shorter groom, when he gets a bath maybe once a month, he gets his comb out the day before. Dexter will be 5 years old in October. Dexter hates grooming, so he has finally gotten a break. I probably only clip him down maybe twice a year.

The first two years is intense grooming...you are getting the Havs used to being groomed just in case you are going to fight out the "Blowing Coat" stage. This stage the tangles and mats are from hell. Mats appear before your eyes just after you just finish combing. 

So, to answer your question....it really depends how old your Hav is and how much you are willing to put into your grooming.


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## DebW (Jun 11, 2013)

RoutineAvocado (you need to explain that screen name some time), are there specific wipes meant for cleaning the ears? I didn't know there was such a thing.


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## Ruth4Havs (May 13, 2013)

We just keep it simple, nothing too fancy. Comb every day, brush teeth every day:brushteeth:, clean out eye boogies once in a while. We bathe once a week:bathbaby:, and clean his ears after the bath with a moist/damp washcloth. Oh yes, and clip nails when too long.


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## RoutineAvocado (Feb 6, 2013)

DebW said:


> RoutineAvocado (you need to explain that screen name some time), are there specific wipes meant for cleaning the ears? I didn't know there was such a thing.


I found the ear wipes at our local independent pet store. Earth bath brand, I think. They work well and are very gentle (non-medicated).

Screen name explanation: "routine" describes my personality and organization obsession. "Avocado" is a play on the French word for attorney, which is what I do all day when not obsessing about my pup. I'm an orderly law nerd, hence: routine avocado. And I eat a lot of avocados so that's a bonus. Bummer that they're toxic to pups.

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## RoutineAvocado (Feb 6, 2013)

Follow up on the nail trimming class I mentioned: it was great! There were two parts. First was teaching her to scratch on a board covered in sand paper. This will replace clipping the front claws if we do it occasionally. It took her awhile to catch on but now she loves it! The second part was nail clipper desensitization because we still have to clip the dewclaw and maybe the back nails if the city cement doesn't naturally keep them short enough. That's going to be a slower process.

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