# Often do you comb out your Hav?



## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Please be very honest. If you have an unusual schedule for combing out, please share with us.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

It doesn't seem to take me any longer when I do it once a week as when I did it once a day soooo I have chosen the easy way! Abby has always hated to have her hair combed and brushed so dealing with her is a lot harder than the actual combing. The only time I did her hair every day was when she was blowing coat - now it is pretty much a breeze. Her hair is not exceptionally thick so I think that helps!


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Prior to her recent cut, I would brush/comb Tori daily. She has a profuse, wavy, cottony coat that tangles easily and picks up everything it touches. Now that she's cut short, I've reduced brushing to every other, or every second, day.


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Evye, right now I am doing it twice daily (blowing coat). In the morning just a quick one in the matting-prone areas. I do a more thorough combing at night. Pretty much the same with Bentley because his hair is growing fast and furiously.


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## christie6104 (Apr 8, 2009)

I do it once a day while I'm watching tv. I am so fortunate because Lucky loves the attention (with the exception of me brushing his feet). And it is relaxing for me too!


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## Jennifer Clevenger (Jun 26, 2008)

I have four dogs in full coat with only one being shown right now. I brush Alana every two to three days. The rest I brush out once a week. Their coats are so easy.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

So, once the blowing of the coat is completed, the grooming is not so intense?


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Yes, Linda, it should get easier. It will never be as easy as the puppy coat was, but definitely easier than the blowing coat stage. Just pray Dexter's adult coat comes in straight and silky and, if so, you'll be on "easy street" right along w/Jennifer


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

When they were puppies, I groomed them every day. It really got them used to being groomed and they don't put up a fuss at all now.

But now that their adult coats are in, I find that they don't really need to be groomed so frequently anymore. I am kind of trying to figure out what the minimum is since I'm getting lazier. I can groom Scout every 4-5 days, although he starts to take on a "homeless dog" look by the 3rd day. Lincoln needs to be groomed about every 3-4 days, or I will pay for it with matts. They have completely different coat types.


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## HavaBaloo (Mar 24, 2009)

I find Baloo's coat is too think to comb, I need to get a new one with wider teeth. I brush him with a pin brush every day.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

I brush Bugsy every day, no excuses. He doesn't really mat, but he goes to the park twice a day and my poodles play with him a lot. I just don't want to take any chances with his coat and it's so easy when I do it every day.


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## Miss Paige (Apr 4, 2008)

I groom Paige & Frannie on Sundays-and poor Rommy man about every other week-he is really harder to comb/brush than the two girls in longer cuts. And they go to the groomers twice a month for the summer.

Pat (humom to)
Miss Paige
Mr Roman
Ms Frannie


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## fibtaylo (Jan 14, 2009)

Neither of my girls are big on being brushed, so when I first got them it was daily, now it is every 3 to 4 days. I am hoping they didn't like it because I didn't have a good brush and when I use my new CC wooden brush tonight, that they will just love it.


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## triona (Dec 22, 2008)

Since I cut Bess and Snugs short this summer it's been once a week. AND I am loving it. Before that it was every one to two days. 

Triona


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## havjump (Apr 18, 2007)

Cosmo is brushed every morning and I use a comb and brush every third day. 
He in a good boy on the grooming table, but like most Havs hate to have the feet brushed. 
I tell him top-knot time and he jumps up on the chair and onto the table, so he can't dislike it too much!


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Okay you guys are making me feel like I neglect my dogs <BG> Dash once a week maybe twice cause he gets tons of stuff on him. Dora once a week max. Usually just a pin brush and then full comb every other week. But seriously... daily???


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## Patti McNeil (Apr 20, 2009)

I brush and comb Toby daily, but he's only 4 months old and still has his puppy coat, so it's not a big deal. He just sits on my lap as I watch t.v. Plus, he's in a teddy bear cut.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Well, I like to do Tucker once a day, and it only takes about 5-10 minutes when I do that. But, it's been getting so that I brush/comb him more like every-other day. If I wait longer than that I can be sure of at least one mat. But, even that one mat is pretty easy to deal with. Usually.

You know, I just realized something that has been in the back of my head but I hadn't put words to yet. I can get away with brushing Tucker less when he's clean, by about double. Does that make sense? Right after his bath I can brush him every other day or even 3 days in between. After about a week, the timing gets closer together and moves to about daily.


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## The Fussy Puppy Gang (May 21, 2007)

I brush/comb Pepper every morning before I get out of bed. It's a ritual I've gotten in to lately and we both find it very relaxing. He lays across my legs and I comb out his face & head, then I brush out the rest of his body, first one side and then the other. It's very soothing for me and he seems to enjoy it, too.

He's also in a shorter coat these days so the whole process takes maybe 10 minutes. I just like him to start the day looking fresh. As much as he wrestles with the bigger dogs here it doesn't take long before his hair is a frumpled mess.

If he's gotten really messy during the day I'll brush him out before bed, too.


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## havjump (Apr 18, 2007)

I feel it depends on the undercoat. Many of my friends brush less because the coat is not so full.


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## BeverlyA (Oct 29, 2006)

It depends on the weather, if it's raining or snowing, if they're getting dirty, if they're wearing coats or sweaters. 
I enjoy grooming and would do it full time if I could, but I'm lucky to get each one completely groomed once a week, with maybe a good comb twice at the most.

I'm curious if anyone line brushes or combs their dogs?

Does anyone have any tips for working on the legs?

Beverly


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Beverly, I line brush/comb, usually, especially as his coat gets further away from his bath, (which is every 2 weeks.) I use a comb on his legs, then often lightly touch up with the slicker brush just on his feet.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I do line do them the once a week I do them. I just can't believe you guys do it daily. But then most of you only have one dog? I couldn't imagine combing all 3 out. I do think how much work you have to depends on the coat of your dog. Dora has a stick straight coat almost like that of a show shih tzu. It is awesome to have as an owner. Dash has a light weight wavy coat that just doesnt matt. He is past 18 months and he has never had a coat change. I told him it would mean more brushing and he decided not to  Now I was blessed with them after having Belle who matts up all the time but I think she cuases her matts cause she rolls in everything!


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

I am sure hoping when they are older and past the BC stages I don't have to comb every day. This thread is encouraging. Right now combing out a few small snarls a couple of times a day takes less time than a few day's worth of matting. 

I think I am in a heap of trouble with Evye's coat. Her's looks like she spun around the cotton candy machine one too many times.


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

Sheri said:


> You know, I just realized something that has been in the back of my head but I hadn't put words to yet. I can get away with brushing Tucker less when he's clean, by about double. Does that make sense? Right after his bath I can brush him every other day or even 3 days in between. After about a week, the timing gets closer together and moves to about daily.


Definitely, Sheri! I have noticed this too. A clean coat is much easier to brush through. I know a Hav breeder who bathes her whole crew every 5-7 days, but does not groom them in between baths. It works for her. Her dogs are in full coats and gorgeous in every photo I've ever seen of them.

I think a silkier coat is also definitely easier to take care of than a cottony one. I'm not sure how Lincoln would fare (cottony), but Scout would be fine if I followed her regimen.


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

If I am on schedule with baths, I only have to brush once a week, Shelby maybe 2x. Her coat is longer than Kodi's and seems to need a little more attention. I like to bathe them every 2 weeks. Right now it has been 3 weeks and they are messy and harder to brush. I have been considering giving Shelby a little haircut.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

BeverlyA said:


> It depends on the weather, if it's raining or snowing, if they're getting dirty, if they're wearing coats or sweaters. Beverly


Definately! If they been tearing around in the wet grass or walking around town in a harness or t-shirt they will need to be combing through more often. Rufus is 2 and usually I go every couple days or so. Marley is 16 months and has never really really had much of the dreaded mats so I keep waiting for the worst of it to hit. As a precautionary measure I comb him every day or every other at the least! Honestly, I love grooming the dogs and the more often you comb through the coats they less time it takes and the less chance of mats. Besides that, they look so lovely when they are groomed and when I got my Havs, I knew I wanted to keep them in full coat and I just love it when they look good!


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## Annie Clark (Nov 6, 2008)

I mostly use a butter comb on Nala every day or every other day. And then maybe a little slicker brush to fluff it around her feet. I feel like a lot of hair combs out with the comb-is that typical? 
She doesn't seem to mat at this length (5 inches long). Should I be using a brush instead of the comb??


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## mellowbo (Aug 12, 2007)

I brush/comb everyday so they won't get matts. 
Carole


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Carole, I like your new avatar--Vinnie looks very Regal, with his little ladies by his side!


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

I love it too Carole.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Combed out one of Dexter's feet the other day, nice big mat (real close to the skin) the area is on top of the foot....lots of extra hair there. 

Dexter does not like me messing with his feet! I got the Mat out though!


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

Sheri said:


> Carole, I like your new avatar--Vinnie looks very Regal, with his little ladies by his side!


Me too, Carole! What a nice group shot!


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

I am so lazy and do them about once a week. Kubrick gets a LOT more matted than Hitchcock but even he's easy to do once a week. No problems at all. I do line brush them.

However, I will be starting to just brush out Hitch every day - he'll probably be blowing coat soon and I want it to go as smoothly as it possibly can.


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## Chere (May 22, 2009)

I voted other as the dogs were shaved down and don't need much brushing other than to keep them used to being touched with it. Before, we tried to brush everyday but more likely we accomplished every other day. One was less frequent than that as he was so timid. Really, we brushed a part of them each time due to their fearfulness. I have decided to keep them on the short side rather than put them and me through the anxiety again. I loved their long coats but these rescue dogs just get too upset at times and need a less stressful situation at first. Perhaps this will change with time, we'll see. At first I felt horribly guilty about not brushing them out every day but once I realized their needs I was able to relax a bit more. For me it's about the well being of the dogs and not how wonderful they look (although they're pretty good looking dogs!)


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## moxie (Feb 6, 2008)

Every day for Moxie.


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## codyg (Jun 14, 2008)

We have a daily routine. Stella, now 14 months, gets a foot wash, a face wash, a butt wash and teeth wash with separate damp facecloths. Then, an all over line combing with a long toothed buttercomb, and if I find small mats I'll tease them apart with a fine comb, or if the mat is too tight, I'll take thinning sheers to it. Then I slicker around her feet. Despite what some say, I find the slicker is the only tool that gets out the bits and pieces she picks up. I finish with a pin brush all over. Finally, I create a braid on her head using a fine tail comb and latex bands. On a good day it's all done in 10-15 minutes.

She has completed blowing coat twice and during that time I combed and brushed and dematted at least three times a day, for hours at a time. It was like a full time job and all the while I'm thinking "buzzcut!" Somehow we got through it all and her hair is now about eight inches long, including her stunning puppy tips. 

I learned the hard way that combing/brushing is WAAAY easier when she is clean. I don't know why I stuck to the belief that a bath a month was all any dog needed. When I gave up that belief, and started bathing Stella every 7-10 days, I was a much happier person. Before bath time I comb and brush lots, trim her nails, clean her ears, and trim/thin the hair on her feet and the tunnel (from backend to top nipple.) Then I use an expensive CC dryer and a really long extreme wide tooth comb being careful not to create mats as I go.

The most difficult part is keeping her legs and feet looking beautiful. She doesn't have as much patience as I do. These parts mat quickly as her hair seems most dense just above her feet. I've recently taken to doing a tiny little bit of thinning around what I call her ankles, and it's helped alot. 

I have a lot of patience for all this, way more than Stella. Thankfully, my partner is usually there to help either by holding Stella in her arms (which totally relaxes Stella) allowing me to get to her feet, or by distracting her with treats, toys, or just rummaging around in the pantry. 

Despite the hard work, the blowing coat trauma, the expensive tools (and only the expensive tools work well, imho) it's all totally worth it, she is a precious darling of a dog and looks great too.


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

Lina said:


> However, I will be starting to just brush out Hitch every day - he'll probably be blowing coat soon and I want it to go as smoothly as it possibly can.


Hitch is getting to be coat-blowing age? ALREADY? Your little boy is growing up!


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## kelrobin (Jan 21, 2008)

I do a quick mini-groom on Jackson just about every day. I try to remember to get the gunk out of the eyes daily, and then we just use a greyhound comb on areas that look messy. I try to do a major comb-out once or twice a week, and a bath every two weeks. Jackson has mostly cottony hair with some fine silky mixed in. I am a fanatic about keeping his feet trimmed as I think that helps him look the neatest even when his coat is a little messy looking.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Jane, I KNOW! He's totally growing up. He's 8 months now.


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## lcy_pt (Aug 17, 2007)

Lina said:


> I am so lazy and do them about once a week. Kubrick gets a LOT more matted than Hitchcock but even he's easy to do once a week. No problems at all. I do line brush them.
> 
> However, I will be starting to just brush out Hitch every day - he'll probably be blowing coat soon *and I want it to go as smoothly as it possibly can*.


emphasis mine

:laugh: :evil:

Sorry Lina :tape: just finishing up (hopefully) with the dreaded blowing coat here and this just struck me as hilarious....well, you know you've been through it once already....I think I'm a little wacky from matt checking :dance:


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Pat, LOL, I know. The thing is, Kubrick was absolutely HORRIBLE to deal with during the blowing coat stage but he was always harder to work with than Hitch! Hitchcock has a WONDERFUL coat and I'm hoping against hope that it means his blowing coat will be much much easier than Kubrick's. Hitch's mom, Hillary, barely blew coat at all according to Kimberly and so far his coat is very similar to hers. I hope it stays that way!


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

I try to brush Cicero every day. The first year was easy and I enjoy brushing and he learned to love it from the beginning. During blowing coat I brushed 2 or 3 times a day and thought I was going to end up on hard drugs before we got through it. At times if the grandsons are over I will skip a day but I go to bed hoping he will not have mats when I get to him. We don't call him "cotton ball" for no reason.  He has "lots" of fine cotton hair and I don't think I could dare let him go 4 or 5 days. He definitely know "let's fix your hair" and will go limp!! If he didn't enjoy it his nickname would be "rat".


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

LuvCicero said:


> He definitely know "let's fix your hair" and will go limp!! If he didn't enjoy it his nickname would be "rat".


LOL, Dale!


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## fibtaylo (Jan 14, 2009)

I cut Macie and Cali really short for our camping vacation coming up and yet still today I had to cut a mat out of Cali. They are just over 9 months, so I guess Cali is heading in to her blow coat stage. I am afraid her blow coat may be big if she can get a mat in hair that is only about 1.5 inches long:fear:


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

I do a little brushing on any mats that come up once a day and give a full body brushing twice a week.
Gina


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

I brush both of my 4-5 times a week, it is on the daily schedule to do before I go to work M-F. I brush them about 5-10 minutes each, it is our time together before I go off for the day.

On the weekend we have no schedule and we like to forget about the morning brushing...maybe just a little brushing as we watch tv.

I have to brush Casper daily, but Missy I could brush once or twice a week and be ok with. Both are in full coats


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Wow, brushing every day? I'd shave my own head if I did that. 
I got curious about how long I could go without combing. Finally at 3 weeks I couldn't take it anymore and gave Cricket a bath which meant combing her. There was a tiny tangle in her. Ellie is almost the same but she'll get a mat behind her ears. Dogs in show coats get a bath once a week which means combing along with it.....unless my back is out and then good luck with the upkeep cause hubby does it.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I remember when Dexter's hair was at least 3-4 inches; he would get all kinds of stuff in his coat (twigs, dead leaves, seeds, everything seemed to stick) and I had to brush the junk out before he went to bed. 

Now, that Dexter is in a shortwe cut, brushing/combing have decreased to about once every 3 days or so, just to check for Mats. Dexter hair is only about....Hmmmmm....maybe a good inch....maybe 1 1/2 inches.


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## bethanay66 (Nov 2, 2008)

Maddy has a continually rumpled look, no matter how recently she was combed. She loves nothing more than to roll around on her back, so within an hour, she looks bedraggled (but in a cute way!). She gets combed about 2-3/week, just to keep the mats away. 

Mickey is a bit of a priss and avoids most anything messy. He only gets combed weekly. We keep them both pretty short.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I'm finding that I have to brush Kodi every day to keep him clean. He's mostly white except for his head, and he gets dingy looking if I don't brush him often. Fortunately, his coat has very little curl and is very silky, so it doesn't take more than 5 minutes at this point. We'll see how things go as he gets older and his coat gets longer. 

Karen


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

My dogs are in kind of short puppy cuts,for the summer.

Easy to maintain. I brush once a week and it takes 10 minutes for each dog. Yippee!
In the fall, I'll let them grow to about 3 inches.

I bathe them once a week because it's required for therapy visits.


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## LochTess (Aug 22, 2009)

I brush Ricky every morning after a BIG cup of coffee:tea:


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## lexigirl (Aug 9, 2009)

Lexi is only 5 months old.. I used to brush every day but now about 3-4 times a week.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I've kind of gone in the opposite direction... I've groomed Kodi almost daily from the beginning, but when he was littler, it was mostly to get him used to it; he didn't really need it then. Now his coat is long enough that he looks a little bedraggled if I don't groom him daily. And he gets knot in the long hair on the backs of his legs and on his feet, because we do a lot of walking in the woods. I wouldn't want to leave those in there!

It still doesn't take longer then 5-10 minutes though!


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## lexigirl (Aug 9, 2009)

How old is Kodi? I too thought if I brushed Lexi daily she would get used to grooming. She has been to a professional groomer twice and seems to be doing great. When she is trimmed shorter, her hair tangles less thus I tend to brush less frequently. Do you know when her adult hair will likely start coming in? I understand it is more difficult to deal with and will more than likely require more care.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Nope. I don't have any experience with adult Hav hair yet... nor "the dread "blowing coat" that I keep reading about here. I think Kodi is just a little younger than your Lexi; he was born April 30th. But we are intending to let him grow his coat out unless it becomes a real hassle. Both his parents have relatively straight, very silky coats, and he seems to take after them. His breeder told us that they haven't had a huge problem with their dogs through the blowing coat stage.

We'll see how it goes... I want him to continue to be able to enjoy the outdoors as much as he does now. If his coat gets to a point where that's a problem, we may think about a puppy cut. But, if at all possible, I'd like to keep him long.


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## wilpam (Apr 2, 2009)

I brush Sophie everyday to keep her looking nice. I finally found a groomer who knows how to trim her face so that it will grow out the way I want it. I have to keep the rest of her fairly short because of where we live. Between rain and snow this is the best way for us to look our best!


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