# Texture/grooming



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

My puppy is blowing coat, but it seems the worst of it has passed. He was cut down towards the end of the summer but it was kind of a mess. I haven’t touched it much since (to trim) but he doesn’t have a grooming appointment until November so I’m trying to clean him up a bit. My plan is to wait until after he has a good grooming appointment before I’ll do any major trimming on my own again because its too uneven to use any of his current haircut as any kind of guide. 

I know his adult coat is going to be different than his puppy coat, but I don’t think I’m quite graspinghow that translates. The first pictures are the texture of his coat until a few months ago. Then there’s a picture of where I’m really struggling to blend because the coat on the back of his neck is so dense and the lengths are different. The last shows the difference in texture between his ears and his neck.

I have disorganized questions! 

- Is the difference between his ears and neck because his baby hair hasn’t blown from his ears yet? 

He does have some coarse hairs here and there throughout his back but I just sort of ignore those. It’s the hair on the back of his neck and on the top of his head that I keep trimming and the ends never feel clean and healthy. 

I’m using Spectrum 10 and it seems to be working well for the rest of his coat, because he feels great everywhere except for this section. I tried Biogroom Silk on just this patch and it was an improvement but I can’t stand the fragrance. I’ve used other products and if didn’t care for the fragrance i could at least tolerate it until I found something better, but I don’t know about this one.

- Should I try another conditioner now or wait it out using what I have until I’m sure he’s done blowing coat? Any suggestions on what to try? Is Spectrum 10 Hypro pack any good? I found a lot of CC moisture and smoothing labeled products I never noticed before on their site today. 

- Any suggestions on how to blend his neck and head or should I just give up and leave it for another month? It’s been like this since his summer haircut because they left the hair on his head and face long. When I try to blend it seems to just give his head and neck a weird shape. I think i’d have to cut a much steeper angle to bridge the difference and I’m wondering if it will make his neck look even bulkier. I’ve tried to cut his neck/mane area shorter before and i always struggle with the shape and blending back out into longer hair on his back.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Hmmm. I don’t think this is specifically a blowing coat issue. It’s mostly the fluffy undercoat they blow. Hair this long is likely to be adult hair. It may change some over time, but not that much. Their hair DOES vary somewhat, depending on where it is on their body and also the color. On Panda, her white areas grow MUCH longer than her black areas... at least at this age. Kodi blew coat first around i
His ears and shoulders, then on his hind end, and last on his torso.

I agree with you on the smell of Silk. I switched to Specteum 10 because it and Silk worked equally well, and Spectrum 10 has a much milder scent. I can’t really speak to the other products as I haven’t used them. When Kodi’s coat has felt a little dry from time to time (not often... perhaps once every year or two) I “float” his coat in water and conditioner by standing him in it up to his neck. If your sink isn’t deep enough, get it as deep as you can, then use a cup to scoop water up over him for about 5 minutes. Then rinse as usual.

As far as trimming his ruff, I know how I’d approach it (pulling it up between my fingers and a comb, and scissoring) but I’m not sure I can explain it any better than that. If you aren’t REALLY comfortable working on it yourself (or willing to live with the consequences! LOL!) I’d leave the trimming until you can have a professional do it. Stay and watch, so you can see have input on what it ends up looking like, and watch how it’s done.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I’ve been experimenting with floating his coat and different combinations of conditioners and detanglers and everything works pretty well in different ways - with the exception of the small section on the back of his neck and head. I’m thinking of trying some of the conditioner recommendations for cottony coats and applying them just on that area. I came across Pure Paws and Coat Handler. I hated coat handler when he was a puppy, but maybe it’s a different product? Threads about Pure Paws seem to refer to a silk product I can’t find. 

Anyone with this type of coat have a recommendation? 

I’m going to try human conditioner tonight because the only conditioner I have left is Biogroom Silk and I already have a headache - I just don’t feel like smelling it for the next few days. Maybe I’ll get lucky and be able to double dilute the spectrum 10 I have left for one more bath.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

On impulse today I tried Argan oil on that spot and it helped so much on the top of his head! The last little while we’ve had to do baths twice a week (it’s been a messy few weeks). This weekend will get us back on schedule and he won’t have a bath again until next weekend. I’m going to raid my sample/discard drawer because I swear I have an argan oil conditioner somewhere I can try. 

I think it helps that the top of his head is longer. The back of his neck is shorter and I think that’s part of why it puffs up more, in addition to it being so dense there. So I’m going to give his back and neck more time to grow before I try more blending.


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

I would look up Jonathon David’s scissor over comb technique and use thinning shears if you have them to blend the lengths. It’s not as easy as he makes it look though. 
The difference in coat texture from the neck area and the ears may have to do with oil production. Ears produce more oil per volume so that’s probably why the argan oil seemed to help. Kenchii has a brush designed to spread a dog’s natural oils. It’s a combination of boar bristles and plastic tines. Biogroom makes an argan oil shampoo and conditioner and so does Espree If you don’t like the scent of the silk conditioner I’d try the Espree product first. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

katscleancutdogs said:


> I would look up Jonathon David's scissor over comb technique and use thinning shears if you have them to blend the lengths. It's not as easy as he makes it look though.
> The difference in coat texture from the neck area and the ears may have to do with oil production. Ears produce more oil per volume so that's probably why the argan oil seemed to help. Kenchii has a brush designed to spread a dog's natural oils. It's a combination of boar bristles and plastic tines. Biogroom makes an argan oil shampoo and conditioner and so does Espree If you don't like the scent of the silk conditioner I'd try the Espree product first.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I decided to wait for his grooming appointment in November on his neck. I feel like in order to blend it well I'd need to cut it pretty short. I've been growing his face out since May after a groomer shaved between his eyes and I just decided I don't want to risk cutting anything else on his head or neck myself until I have a good base again.

That's awesome about the brush because I love how DD's Hot Tools brush (combination boar and nylon bristles) fluffs up his coat! When he started blowing coat I couldn't use it anymore because it has the little balls on the tips and it started getting caught. I imagine the Kenchi isn't great for detangling, either, but I think it's exactly what I want to fluff him up and make him all shiny 

I'll look at those products, thank you! I have used the Espree Silky and of the pet store type brands I've tried it's my favorite. I'm really interested in trying the Espree with argan oil.


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