# Fionn photos and a Question About Grooming



## Pooch (Nov 23, 2010)

Fionn is 14 weeks old now and he's growing so fast! He's up to 6lbs. He is such a good puppy! Here are a few photos...I took one of him lying down to show the white markings on the back of his neck and tip of his tail. He also has a white strip down the back of his bum and legs..so sweet! As you can see, the hair around his eyes is growing, paticularly underneath. His right eye seems to be covered more than his left. I'm just wondering how I should take care of this hair, i.e. I'm pretty sure I should let it grow until it gets through the awkward stage rather than cut it. Is that the case?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Most people who keep their dogs in full coat, and all people who show just live with it during this awkward stage. Some people have mentioned that chap stick can help plaster it out of the way.

If you will be keeping Fionn in a puppy cut, there is NO reason not to start having someone trim up around his eyes for him. Just be sure to tell them NOT to shave the bridge of his nose!!!

Quite honestly, even though I do kep Kodi in full coat, I do not show him in conformation classes, and I really like seeing those beautiful eyes. So I started trimming the hair at the corners of his eyes at that stage. (use thinning shears to chip away at it, so it looks natural) If you do this, though, just be aware that it's something you'll have to keep doing, or live through the grow-out phase at a later date!


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

So cute, your Fionn! Love his eyebrows! Good job of getting a photo where his eyes show in the black face! 

I can remember trying to grow my bangs out as a teenager, and what a pain that in-between phase was - this eye hair thing is like that. Some of them seem to have hair that behaves a bit better than others. I managed to get two with frisky facial hair. I was ready to cut Augie's, but his vet advised me to wait, that it would grow out and lay down and that once you start clipping you need to keep at it as the growing out blunted ends would poke the eyes. Karen's idea of using the thinning shears may help with those blunted ends. I love seeing the eyes too, but Finn's hair is even worse than Augie's. Every time I get it pushed out of the way, he messes it up with his paws - he seems to like to be 'hidden'! Probably so I can't see in his eyes the fact that he is cooking up the next devious plan! :biggrin1:

I love the tousled look of this age. If I cut Augie down, this is the look I want.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

motherslittlehelper said:


> So cute, your Fionn! Love his eyebrows! Good job of getting a photo where his eyes show in the black face!
> 
> I can remember trying to grow my bangs out as a teenager, and what a pain that in-between phase was - this eye hair thing is like that. Some of them seem to have hair that behaves a bit better than others. I managed to get two with frisky facial hair. I was ready to cut Augie's, but his vet advised me to wait, that it would grow out and lay down and that once you start clipping you need to keep at it as the growing out blunted ends would poke the eyes. Karen's idea of using the thinning shears may help with those blunted ends.


Yeah, if you start trimming it, you need to keep up with it frequently. But We do Kodi's feet, tummy and bangs every 3 weeks, so snipping the hair at the corners of his eyes at the same time isn't much extra work.

Because the groomer and I got off-track with our schedule, he hasn't been done in 4 weeks now, and his hair by his eyes looks about like Fionn's in these pictures. Between that and his long bangs it makes him look scruffy, but I don't see any sign that the hair is bothering his eyes. So I think I COULD grow it out, but I like him to look nice all the time, (well, except when he's all muddy!ound so I just keep getting it trimmed.

Knowing how fast they grow now, I MIGHT have had the patience to let the eye hair grow out on its own when he was a puppy, but I wanted to see his eyes in his puppy pix!


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

McGee will be five months tomorrow and his under eye hair is starting to lay down some BUT the hair above the eye is another story so still can't see any eyes! Thinking of trying a tiny topknot soon but knowing him he will manage to rub it out!

Also, ditto to everything Linda said! Especially that he is an adorable little guy - love the black and whites!


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## dodrop82 (May 21, 2010)

I desperately wanted to just leave Boo's hair alone and let it grow. Each month, her vision got worse and worse, until she couldn't compete in fetch with her sister at all, cause she wasn't seeing any toy we threw...she could only chase her sister, and take the toy away from her. Well, her hair finally got long enough to pull up enough to give her vision...we tried barettes, clips, and mini hair rubbers. They were all a fight to get in, (Boo isn't very cooperative...HeeHee) and then when they were in, she considered it her mission to get them out ASAP. At 6 months old, I caved, and cut her bangs...yet another big battle (again, she isn't very cooperative...) I'm not exactly happy with the job I did (Because she isn't very cooperative) but we have been so happy to be able to look into her eyes...they do seem to be the windows to her soul....


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I think her bangs are adorable. Maybe because I look at a dog with that "do" very day, I really LIKE the look!


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

My pup has eyes? Who knew!? Seriously, he'll be 5 months on the 7th and I still can't see his eyes..the hair on his snout isn't laying down yet and the spray on his forehead covers them too. I think he looks cute that way though. He hates me fussing near his eyes though (he's really good when I handle him anywhere else, but around his eyes he becomes Mr. Wiggle worm so I'd be scared to even get near him with scissors there)


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## inlovewithhav (Feb 18, 2011)

I am constantly brushing down the eye hair with my fingers whenever I see Kipper. My son keeps asking me to cut his bangs but I don't want to (he looks like Boo's hair on 5/22). My son keeps coming up to him and brushing his hair out of his face "cause he can't see!! When are you cutting his hair?? I will get the scissors and do it myself." LOL I tell him that Kipper can have long hair because I take care of it not him. Oh yeah the top knot... worked for us about 2 hours and then was gone, that and DH said he looked like a girl and didn't want him wearing a pony tail in his hair :suspicious:


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

I don't think there are any rights or wrongs about whether you leave the fur to grow or whether you trim it around the eyes it is totally up to your own preference.Some people say the hair protects their eyes and some say it should be trimmed.But either way they are cute.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

inlovewithhav said:


> I am constantly brushing down the eye hair with my fingers whenever I see Kipper. My son keeps asking me to cut his bangs but I don't want to (he looks like Boo's hair on 5/22). My son keeps coming up to him and brushing his hair out of his face "cause he can't see!! When are you cutting his hair?? I will get the scissors and do it myself." LOL I tell him that Kipper can have long hair because I take care of it not him. Oh yeah the top knot... worked for us about 2 hours and then was gone, that and DH said he looked like a girl and didn't want him wearing a pony tail in his hair :suspicious:


You'll know when it is time to do something about the hair over the eyes. I don't recall how old Augie was, but when he could not see the toy we threw for him to fetch and then ran into things, we knew it was time. I tried trimming it the first time and that worked for awhile. When it grew out again, then we put in the topknot. The first few times he did rub it on the ground or tear at it. But he got used to it. His hair grows forward and no matter how I comb it back or blow dry it back, part it in the center, it still ends up covering his eyes in a few seconds. I think Finn's hair is even more unruly. The hair on his nose is growing up over his eyes, and the eyebrow hair is growing down over his eyes. And I try to dampen it and move it away, and he just takes his paws and puts it back where he likes it. He has a mind of his own, for sure! 

Stacey - Boo is adorable!


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Linda, McGee does the same thing after I get his hair all smoothed down or back so his eyes are showing! I think they like looking messy! I'm anxious to try the topknot, though. Maybe another inch away!


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## dodrop82 (May 21, 2010)

Thanx Karen! I like the look too...her bangs are just really choppy, cause she's such a fighter, and it's REALLY hard to cut near the eyes on a fighter...Huh, Tracy?! TeeHeeHee!
Kipper's Mom - DH is funny!!!
Linda - Thank you! She's a maniac, but I love her dearly!
And Kathie...good luck with that topknot...but I guarantee...McGee's gonna take it right back out! HAHAHA!!!


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

dodrop82 said:


> Thanx Karen! I like the look too...her bangs are just really choppy, cause she's such a fighter, and it's REALLY hard to cut near the eyes on a fighter...Huh, Tracy?! TeeHeeHee!
> Kipper's Mom - DH is funny!!!
> Linda - Thank you! She's a maniac, but I love her dearly!
> And Kathie...good luck with that topknot...but I guarantee...McGee's gonna take it right back out! HAHAHA!!!


I know, Stacey!!!


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## Pooch (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. Fionn can still see so I'll keep letting it grow and see how things go. What about the "crusties" he gets around his eyes from sleeping? What is the best way to get rid of those? I've tried a warm facecloth but it doesn't seem to work. Any suggestions?


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## Divaskychick (May 18, 2011)

Pooch said:


> Thanks for your suggestions everyone. Fionn can still see so I'll keep letting it grow and see how things go. What about the "crusties" he gets around his eyes from sleeping? What is the best way to get rid of those? I've tried a warm facecloth but it doesn't seem to work. Any suggestions?


I'm interested in all the responses too, thanks for asking about crusties! Without hijacking your thread, can I also ask what people do about hair on the nose and around the mouth that always looks so scruffy from eating and drinking? Soleil is really patient with brushing (Thanks Diane!) but is not a fan of the face comb. But her facial hair just looks dirty all the time!

Today is bath day, I'm nervous! It will be our first time.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

To get the "crusties" at the corners of Kodi's eyes, I first soften them with a wet wipe, then use a flea comb to comb them out. If they aren't too bad, sometimes I can just remove them with a fingernail, or the comb without wetting first. 

As far as the beard is concerned, if it's not too bad, a wet wipe followed with a thorough comb through is usually enough. I use the wider end of the CC face comb... the narrow end is SO tight that it will pull out whiskers mixed with the hair on their noses... OUCH!!! If his beard is really crunchy, and it's not near a bath day anyway, I use the spray-on, no-rinse shampoo, wet his beard thoroughly, wipe as dry as possible with a face cloth, then comb through as above. But I find with weekly baths, his mouth only gets gross if he eats something sticky, like ice cream.:biggrin1: I know a lot of people who feed raw wash their dogs' faces after every meal, but I don't have any personal experience with that. Kodi eats kibble, so the mess is minimal.


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

It's funny Dizzie's face hardly ever gets messy,but Nellie mouth seems to get wet and messy,so I let it dry then give it a quick comb/brush through,then you can put a bit of corn starch around the mouth as this helps with keeping it dry,and if it is dry you won't get the stains [hopefully].


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## Divaskychick (May 18, 2011)

clare said:


> It's funny Dizzie's face hardly ever gets messy,but Nellie mouth seems to get wet and messy,so I let it dry then give it a quick comb/brush through,then you can put a bit of corn starch around the mouth as this helps with keeping it dry,and if it is dry you won't get the stains [hopefully].


Cornstarch... do you just put a bit in your hand and then work it in? Soleil has a lot of staining under her eyes and around her mouth. I'm not worrying about it now but I would love to get rid of it eventually. But if I don't trim her face, what removes the existing red?

She only gets filtered water.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

yay for bath day!!! you'll both do great!! don't forget to post pics of your sweet clean baby!!


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## Divaskychick (May 18, 2011)

TilliesMom said:


> yay for bath day!!! you'll both do great!! don't forget to post pics of your sweet clean baby!!


LOL Okay, photos to come but what's the protocol for post bath grooming? She's wet, I dried her with a towel and then brushed / combed her best as I could. I cannot possibly use a blow dryer on her, it's like 95 degrees out and super humid. We're on my shaded back deck where she's acting like a crazed pup (hello, puppy, where have YOU been??) I guess the bath gave her energy!

Air drying is okay? Also, feel free to laugh, I thought I was using shampoo / conditioner but it was just conditioner, so I don't really know how clean she got.

Oh well, it was fun! Let me find the cord to upload photos.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

ha ha ha, YES, post bath craziness... it happens! LOL rubbing their faces everywhere, rolling on thier backs, zooming around like crazy! 
I typically blow dry and brush Tillie out, but you don't have to!
do what ever works for you and makes your puppy happy!


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

I's fine to let her air dry on such a hot day. That *is* funny about the conditioner.

Make sure you have gotten any mats out before letting her make new ones. :biggrin1:


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## Divaskychick (May 18, 2011)

Here we go! The last shot is a bit of post bath RLH. Now she's totally sacked out.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I love, LOVE, L O V E the head shake one!!! Priceless!!!


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