# Never been cut



## HavanaV (Nov 11, 2013)

Highly suggest you let your dog grow out. Havana is 5 years old and has never been cut except for a sanitary trim and paws.


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## dharb (Mar 3, 2011)

He is beautiful. You take such good care of his coat. It is a commitment to keep them in full coat but some coats are easier than others. 
I tried to upload a photo but it didn't work. I'll keep trying:banghead:

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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Depending on your life style and commitments, a long hair dog is a lot of work. Some Havs look better in short cuts, some Havs due to their hair texture should not be in a long cut. Long hair on a Hav is beautiful, but it is not for everyone.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

HavanaV said:


> Highly suggest you let your dog grow out. Havana is 5 years old and has never been cut except for a sanitary trim and paws.


Havana looks gorgeous in full coat. He/she reminds me of Kodi and Karen's commitment to keep his coat long. I do agree, however, that the right type of coat is beautiful when left long, but not all types look as good. Curly coated Havs are extremely difficult to keep looking like Havana.


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## Eddie (Feb 11, 2012)

WOW WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LOOKING HAV.:thumb:


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

Havana is very pretty!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

dharb said:


> He is beautiful. You take such good care of his coat. It is a commitment to keep them in full coat but some coats are easier than others.
> I tried to upload a photo but it didn't work. I'll keep trying:banghead:
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Unfortunately, you can't upload pictures with the Petguide app. -Jeanne-


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

HavanaV said:


> Highly suggest you let your dog grow out. Havana is 5 years old and has never been cut except for a sanitary trim and paws.


I keep Kodi in a long coat too, and he has never been cut except for feet and sanitary trims. I love the look, but i have a dog whose coat is relatively easy to maintain that way, and have made the comittment to keep it up. I completely understand that others might not want to spend that amount of time on their dog's coat, and it's FINE for them to be able to enjoy these wonderful dogs in a cute, shorter hair style. It's just hair!


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

Havana looks wonderful! Whimsy has never been cut either...but I do trim so I can see her eyes and also around her paws. I really enjoy grooming her everyday. Long or short coat, this breed is just the best!


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

Kodi is so pretty! Oops, handsome! Nice portrait Karen.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks, Karen! I have a friend who is a potrait/wedding photographer who recently branched out into pet photogrphy. He wanted to use Kodi as a model for his web site. Kodi was happy to oblige!


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## HavanaV (Nov 11, 2013)

Thank you for all the nice words about Havana. To be honest with you, she is NOT a problem to groom. We get her professinal groomed about once a month but then we wash her ourselves, blow dry and comb her out about every 10 days. She does need combing everyday but this only talkes about 10-15 minutes, and we try to keep the hair out of her eye with a small rubber band followed by a bow on the top of her head. She does have very silky/wavy hair which makes it easy to comb out. Now when she gets a bath, immediately afterwards it will be more difficult for its starts to knot but we try to minimize the knotting issue when we blow dry her and run our fingers through her hair while dry her. it seems to work. 

Also someone gave us a tip adn it works. When we do get a major knot, we use something called "The Stuff" (whihc you can find on Amazon) and its like a silicone spray that eases the combing process allowing you to untangle the knot. We have NEVER had to cut a knot away..and as you can tell she has alot of hair.


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## Ruth4Havs (May 13, 2013)

Havana is beautiful! I want to grow Chester out to a full length but my family won't agree with me.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

HavanaV said:


> Thank you for all the nice words about Havana. To be honest with you, she is NOT a problem to groom. We get her professinal groomed about once a month but then we wash her ourselves, blow dry and comb her out about every 10 days. She does need combing everyday but this only talkes about 10-15 minutes, and we try to keep the hair out of her eye with a small rubber band followed by a bow on the top of her head. She does have very silky/wavy hair which makes it easy to comb out. Now when she gets a bath, immediately afterwards it will be more difficult for its starts to knot but we try to minimize the knotting issue when we blow dry her and run our fingers through her hair while dry her. it seems to work.
> 
> Also someone gave us a tip adn it works. When we do get a major knot, we use something called "The Stuff" (whihc you can find on Amazon) and its like a silicone spray that eases the combing process allowing you to untangle the knot. We have NEVER had to cut a knot away..and as you can tell she has alot of hair.


Sounds like besides being the same color pattern, Havana and Kodi also have similar coats. I do take him to a groomer who trims his feet, etc., because she does a much neater job than I do. But I do all the rest of his grooming myself. It doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes a day to comb him out and put his hair up, and although I usually DO groom him daily because I like him to look his best, he's gone as long as a week when I've been away and my boys have been in charge without grooming, and there are no mats when I get back.

I haven't noticed that Kodi mats any worse after a bath&#8230; I do use a force dryer and gently brush him to separate and dry the hair completely. I also spray him lightly with CC Ice on Ice, especially around his feet, to keep them from picking up dirt as quickly. I never put Ice on Ice on his head, because it makes it impossible to keep his pony in! :laugh:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ruth4Havs said:


> Havana is beautiful! I want to grow Chester out to a full length but my family won't agree with me.


Awww, Chester is cute, no matter how his hair is!


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## tra_po (Aug 14, 2013)

HavanaV said:


> Highly suggest you let your dog grow out. Havana is 5 years old and has never been cut except for a sanitary trim and paws.


Absolutely gorgeous!


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## HavanaV (Nov 11, 2013)

Ruth4Havs said:


> Havana is beautiful! I want to grow Chester out to a full length but my family won't agree with me.


Chester looks pretty good now..are you sure you want to change?? Letting Chester's hair grow out is not an overnight venture. It will take a couple of years!!! Also before you start, a dog needs to have very silky hair like Havana and Kodi, otherwise you will have BIG issues along the way. It is also advisable to talk to your professional groomer to get their opinion on the proper hair length for your Hav.

The biggest problem we have (which is infrequent...but when it happens a potential mess) is getting the proper "sanitary" cut from the groomer. If the cut is not done right, well any dog (Hav, Maltese etc), just doesn't look good for she could have a "hair hole" on her backside. If Havana has stomach problems and it comes out "loose"...well some of that will end up on her hair...a mess. Then other times, even though its hard, somehow it just sticks to her hair and does not fall to the ground. Havana knows it almost immediately and alerts me to the problem, but when it happens it takes 2 of us to try and clean her up......before she jumps back in bed!!!! Certainly glad Havana knows her manners!!


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

I really love the long hair on Havs, but for us it just doesn't work. I don't know if it is just me sucking or that Brody has difficult hair, but as his hair gets longer the grooming sessions start to get longer and longer (over an hour) and it's just unpleasant for everyone. So, the whole long flowing locks that have never been cut just isn't going to happen. *sigh*


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

misstray said:


> I really love the long hair on Havs, but for us it just doesn't work. I don't know if it is just me sucking or that Brody has difficult hair, but as his hair gets longer the grooming sessions start to get longer and longer (over an hour) and it's just unpleasant for everyone. So, the whole long flowing locks that have never been cut just isn't going to happen. *sigh*


Yeah, but Brody is adorable, no matter what!


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

My dog's hair is easy to comb for the most part and he hasnt been groomed yet or trimmed by a pro. Unfortunately for him, I decided to trim around his feet, mainly because earlier in the day I pulled a tick off his foot, and I did an awful job! It was harder than I expected. So I hope it grows soon - next time I will hire a professional.


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## jcbpaisley (Mar 6, 2013)

Diva is a sable and I would just cry to lose her black tips. Her coat is not silky but it's not unruly either- it's vey dense and fine and wavy (not curly), with a soft cotton texture and a little bit of frizz. We are doing ok so far. It helps to take her to a professional groomer for a bath/brush periodically. With the HV dryer they can blow all the loose undercoat out that makes her mat.

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## Chere (May 22, 2009)

I love the Havanese with the uncut coats, they are so beautiful and are what first drew them to me as a breed. However, having said that, we rescued two Havanese who were two years old and came out of a puppy mill. Even though the foster parents were super great at helping them adjust, they came with issues, especially fearfulness. They did not want to be touched so grooming was just not possible at first. By the time we got them to accept touching and petting their coats were pretty messy. We had to have a very severe cut done to take care of the matting. They didn't like the groomers. What we ended up deciding was to keep them in shorter puppy cuts and that has worked well for us. At this point I think they would accept daily grooming (at least one of them would, maybe not the other) but it is just easier to keep them shorter. I think whatever works for the owner is best. The dog doesn't care so short or long coats are for the owner, not the dog. Again, I love the long coats (and I especially am fond of the corded look) so I am not trying to promote one way or the other. I would say, for potential adopters who might be put off by the thought of all that grooming for long coats, short coats are just fine and you will have a wonderful dog if you adopt a Havanese.


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## HavanaV (Nov 11, 2013)

Chere

Honest assessment and long hair is not for everyone...Havana was not a rescue but she is also not a show dog just a family mutt who likes to have fun but also can show her stuff when she wants to. We love her the way she is as I am sure you do the same wth your precious puppies!!


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## Chere (May 22, 2009)

HavanaV, you are so right, our dogs just bring us enjoyment. If I had a puppy from birth I might really try the long coats but for some rescue dogs with fear issues, it just doesn't work out with the grooming very well. But those long coats are beautiful!


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## HavanaV (Nov 11, 2013)

Here are some different shots of Havana showing her full coat from the back side and then another wtih her hair up!


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## Chere (May 22, 2009)

Oh, I love that photo of her standing on her hind legs; Shadow does that quite a bit and they are so darned cute when they do that. Havana is a really beautiful dog.


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## Ruth4Havs (May 13, 2013)

Beautiful!


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