Suggestions on Abby's Coat

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

This is a several part question, so bear with me...please

Abby, who will be 8 months old on the 25th of this month, has a very thick coat! Very thick. She gets so hot, but we're past hottest part of the year, so that doesn't concern me too much. She's been to a groomer, twice but, only for a trim.

Her coat is getting long enough that the hair on her belly is starting to drag the ground. She does tangle, but even that is getting better. It's mostly on her legs. One thing I have noticed is that when she wears clothes, is when she tangles the most.


Her little feet look like dust mops and I just love them! I've also let the hair on her ears grow because I think it's so darn cute! Is that bad? (the feet and ears) I know the hair on the pads needs cut and the hair inside the ears needs plucked...that's not a problem.

The last time I had her groomed this summer, the groomer shaved her nose I wish she hadn't done that because now it's growing out and looks unruly!

OK, here's my question.
She still has most of her puppy coat and I really would like for her to have a full length coat, but since she tangles and wearing clothes makes that worse...do you think I should cut her shorter? Winter is coming and that's kind of a double edge sword. I will dress her more in the winter for warmth, but her coat would keep her warm too.
Also, what about the nose...should I just wait it out or get it trimmed..then we'll be back at square one. I'm not sure if there's places on her nose that could be trimmed without the whole thing getting cut or not?

I just think she's beautiful with her long hair, but she doesn't enjoy grooming...what, what, what would you do?

I'm just unsure about how to go about this growing out thing or if I even should...
If you want a full coat, do first take off the puppy coat or is that part of it?
tips, tricks, suggestions please??




You can kind of see how thick her coat is in this one. Both of her parents had beautiful silky coats. I'm not so sure her's is.

Sorry I know my thoughts are kind of all over the place...

[chachi]

I think Abbys coat is pretty Its up to you if you want to cut it down. I never cut Jewels down but hers only gets so long and then stops growing. Chachi we do cut down in the spring and summer. We let him grow out in the winter

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

Thanks Chachi
I realize it's a personal choice, I was just wondering about the puppy coat and if it's fair to her, since she doesn't enjoy grooming.

Also, I've decided that I dont' want to take her or Daisy back and leave them with the groomer for a full groom...ever again. I've heard too many horror stories and to be honest, it scares me. I also have to wonder what they are thinking while I'm gone.

So I'm thinking of just doing the bathing here at home and having the sanitary cuts, toenails, etc..done while I wait. I guess if I cut her short, I'd have to do it myself...

Her hair grows really fast.

[Marla]

I struggled with this with my Daisy for a couple years, then finally decided to cut her short. Her coat is very thick, silky, but curly too. The long coats will mat under clothes and harnesses. Mostly Daisy hated the brushing and the bathing. Especially the drying after the bath, which took a really long time.

It took me a few tries to find a groomer who did a good job and a cut I like on her, but I'm so glad I cut her short. I miss her beautiful long coat, but I actually think she looks better short. And she is much happier.

Daisy's pretty big around the middle, so I wanted a cut that would minimize her size. I ended up with a modified Schnauzer cut I guess. It's short along the body, but the legs are full. The head is a modified Westy cut, a circle cut that frames the face. I keep the top knot and the long tail.

So maybe take some good pictures of Abby's long coat to savor, then try having her groomed short. You can always grow it out again. I find that Daisy's short cut actually suits her personality better.

I've attached pics. They are the latest cut, the first cut, and the before long.

[Marla]

Oh, I should also mention, I understand your groomer fears. The first groomer really messed up the cut. It was uneven everywhere and she looked terrible.

Now that I have a cut I like, I bought some clippers and so far have trimmed her once myself, just trying to maintain the lines and I hand scissored around the face and legs. I did pretty well, though I need a lot more practice getting the face even. Just a thought.

[Jessbell]

I'm afraid I dont really have any helpful suggestions as I dont yet have my Yorkie baby and I'm still learning about them really! But I just wanted to say that your Abby is absolutely gorgeous! If my Yorkie looks nything like her I will be over the moon! Love her!

Jess x

[jadecomputergal]

I feel your pain. Tali is just awful. She rarely wears clothes but she tangles very badly. The good thing is that she's completely receptive to grooming. We have a mattbreaker that we comb her with while she's on the couch watching a movie with us. That sort of cuts the hair as it combs, so she's basically naked most of the time. I have yet to find any grooming product that will help with her matting, so I hope you get some good suggestions.

Just as an aside, I've had groomers tell me that they hair inside the ears should be removed, and I've checked with three vets that say you should never do that. All three have told me that it can lead to painful ear infections. I'm sure that doesn't happen all the time because I know some people have it done regularly, but I've never been willing to risk it with mine.

[LunasMomma]

She's so pretty

Both of my girls HATE HATE HATE being brushed or groomed in any way So they are both kept in very short puppy cuts. I have them done every three weeks. They do trim the hair on their noses, but it's not really an issue since it's done often. If they weren't so difficult I'd love to let their hair grow out. They wear PJ's every night though, since my DH works outside in the heat all day, he likes it at 68 degrees in here at night

You could maybe just trim her belly and under her arms shorter so she could still wear clothes and maybe that would help with the knots, I dunno

Good luck whatever you decide. She'll be cute no matter what

[TeresaM]

Gracie Ruth's hair is like that, thick, thick, thick and it tangles easily. Because it gets so hot here in the summer and we take them on daily walks I decided to cut her short. I left the hair on her head, legs and tail. It was her first body trim and being that she's so nosey about everything and kept trying to squirm around to look at the clippers, I had trouble getting it even. Had to laugh, a friend said she looked like a bobble-head dog...and she did! Poor baby, momma gave you a bad hair cut. BUT she had shorter hair and was more comfortable when we went out. The shorter hair also cut the torture time each night trying to comb out the tangles. Which is a plus for both of us!

I don't think there's anything wrong with cutting her short, just be sure to keep her covered or extra blankets around for her to burrow in during the winter. It'll always grow back if you decide you don't like it.

1) Picture of her thick coat
2) Bobble-head dog! lol
3) Bobble-head dog loves running thru the sprinkler and getting wet!
4) Our other dog, Boo, we always keep him short in the summer

[pookiebear]

First, let me tell you that Abbey is absolutely beautiful, even with her nose trimmed just a little. I personally don't want to do that, but it does not in anyway take away from Abby's beauty. I prefer the long hair, but I was getting very tired of the thick thick hair that Bernie has. Last week I bought thinning shears and thinned his hair out. Worked like a charm. Here's the thread I posted when I thinned his hair. She's beautiful no matter how you cut her! http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...id-myself.html

[Reese1]

She is just beautiful! Her hair color reminds me of Camden and Camden's hair is thick too!
I totally understand the fear with grooming. Camden has only been once since we got her in April, but we have tried several with the other two.
You might want to try buying a grooming video and doing it yourself. We bought Sue's Yorkie grooming video.
We keep ours all in a shorter cut, it's easier for us and I love the puppy look! Everyone is so different in what they like and what they can manage!
I realize I'm not alot of help, good luck with your decision! She's just too cute for words though!

[amandawash]

Well she is darling!!

I can relate to you very much... Early this summer Ranger's coat had grown beautifully and was getting very long. As he was only about 9 or so months, it was all puppy coat and matted horribly no matter how much I groomed him and had a bizarre texture. I decided to have him clipped fairly short to get rid of the puppy coat and keep him cooler in the summer. Well, after I cried because it was so short, I really got used to it and now that it is growing out it is a beautiful silk texture and hasn't matted at all despite wearing sweatshirts and harnesses. It's your call, but I really liked getting the puppy coat off....

Pics are one before and two after. Can you imagine a long coat in that second picture??? YIKES!!!!!!!!

[Katylou]

I agree with Amandwash. Once the puppy coat is cut off the hair underneath is silky and doesn't mat like the black puppy hair. Now that Katy Lou's puppy hair is off I am going to let it grow long. It is sooo much easier now to brush. In fact on the top of her head where we left the hair the tips are black and are harder to comb through. Once she gets enough hair for a topknot we will cut the black ends off there too.

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

Thank You to everyone for your suggestions!

I'm still very undecided about what to do. I asked my husband what he thought about cutting Abby short and he's not too keen on the idea and yes, sometimes he brushes her too...not often, but he does try.

Thank you for the sweet comments about Abby. I think she's a doll She has a sweet personality that matches. (at least we think so)

*IF* I decide to get her cut, I'll be sure to post pics.

Thanks again,
Tammy

[MyPeanutAbbyGra]

Originally Posted by jadecomputergal

I feel your pain. Tali is just awful. She rarely wears clothes but she tangles very badly. The good thing is that she's completely receptive to grooming. We have a mattbreaker that we comb her with while she's on the couch watching a movie with us. That sort of cuts the hair as it combs, so she's basically naked most of the time. I have yet to find any grooming product that will help with her matting, so I hope you get some good suggestions.

Just as an aside, I've had groomers tell me that they hair inside the ears should be removed, and I've checked with three vets that say you should never do that. All three have told me that it can lead to painful ear infections. I'm sure that doesn't happen all the time because I know some people have it done regularly, but I've never been willing to risk it with mine.

That's interesting about the ear plucking thing, I'd never heard that before...hmmm, that's something to consider and look into further.
Thanks for sharing that with me.