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Originally Posted by laurabelle  I think Sasha has a cotton-ey coat. I've never had a yorkie before so I guess I don't know the difference, but hers always feels so dry and it's not exceptionally shiny. And it gets tangled like a mofo. I can brush that girl three times a day and get tangles every time. I use "intense moisturizing shampoo with lavender" for puppies by Paw Luxury and a puppy detangling conditioning spray when I brush her and it still feels so dry. It's not flaky like dandruff (it was before i got a moisturizing shampoo) but she itches all the time. She's been checked for fleas and worms and she's clean, she's just scratching all the time. I feel bad for her, I don't know what else to do for her dry hair. And she loses little bits of hair when I brush her - I know they're not supposed to shed but is losing a little normal? It's not clumps or anything.
And I guess this isn't a hair question, but is it a huge deal if her ears never stand up? She had that one up, so I trimmed the hairs on the other hoping to get it to pop up, and then her one that was up fell down again. Then her trimmed one popped up, so I trimmed the other one and now they match. When I first got her they were both completely flopped over and they're not nearly that floppy now but they are still curled over on the ends. For as much as she hates bows, clothes, and her collar, I know she'd hate having her ears taped and I'm not sure I want to put her through that. Does anyone have an adult yorkie with floppy ears? |
First, how old is your yorkie? Lots of them have floppy ears until their done teething, which could be as long as 6-7 months old. Emma has one floppy ear, and I LOVE IT that way! She has one up and one down, and though I'm biased, I think she's absolutely beautiful. I will post a pic of her up-close tomorrow so you can see her ear. Her breeder had her ears taped, but I didn't believe in doing that to her so young, so we had the groomer shave her ears, and one did go up.
Emma too has a cotton coat, (I'm not sure about Milli's yet!) and it's a bear to keep untangled. I keep her in a longer version of a puppy cut, especially since spring is here and she wants to be outside all the time. It's much easier to care for. I use a puppy shampoo and a spa conditioner at bath time-usually every 7-10 days. Try leaving the conditioner in for a few minutes and combing through it before rinsing her out. I follow with a detangling spray-either the BabyDog brand or Pantene leave in-use sparingly if you use people products. I use these products daily when I brush her. Bath wipes will also help keep the dirt off, which only makes mats worse-we use these daily too before brushing.
Finally, for the really stubborn mats, I have another people product, from Redken, I think. It's for really stubborn tangles, and helps keep the hair from breaking. I work a small amount of it through mats or tangles, and then comb through carefully. I also put a little of this on-sort of like a "hair gel" when she's dry after her bath. I went to Regis salon and asked a stylist there what she would use, and she recommended that product. I will try and post the exact name later on if you want to try and pick some up.
I'd check with the vet on the dry skin-could be a vitamin or oil deficiency in her diet. Make sure you're feeding her a good quality food, and stop giving supplements if you are-I found these made Emma's coat dry and itchy. See if she improves by discontinuing use of anything extra, and then slowly watch for any change.
Good luck!