Ok I have asked about Patches strange coat answer was Spay coat can anyone tell me if this is a spay coat. I really do not like all the fuzzy hair if I have her shaved this summer might the texture grow back better? All the fuzzy hair picks up every leaf,blade of grass any thing in the yard gets carried in on her coat. The stripe down her back is beautiful shinny hair wish her whole coat was like that any ideas shave or strip on the fuzzy hair??? hubby calling her a skunk because of the stripe.
have you tried using a hack saw bald as a comb, it strips out the fluffies, it works a treat on Ms A's dead hair,I suppose I don't like shaving as the reason I got them is I love long hairs.
Roberta
Sorry I can´t remember exactly how old Patches is, but think she´s gorgeous whatever her coat may be. I´ll try to help a little though:
Do remember the longhaired coat grows all the time but takes at least 4 years to really grow in completely, variable on each pup. Shaving is never an option to improve a coat and often causes ingrowing hairs and softer coat afterwards - a prime example being the shaving of a wire coat which leaves all the dead hairs in, causing ingrowing hairs, deformed undercoat and ruined wire hair ( uneven colour, soft, curly texture..)
Shaving a longhair has similar results - leaves largely the fluffy, soft undercoat - the silky long hairs fall/ comb out naturally when their time is nigh and should never be cut or shaven.
All that said, it looks to me like Patches is in her undercoat and I agree with Roberta that correctly thinning it out will probably help the new growth, providing you´re very careful not to damage the silky long hairs which are starting to grow from her spine. The normal growth pattern is from the spine and neck area downwards so it isn´t unusual to see a younger dog with silkier hairs along the topline and still in puppy hair along the lower line. It´s also quite usual to have a slightly darker line of coat along the spine - no skunk ancestry involved at all!
Islay had a little fluffy undercoat showing on her withers for a few years, as well as very obvious layering of the new silk coming in from the shoulders/spine downwards; now at five and a half her silky coat is perfect and the undercoat only shows there if I´m lax at brushing! I brush her with a ZoomGroom very gently every morning, followed by a gentle wide-toothed pin-comb with rolling "teeth" for withers, ears and tail, followed by a wide-toothed flexi all over. This takes about 20 minutes. I then use a narrow, flexible hacksaw once a week, gently, over her body, centring on flanks and withers, to take out any loose undercoat fluff. The technique is important here: never do it in short sections, it´s important to take a long, gentle "swoop" from the neck along the back towards the tail, followed by next one along the same line, but slightly lower, in parallel lines. "Hacking" away at short sections causes broken hairs and upsets re-growth.
Hydration of the coat is important, I use mink-oil shampoo diluted one part in 10 of water, every 2 weeks in her shower. Aggresive shampoos with too much detergent or wrong PH can Fluff a coat quickly too.
Good luck and let us see piccies in a few months time when I´m sure you´ll already see an improvement. Give her a big hug and tell her we think she´s gorgeous as she is too.
I'm sorry, I have no experience with longhairs. I really hope you find something that works for Patches to improve her coat. I think she's cute, no matter what her coat looks like.
Looks just like my kid, Zuzu. can't tell you whether it's a spay coat or not as she was spayed at nine months before her full coat came in. Parts are silky, but she's really fuzzy along her sides.
The only thing for it is to leave the comb beside the door and give her a quick once over before coming in. "Oh Yeah! You brought momma sticks and twigs! Yay." She likes the attention.
I use a steel comb and I have to lift sections to get underneath. I have never shaved her, but do trim back the foot hair.
Patches is 3 years old I brush her with a Boar brush, steel comb about 3 times a week she is not a happy camper when getting brushed.I usually bathe her once a month using a Oatmeal shampoo I found a Wall mart has allot of conditioners in it smells like Vanilla best shampoo I have ever used behind on a bath this time keeps getting super cold.
Thanks for all the info on grooming Patches was fixed at about 6 months old did not know the age of spaying would mess with the way the coat grows or I would have waited longer. I do not know what a hack saw bald ? is the loopy shedding thing with a handle???? I do have stripping knifes left over from having Bouvier for 20 years guess I could comb her with them. Is the fuzzy hair under coat with no top coat???? The beautiful long hair in the middle of her back is the top coat right will she ever get top coat all over?With her daddy calling her a skunk just was hoping to be able to improve her coat she is too sweet to be called a skunk.Thanks to everyone that replied.Papbouv
Hi again,
Firstly, Patches is still young enough to not be in her full coat; perhaps she just needs a little help getting there.
Don´t get hung up on the supposed "spay coat" thing. Spay coats are a fallacy - fuzzies are either from breeding or grooming - either way they can always be improved if not "perfected" to show standard. Either way, don´t get hung up on it, all teckels (dachshunds) are adorable anyway and so long as she´s comfy in her coat and you are too, it doesn´t matter that much if she isn´t going in for show modelling..
Islay was 5 on 11th September last year and spayed at just under 6 months, purposely before her first heat, to both protect her to the maximum and in the knowledge it would still conserve her perfect genetic lines and coat for showing. She is a Spanish, German and Italian champion - as are her parents and grandparents who were not spayed. Spaying is NOT the problem. As I said before, showing is not of any real importance, but good breeding definitely makes a difference long-term to the breed itself (character and morphology). Soft coats are a "problem" for some breeders (I personally think they´re very fetching).
Check the Oatmeal shampoo is the correct PH for dogs since human PH is more than 2 points out and burns dog hair and skin, even though you only bathe her once a month, that could easily be the cause of over-fluff.
The "loopy" thing might well be a hacksaw stripper. The "v"´s should be very close together and very shallow and flexible to gently follow the length of her body. I use a twin-bladed "rocker" which avoids any pressure.
Three times a week is not much grooming. I would certainly recommend once a day - shorter spells but more often - to keep on top of mattes and get her used to the petting and it not becoming a long session each time.
The more I look at her, the more I feel that spinal hair is her real coat trying to get there. I hope she gets there with your help. I´d love to see pics of her "progress".
Sorry not to now brand names for you in the US, I´m in Spain and although I buy a lot of equipment form the USA and UK, not much is available over here, I know you have much more choice.
Please snuggle and ruffle that cuddly-bug Patches for us!
I know nothing about long hairs - but her coat looks VERY soft !
The Oatmeal shampoo is for dogs has allot of conditioners in it then to day I picked up some Silk Conditioner made by Bio groom suppose to be 26* in the morning so may or may not bathe her when I get her bathed I will take another picture of her.Will try to brush & comb her everyday see if that helps today I did use one of my Bouvier stripping knives as a comb on her fuzzy parts? In the picture she has not been bathed in almost 2 months bad momma need to get her done before she runs away from home.She is a pet do not even have AKC papers on her but do know she is a purebreed I think her breeders were the backyard breeder type. Bought her at 16 weeks no shots or worming done on her.My DIL brother had a cousin to Patches a Dapple grey he was very cute had a great temperament I made the comment how much I liked him so next time they had pups I got Patches. Know better but what done is done was just looking for a pet not into showing to political for me.Thanks for all the advise.
I don't know enough about this coat either but she is ADORABLE. Hallie and I say...we love a bit of an unusual coat anyway :grin: You got some good advice here. Hallie's coat is different in that she has zero undercoat. Even her dermatologist looked at her coat and said, is it always like this? LOL. She has soft cottony hair but if you part it you can easily see skin. The nice thing about it is she doesn't shed at all. I also thought of Zuzu when I saw this picture of Patches, I"ve always thought Zuzu had such a pretty, unusual red coat, and Patches looks like her twin! Interesting the stripe down her back too it will be interesting to see what happens as she matures.