Grooming
(Again? Didn't we just do that?)
The Havanese is a happy breed causing much delight amongst the exhibitors as more and more enter the conformation rings. The sight of this little Cuban export happily parading himself around the ring is a sight to see. Our standard states under presentation: The dog should be shown as naturally as is consistent with good grooming. He may be shown either brushed or corded. His coat should be clean and well conditioned. In mature specimens, the length of the coat may cause it to fall to either side down the back but it should not appear to be artificially parted. The long, untrimmed head furnishings may fall forward over the eyes, naturally and gracefully to either side of the skull, or held in two small braids beginning above the eyes, secured with plain elastic bands. (No ribbons or bows are permitted.)
Minimal trimming of the hair at the inside corner of the eye is allowed for hygienic purposes only, not in an attempt to resculpt the planes of the head. Minimal trimming around the anal and genital areas, for hygienic purposes only, is permissible but should not be noticeable on presentation. The hair on the feet and between the pads should be neatly trimmed for the express purpose of a tidy presentation. Any other trimming or sculpting of the coat is to be so severely penalized as to preclude placement.
Because correct gait is essential to breed type, the Havanese should be presented at natural speed on a loose lead
The following advice is mostly for the people that want to keep their Havanese in a full show coat. If you want to keep your Havanese in a shorter coat for ease of maintenance, click here for a puppy clip.
Our
Havanese coat is expected to be soft and light in texture and I have
heard a good definition that states it should look and feel like raw
silk. It should not feel like a Maltese coat which is more like refined
silk. Of course the Maltese is a single coat and our coat is a double
coat. The Maltese also ought to hang straight and smooth which is a
fault with the Havanese. Our standard requires a slightly wavy coat but
not a really curly coat, nor a coarse wiry coat. He is also not allowed
to be trimmed except for inside corner of the eye, feet and the regions
of the anal and genital areas. He is to be a naturally outlined breed.
He does have an interesting outline with his rise and the flashy short
upper arm action. This characteristic spring lends enjoyment and energy
to the presentation of this breed. So, what to do? The dangers are to
go too straight and flat or too full and too much wave. A happy balance
is the order. The first thing to do to get this look is to start with
your grooming routine.
To achieve the best results from brushing, it should be done daily.
Place you Havanese on a comfortable table and have him lay on his side. You should use a small slicker brush with fine soft metal teeth to brush in layers. Start with the front leg. Brush against the fall of the hair until you get to the shoulder. Use the same method for the back leg.
The shoulder is the point where the hair is separated by making a line to the buttocks. The layer of hair above the line goes up along with the ear. The hair below the line goes down. Mist his coat with Showin Going Strong (Leave-in Strengthener) and/or Showin Unravel (Detangling and Conditioner) Using a large pin brush; comb the top layer of hair against the growth of the hair. Brush the lower layer of hair down toward the abdomen. Once this is completed, brush all the hair in layers down toward the abdomen until you complete this side. The lower part of the neck, chest, buttocks, tail and flank is brushed toward the outside the same way. Lay your Havanese on the other side and brush in the same manner as described.
After both sides are done, put your Havanese in a standing position and brush down all the hair. The head is brushed back from the stop and the rest of your Havanese is brushed towards the fall of the hair.
Next you will use a comb. Run the comb through the hair gently. If there is an resistance, you will need to do the brushing again until the comb goes through the hair with no difficulty
When finished, brush the hair gently to give it the desired fall. Let him shake if he wants.
This daily brushing is a must to the health of your dogās hair. Never use the combs to untangle the hair. Only use the comb to enhance the brushing when the brush meets no resistance. Never use scrapers or teasers.
If you Havanese have urine stains, you can use commercial powder or corn starch but remember to brush all the powder out.
The Havanese show dog is given a bath every four days, on the average.
In a tropical climate this cycle works well. You must determine when
the hair of your dog becomes either dry or oily. The first step for a
proper bath of your Havanese is the daily brushing. Once this has been
finished, put cotton balls in each ear to protect the ear canal from
getting water inside the ear.
Get your dog completely wet taking care not to put water in the nose or
directly into the ears. When the hair is saturated apply the shampoo by
gently massaging the hair toward the direction of growth. Rinse until
there is no trace of shampoo in the hair. Don't be afraid to use a
couple of different shampoos on the one dog to achieve the exact result
you want. If you have good texture and want shine, then use the John
Paul Pet - Oatmeal Shampoo . Should the texture be too coarse,
then use the John Paul Pet - Calming Moisturing Shampoo. For white
areas, you may prefer the John Paul Pet - Super Bright Shampoo for a
pearly white finish. Sometimes it is a matter of tweaking the various
areas of the dog for the perfect affect rather than a blanket all over
approach.
Next apply a conditioner. Use 2 tablespoons of John Paul Pet - Oatmeal Conditioning Rinse to a quart of water and saturate well working through with your fingers and rinse. Then add 1 tablespoons of Showin Straight Shooter to a quart of warm water and saturate the coat thoroughly and leave in - don't rinse. If you have a wildly, profuse coat then you may find it beneficial to add a teaspoon of Showin Smooth Talker in with the Straight Shooter mix. The Straight Shooter will keep the coat from jumping all over the place and keep some semblance of order to the drape, and the Smooth Talker has the action of softening and flattening though this proportion is only enough to keep excessive billowing from the coat and not enough to overdo the action.
Remove the excess water with your hands by squeezing the hair downwards. Next wrap your dog with a towel. Put your dog on a table in a standing position. With a big pin brush and a hair dryer on the lowest setting possible start brushing the hair slowly while still damp. Remove the cotton balls from the ears and place the dog on its side to brush its hair in the same manner as described for the daily brushing except that the hair is not separated in layers until the hair is fully dry. The hair should not be allowed to dry without being brushed. If the hair becomes dry before being brushed, damped it again before brushing. Brush the hair until the whole dog is completely dry.
The drying process is relatively straight forward - the Pin Brush gives air to hair and a bristle flattens, so the choice is clear - when the coat is between the sparse to ideal, then only the Pin is required as you don't want to overdo the flattening or the straightening process. 99% of the time the Pin is all that is required. It will give you just the right look. Only use the Boar Head Brush with Boar Hair & Nylon bristle which is approx 50% bristle and 50% nylon on the tail or around the head. The tail is required to plume with long silky hair and fall either straight forward or lie to one side of the body and the head needs some definition. The Boars Head brush will assist in lightly smoothing and shaping these areas for enhancement. No amount of work is too much for a show dog after all. A discreet amount of Showin Up Rising can be used on the head piece and ears for added lift where required after bathing and blow dried. A tiny amount of Showin Manipulate Me warmed through the fingers till the product changes from wet sticky to dry sticky and then applied at the root area only above the eye, to keep the coat in place away from the eyes and for refined definition. I do mean a tiny amount. This dog does need to attain a natural appearance.
For your grooming spray, use Showing Unravel liberally prior to brushing or for detangling. You would use Showin Touch of Silk on show day to keep static at bay and to add a touch of weight to the tip of the coat - just smear a light spray onto your hands and wipe down the coat lengths and add extra to the tip. You can use this several times a day without any adverse effects to the coat and keeping the natural feel and appearance to the coat. It just helps the coat to behave - it does not however take the place of the use of the Straight Shooter during the drying. It is the two step action that gives the best result. Maybe a light spraying of Showin Let Me Shine on show day too for added interest - if you can see this when you are applying it, you have used too much. I keep reiterating that the Havanese is to be presented naturally. You may wish to also keep on hand the new John Paul Pet Full Body and Paw Wipes which is a wonderful alternative to cleansing your dog when a wet Self Rinse is not an option - you don't want to go wetting a coat that has been carefully dried after all. The Wipes are a cleanser and deodorizer and very handy for long show circuits, wet and muddy days and dogs who have poor toilet manners.
Puppies:
Grooming a young Havanese is not the same as with an adult. The baths are not as frequent. But you need to familiarize your puppy with the grooming routine so that when it does become necessary as a young adult he will be happy to cooperate with the routine. Both my daughter and I have several Havanese that happily take a nap during their daily brushing.
Oiling the Coat:
Oiling the hair is done about every fifteen days. For the dog whose hair tends to be dry it is done as follows:
The day before you are going to give a bath and after the daily brushing, comb the hair using a comb with metal teeth. Cover the comb with Showin Rehab and pass the comb through the hair.
Another method is to apply the Showin Rehab with your hand and comb the hair that has been covered with oil. It is important that the comb is covered with oil before combing the hair.
Keep repeating the process until all the hair is treated with the oil. For the oiling procedure to be most effective it must be one day before the bath. By doing this, your Havanese has the oil in his hair for 24 hours which is the optimum time for this treatment.
Generalities:
Not all Havanese have the same hair. Light colored Havanese (white, cream and gray) tend to be dry and the dark colored Havanese (black, black and white, black and tan) tend to be oily.
Your Havanese is ready to go. This springy gaited little person with his characteristic upheld high head and flashy gait is an emerging force in the show scene. He doesn't always get to chase the chickens but hopefully now he will get to chase all those coveted ribbons. I have high hopes for this breed from all the energy I feel from the devoted owners and breeders I speak to. The standard is your Bible for this breed and those who follow the path after you will thank you for the hard work you have invested in this wonderfully exciting breed in the ring.
a pin brush (no knobs at the ends of the pins) and a slicker brush
Esther, Kathy, Robin and Kathy
Amoritas Havanese
El Morro Havanese
Gilwood Havanese
Mi Casa Havanese
(Again? Didn't we just do that?)
Grooming the Havanese
The Havanese is a happy breed causing much delight amongst the exhibitors as more and more enter the conformation rings. The sight of this little Cuban export happily parading himself around the ring is a sight to see. Our standard states under presentation: The dog should be shown as naturally as is consistent with good grooming. He may be shown either brushed or corded. His coat should be clean and well conditioned. In mature specimens, the length of the coat may cause it to fall to either side down the back but it should not appear to be artificially parted. The long, untrimmed head furnishings may fall forward over the eyes, naturally and gracefully to either side of the skull, or held in two small braids beginning above the eyes, secured with plain elastic bands. (No ribbons or bows are permitted.)
Minimal trimming of the hair at the inside corner of the eye is allowed for hygienic purposes only, not in an attempt to resculpt the planes of the head. Minimal trimming around the anal and genital areas, for hygienic purposes only, is permissible but should not be noticeable on presentation. The hair on the feet and between the pads should be neatly trimmed for the express purpose of a tidy presentation. Any other trimming or sculpting of the coat is to be so severely penalized as to preclude placement.
Because correct gait is essential to breed type, the Havanese should be presented at natural speed on a loose lead
The following advice is mostly for the people that want to keep their Havanese in a full show coat. If you want to keep your Havanese in a shorter coat for ease of maintenance, click here for a puppy clip.
Daily Brushing:
To achieve the best results from brushing, it should be done daily.
Place you Havanese on a comfortable table and have him lay on his side. You should use a small slicker brush with fine soft metal teeth to brush in layers. Start with the front leg. Brush against the fall of the hair until you get to the shoulder. Use the same method for the back leg.
The shoulder is the point where the hair is separated by making a line to the buttocks. The layer of hair above the line goes up along with the ear. The hair below the line goes down. Mist his coat with Showin Going Strong (Leave-in Strengthener) and/or Showin Unravel (Detangling and Conditioner) Using a large pin brush; comb the top layer of hair against the growth of the hair. Brush the lower layer of hair down toward the abdomen. Once this is completed, brush all the hair in layers down toward the abdomen until you complete this side. The lower part of the neck, chest, buttocks, tail and flank is brushed toward the outside the same way. Lay your Havanese on the other side and brush in the same manner as described.
After both sides are done, put your Havanese in a standing position and brush down all the hair. The head is brushed back from the stop and the rest of your Havanese is brushed towards the fall of the hair.
Next you will use a comb. Run the comb through the hair gently. If there is an resistance, you will need to do the brushing again until the comb goes through the hair with no difficulty
When finished, brush the hair gently to give it the desired fall. Let him shake if he wants.
This daily brushing is a must to the health of your dogās hair. Never use the combs to untangle the hair. Only use the comb to enhance the brushing when the brush meets no resistance. Never use scrapers or teasers.
If you Havanese have urine stains, you can use commercial powder or corn starch but remember to brush all the powder out.
The Bath:
Next apply a conditioner. Use 2 tablespoons of John Paul Pet - Oatmeal Conditioning Rinse to a quart of water and saturate well working through with your fingers and rinse. Then add 1 tablespoons of Showin Straight Shooter to a quart of warm water and saturate the coat thoroughly and leave in - don't rinse. If you have a wildly, profuse coat then you may find it beneficial to add a teaspoon of Showin Smooth Talker in with the Straight Shooter mix. The Straight Shooter will keep the coat from jumping all over the place and keep some semblance of order to the drape, and the Smooth Talker has the action of softening and flattening though this proportion is only enough to keep excessive billowing from the coat and not enough to overdo the action.
Remove the excess water with your hands by squeezing the hair downwards. Next wrap your dog with a towel. Put your dog on a table in a standing position. With a big pin brush and a hair dryer on the lowest setting possible start brushing the hair slowly while still damp. Remove the cotton balls from the ears and place the dog on its side to brush its hair in the same manner as described for the daily brushing except that the hair is not separated in layers until the hair is fully dry. The hair should not be allowed to dry without being brushed. If the hair becomes dry before being brushed, damped it again before brushing. Brush the hair until the whole dog is completely dry.
The drying process is relatively straight forward - the Pin Brush gives air to hair and a bristle flattens, so the choice is clear - when the coat is between the sparse to ideal, then only the Pin is required as you don't want to overdo the flattening or the straightening process. 99% of the time the Pin is all that is required. It will give you just the right look. Only use the Boar Head Brush with Boar Hair & Nylon bristle which is approx 50% bristle and 50% nylon on the tail or around the head. The tail is required to plume with long silky hair and fall either straight forward or lie to one side of the body and the head needs some definition. The Boars Head brush will assist in lightly smoothing and shaping these areas for enhancement. No amount of work is too much for a show dog after all. A discreet amount of Showin Up Rising can be used on the head piece and ears for added lift where required after bathing and blow dried. A tiny amount of Showin Manipulate Me warmed through the fingers till the product changes from wet sticky to dry sticky and then applied at the root area only above the eye, to keep the coat in place away from the eyes and for refined definition. I do mean a tiny amount. This dog does need to attain a natural appearance.
For your grooming spray, use Showing Unravel liberally prior to brushing or for detangling. You would use Showin Touch of Silk on show day to keep static at bay and to add a touch of weight to the tip of the coat - just smear a light spray onto your hands and wipe down the coat lengths and add extra to the tip. You can use this several times a day without any adverse effects to the coat and keeping the natural feel and appearance to the coat. It just helps the coat to behave - it does not however take the place of the use of the Straight Shooter during the drying. It is the two step action that gives the best result. Maybe a light spraying of Showin Let Me Shine on show day too for added interest - if you can see this when you are applying it, you have used too much. I keep reiterating that the Havanese is to be presented naturally. You may wish to also keep on hand the new John Paul Pet Full Body and Paw Wipes which is a wonderful alternative to cleansing your dog when a wet Self Rinse is not an option - you don't want to go wetting a coat that has been carefully dried after all. The Wipes are a cleanser and deodorizer and very handy for long show circuits, wet and muddy days and dogs who have poor toilet manners.
Puppies:
Grooming a young Havanese is not the same as with an adult. The baths are not as frequent. But you need to familiarize your puppy with the grooming routine so that when it does become necessary as a young adult he will be happy to cooperate with the routine. Both my daughter and I have several Havanese that happily take a nap during their daily brushing.
Oiling the Coat:
Oiling the hair is done about every fifteen days. For the dog whose hair tends to be dry it is done as follows:
The day before you are going to give a bath and after the daily brushing, comb the hair using a comb with metal teeth. Cover the comb with Showin Rehab and pass the comb through the hair.
Another method is to apply the Showin Rehab with your hand and comb the hair that has been covered with oil. It is important that the comb is covered with oil before combing the hair.
Keep repeating the process until all the hair is treated with the oil. For the oiling procedure to be most effective it must be one day before the bath. By doing this, your Havanese has the oil in his hair for 24 hours which is the optimum time for this treatment.
Generalities:
Not all Havanese have the same hair. Light colored Havanese (white, cream and gray) tend to be dry and the dark colored Havanese (black, black and white, black and tan) tend to be oily.
Your Havanese is ready to go. This springy gaited little person with his characteristic upheld high head and flashy gait is an emerging force in the show scene. He doesn't always get to chase the chickens but hopefully now he will get to chase all those coveted ribbons. I have high hopes for this breed from all the energy I feel from the devoted owners and breeders I speak to. The standard is your Bible for this breed and those who follow the path after you will thank you for the hard work you have invested in this wonderfully exciting breed in the ring.
John Paul Pet - Oatmeal Shampoo
John Paul Pet - Calming Moisturing Shampoo
John Paul Pet - Super Bright Shampoo
John Paul Pet - Oatmeal Conditioning
Showin Smooth Talker
Showin Up Rising
Showin Manipulate Me
Showin Touch of Silk
Showin Let Me Shine
Showin Rehab
(the above products can be found at www.hav-n-fun.com)
John Paul Pet - Calming Moisturing Shampoo
John Paul Pet - Super Bright Shampoo
John Paul Pet - Oatmeal Conditioning
Showin Smooth Talker
Showin Up Rising
Showin Manipulate Me
Showin Touch of Silk
Showin Let Me Shine
Showin Rehab
(the above products can be found at www.hav-n-fun.com)
a greyhound comb and nail clippers
a pin brush (no knobs at the ends of the pins) and a slicker brush
Esther, Kathy, Robin and Kathy
Amoritas Havanese
El Morro Havanese
Gilwood Havanese
Mi Casa Havanese
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