# Kylee's hair



## NewMom328 (Apr 15, 2005)

Well, I've mentioned this before but Kylee came from a less than desirable "breeder" (this was in my younger, less knowledgable days) and since her adult coat has been coming in, it's very odd in my opinion. Her hair from her head down to the back of her front legs is nice and straight and shiny, like I picture a maltese's hair should be. But then from the back of her front legs to her tail its like...wavy and fro-y and frizzy. Now, is this characteristics of a cottony coat or does this imply that perhaps, down the line, she may have come from dogs that have curly-er coats, like a bichon or poodle. I ordered her pedigree a while back and they were all malteses...but maybe it was wrong or something...i dont know. I think it might just be cottony...but when i see pictures of cottony maltese, their hair looks straight, just frizzy- like it wont sit flt and kylee's is like very wavy. Anyway...any input is appreciated!


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## foX42O (Sep 10, 2005)

i'm still a maltese NOOB so i'm not sure..

but what i can say is.. leise's hair is all like that too.. so i just blowdry it straight & it usually does the trick. but a couple hours later it gets kinda curly again -_-.. 

is kylee's hair curly even after you blow dry?

sorry i can't help much...


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Yes, some dogs have different textures of coat in different areas of their bodies. It isn't usually that dramatic, but if all of her hair is nice and healthy, I wouldn't be concerned at all. She could simply have a poor coat versus the breed standard or she could have some bichon or another breed in there somewhere. It might be easier to keep her in a puppy trim of some sort. If you use a slicker brush on the silkier parts of her it will break the ends making it fluff a bit better (I do this on the silky malt I keep in a puppy cut so he looks fluffier). Also, blow drying her coat after her bath will help straighten some of the wave so the coat looks more even in texture.


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## foX42O (Sep 10, 2005)

> Yes, some dogs have different textures of coat in different areas of their bodies. It isn't usually that dramatic, but if all of her hair is nice and healthy, I wouldn't be concerned at all. She could simply have a poor coat versus the breed standard or she could have some bichon or another breed in there somewhere. It might be easier to keep her in a puppy trim of some sort. If you use a slicker brush on the silkier parts of her it will break the ends making it fluff a bit better (I do this on the silky malt I keep in a puppy cut so he looks fluffier). Also, blow drying her coat after her bath will help straighten some of the wave so the coat looks more even in texture.[/B]



yeah, the blowdrying of the coat REALLY helps.. i brush it dry and when i'm done i use a comb & i blow dry a little more so some of the little curls can come out..


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## kab (Apr 11, 2005)

Sugar has the same problem. Halfway down her back, her hair changes texture. It will not part and is much more cottony. Chloe is having a different problem. Now that she has gotten her adult coat, I have noticed crimping







. It changes in the same location that Sugar's coat does. I think I am going to have to keep both in a puppy coat.


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## Puddles Mom (Jun 20, 2004)

Puddles coat is the same way. His head to his front legs are straight and the comb will guide right thu it. The rest is like cotton. Hubby wanted his hair to grow out some, but i'm not sure about that. Can brush and brush, several rolls on the bed and its all messed up.


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## kab (Apr 11, 2005)

> Puddles coat is the same way. His head to his front legs are straight and the comb will guide right thu it. The rest is like cotton. Hubby wanted his hair to grow out some, but i'm not sure about that. Can brush and brush, several rolls on the bed and its all messed up.[/B]


My daughter and husband want me to try to keep it long, but they are not the ones caring for the tangled mess! I love it when I first give Sugar and Chloe their baths and dry it out really straight. Two hours later it is a mess.







I need to learn to love them in short styles.


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## misshope (Dec 15, 2005)

Just a couple of questions...When does the adult coat come in and what changes should I be looking for? Lastly, What is the length of a puppy cut? I've seen several dogs with "puppy cuts" some as short as 1/4 inch and I'm not sure what I should be telling our new groomer.
Thanks!

Best Regards,
Tracy & Bogey


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## NewMom328 (Apr 15, 2005)

I think the adult coat start coming in around 8 months. From my experience (and I am by no means an expert here) Kylee's coat just lost that straight but fluffy puppy look and her coat became more, cottony crimped..flat? I guess you could say. The groomer actually said that it would be hard to make her look the same as I wanted in the puppy pictures because her adult coat was coming in and it was going to look different no matter how you cut it. I think the length of puppy cuts and the styles differ dramatically. I would just bring in a picture of what you want your dog to look like and show that to the groomer, the groomer could probably tell the length of the hair just by looking at it in the pic. Its easier that way and they can get a visual of what you want instead of tryind to guess how you want it. I did this for the first couple of cuts and then I just tell my groomer to do the same thing. She is used to cutting Kylee and just knows how I want her. When I first started bringing her to the groomer, I would print out a picture of a haircut that I wanted, mostly from the gallery on this site, and on the bottom or back I would write exactly what I wanted done to Kylee- like nails trimmed, ears plucked, anal glands expressed, sanitary cut, watch her umbilical hernia (before it got fixed), and other things that I cant remember and I would always leave a phone number where I could be reached if she had any questions. After a couple times of doing this, the groomer just knew what to do. Ok that was a long long post...I seem to be rambling a lot today...sorry...I hope I answered your question somewhere in there! ~Lori


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