# Change in Hair Type?



## Dogwriter (Jul 3, 2010)

Hello,
I lurk a lot and post little.  Anyway, I have this weird problem with Miss Piper's coat. I love a long coat, and for the first year or 18 months I had no problems. Then she started to matt. When I went to the groomer, the lady would yell at me about how much "dead hair" they got off her. They hated my maden brush and sold me a comb to use. I groom her religiously every day.
We'd go a couple months with no matting, then boom she'd have it again. I had her shaved all the way down nekkid once when she was 1 and I left her with a relative for a week, and again this past Nov.

Now she's just turned 3, the coat is approaching long again, and it seems really dry, it matts constantly, and she has developed terrible tearstaining at both her eyes and her mouth. I've bought a bunch of $$$ products, right now I'm bathing her with biogroom. I realized the matting started about the same time I stoppd using Pet Silk spray conditioner, so I ordered some, but I didn't get the leave-in kind (have they stopped making it?) I got the blueberry facial and it *might* be helping the face.

Has the coat changed from shaving her? Is this what we're stuck with, no more silky? Or since I'm moving to SW Florida, should we just do a puppy cut and quit worrying about it??

Thanks for listening!


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

Hair can certainly be affected by environment and grooming, but can also represent underlying health issues such as hypothyroidism (can cause dry, brittle hair). Is she scratching at her ears or tearing more? Have you changed her food recently? I'd have her first checked by the vet and then if everything is clear, I'd address optimizing her diet, cleaning the eyes daily with Fresh Eyes Collyrium eye wash (few drops in each eye), and, of course, using high quality grooming products. 

I use the Madan Brush and a Chris Christensen buttercomb to thoroughly brush. You must use a combination of brush and comb to get the tiny "starter" matts out. Hope this helps!


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

Agree with Marisa and you might want to add fish oil to her diet. I would definitely use a conditioner and let it sit on her a few minutes if she will allow it. You might want to use a water bottle instead of a bowl that will help with the mouth stains. Also, the water in FL may be causing it -used bottle water.


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## Kathleen (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi! It seems strange that her coat is so dry. I was thinking possibly diet also. Sometimes a diet with a lot of grains can cause skin/coat issues and tearing. If you haven't already, you could take a close look at the ingredients in her food.
Also, you could consider adding a supplement that helps with skin and coat, such as fish oil or coconut oil (as long as your vet says okay). They are both supposed to help. It could be the dryness causing the matting. 
I hope you can figure it out - Piper is very pretty!


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## Dogwriter (Jul 3, 2010)

hoaloha said:


> Hair can certainly be affected by environment and grooming, but can also represent underlying health issues such as hypothyroidism (can cause dry, brittle hair). Is she scratching at her ears or tearing more? Have you changed her food recently? I'd have her first checked by the vet and then if everything is clear, I'd address optimizing her diet, cleaning the eyes daily with Fresh Eyes Collyrium eye wash (few drops in each eye), and, of course, using high quality grooming products.
> 
> I use the Madan Brush and a Chris Christensen buttercomb to thoroughly brush. You must use a combination of brush and comb to get the tiny "starter" matts out. Hope this helps!


Scratching at ears = YES. We have not changed foods lately. I have tried other brushes / combs on her, the main thing is I want her to enjoy being groomed (if there is such a thing) and not hate it. She likes the Madan brush and hates the comb. So I alternate back n forth. I will try the eye wash. Thanks!

To Marisa and Mags - Ahh, supplements... these are worth a try. Will go talk to the vet but he seems to think eyes and ears are healthy.


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## Cyndilou (Jan 24, 2013)

I was using only whiting shampoo on Ace. He didn't Matt but he was a little fuzzy. Now he is 7 months old and let me tell you he has a ton of hair. I use wen on my hair and I started using it on him too it made a great difference. I was excited to find out that now wen is making pet products too. You can only get it at QVC right now. No more Matt's or fuzzies here though b


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

Dogwriter said:


> Hello,
> I lurk a lot and post little.  Anyway, I have this weird problem with Miss Piper's coat. I love a long coat, and for the first year or 18 months I had no problems. Then she started to matt. When I went to the groomer, the lady would yell at me about how much "dead hair" they got off her. They hated my maden brush and sold me a comb to use. I groom her religiously every day.
> We'd go a couple months with no matting, then boom she'd have it again. I had her shaved all the way down nekkid once when she was 1 and I left her with a relative for a week, and again this past Nov.
> 
> ...


Your groomer sounds like she is not talking about a Maltese coat. What on earth would be better about using a comb instead of a pin brush (Madan or similar)? Even more, why would she be finding "dead hair" on a Maltese? Maltese are not shedding dogs. They do not have excess dead hair in their coats. What she was getting out may have been matts, but I am sure it was not dead hair (unless your dog's coat is not typical of a Maltese). 

The coat can change from shaving and it can be harder to grow out a coat, but what you are describing sounds like an influence of health or diet more than anything else. It could also be products. It is hard to know without working directly with the coat.


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## Dogwriter (Jul 3, 2010)

A small aha moment

Last week I got really fed up with the dryness, and I stood Piper in a pan of warm water mixed with 2 conditioners (Pet Silk and an all natural something the groomer sold me). I kept going over her coat with those. I did not use any shampoo beforehand. 
Then I didn't rinse her. I thought if she felt too greasy I would just rinse her. Well, when she dried she wasn't greasy, it was like the hair had soaked up all the conditioner. It has been *so* much easier to brush her. And -- she likes the pin brush so that's what we have been using. 
I'm still going to add oil to her diet but I think things are improving. We're still using the spa lavish on her face with only a little result, but there's a white line where the hair is growing out so I think it was where she was getting into the cat food, which is now up on a platform so she can't get it. Her food is Nutro Natural Choice, which she's been eating for ages.
She goes to the same groomer early tomorrow. I'm still thinking on your comment Carina, that the groomer seems not to know the maltese coat. I'm scared to death she will want to shave her again (In fact when they called to confirm today, that's what was written down). I wonder how they get so much hair out of her? Perhaps that's what is actually causing the matting problem.......so confused.


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

Lightly spraying your brush and comb with water combined with a tiny bit of conditioner will help them slide through the coat more easily...


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## Tashulia25 (May 19, 2013)

Dogwriter said:


> Hello,
> I lurk a lot and post little.  Anyway, I have this weird problem with Miss Piper's coat. I love a long coat, and for the first year or 18 months I had no problems. Then she started to matt. When I went to the groomer, the lady would yell at me about how much "dead hair" they got off her. They hated my maden brush and sold me a comb to use. I groom her religiously every day.
> We'd go a couple months with no matting, then boom she'd have it again. I had her shaved all the way down nekkid once when she was 1 and I left her with a relative for a week, and again this past Nov.
> 
> ...


I buy Petsilk products all the time and they have leave in conditioner Pet Silk Leave In Conditioner








I love madden brushes, they are the best i've used. I think your groomer just wanted to sell you what they have


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## Dogwriter (Jul 3, 2010)

Hi Tashulia,
I'll bet you're right! She went there for the last time this week. They did NOT shave her, although they charged me $75 when it's usually $40 for a trim and comb-out. The extra was for extra combing. 
She feels verrry silky now. I think I just ordered the wrong thing, I got Pet Silk conditioner instead of Leave In conditioner. I'll keep using PS products, and also I will keep brushing her religiously. lol I brush all our animals constantly, but then one or another starts matting or knotting and we have a big mess for awhile. ~sigh~


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## Tashulia25 (May 19, 2013)

Tanya, I buy PS bright white conditioner (mix 2 table spoons with 1 table spoon of PS serum in 1 gallon of water), let my dogs stay in it for 5-10 min, then rinse. Drying, brushing and the next day I start to use pet silk leave in conditioner when brush, I spray madden brush and brush them  I don't go to groomers any more, I do my dogs by myself. My friend took her 5 lbs girl to the groomer where they were for 3 years, when she got her back home, her princess weren't able to walk, couldn't move her back paws . After x-ray vet was shocked, he told that all those fractures usually happen when car hit the baby, my vet told that it is possible that dog fell down on hard floor as she is very little and it is high enough for her. The groomer didn't tell nothing, she didn't even offer her help with vet's bills.


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