# Is this rude to ask



## ddarlingfam (Mar 30, 2006)

I should be getting my puppy in the next week or so, and the last picture I got, her hair is getting to long for me. I was wondering if it would be rude to ask the breeder to cut her for me? She's not dirty or matted just a long coat. I haven't asked because I don't want to come across cheap.







After the cost of her it would be nice to not have to take her to the groomer the first week. As you all know it gets pretty expensive the first month so I'm trying to pinch some pennies where I can. Please be honest I have thick skin.

Amber


----------



## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

How old is the puppy? If the puppy is only 12 weeks old, I cannot imagine the hair being too long. I know some breeders do get worried when they hear this. I think I remember hearing a story about a breeder complaining about a similiar request.

In my humble opinion, the Maltese is a breed meant to have long hair. They are naturally beautiful that way. The only reason I can see in cutting down the hair is for maintenance reasons. At 12 weeks, the hair is not too long for maintenance reasons. Just my two cents.


----------



## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

It's not that it's rude so much as the breeder may not want to cut the hair in case you, for whatever reason, might back out of the deal...or...for whatever reason, send her back. She wouldn't want her hair cut as most prospective buyers want the hair uncut (except for people like me who don't mind growing it out <ie Cosy>). I know you have no intention of not getting her, but that may be touchy and then again, it may not be. Depends on the breeder.


----------



## ddarlingfam (Mar 30, 2006)

Thank you for the advice, I'm not going to ask for her to do the puppy cut. The reason I asked is because I thought I probably should wait, just wanted conformation.
She is 6 months old so her hair is kinnda long. I might let her hair grow out when she is older but I live in California and summer is coming up. We own a boat so I don't even want to consider a full coat at this time.


----------



## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

Ahhh... since she is 6 months old ... it's all making sense now









I suggest you keep it long until it becomes difficult to manage. I remember when I got Nibbler and Waffle at 8 months of age .. their coats were sooooo gorgeous. Both of the people I got him from were professional groomers. It was a sight! I never ever did get their coats looking back in that tip top perfection. 

I say leave it long and enjoy it until it gets to be unenjoyable!


----------



## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Oooh, I agree with CHarmypoo! Sometimes a coat in summer protects their pink skin from the sun's rays.
You may find it's easier than you think to keep it long. Once you cut that puppy coat off it is much more difficult to grow long again.


----------



## ddarlingfam (Mar 30, 2006)

thanks, I'm going to give it a try. One thing is I don't know what brand or size pin brush to get. What products do you use to keep up your dogs coats?


----------



## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

> Thank you for the advice, I'm not going to ask for her to do the puppy cut. The reason I asked is because I thought I probably should wait, just wanted conformation.
> She is 6 months old so her hair is kinnda long. I might let her hair grow out when she is older but I live in California and summer is coming up. We own a boat so I don't even want to consider a full coat at this time.[/B]



Depending on the coat type, it might not be so bad of a problem to keep long. Neyland's hair is longer and we have only had one matt so far and it wasn't a booger one. Brink on the other hand has a very cottony/wavy coat and I keep him short. He still matts if he wiggles wrong.
You might get a good coat and be pleasantly surprised at the ease of keeping it longer.
It will help keep her from getting sunburned too.


----------



## NewMom328 (Apr 15, 2005)

> thanks, I'm going to give it a try. One thing is I don't know what brand or size pin brush to get. What products do you use to keep up your dogs coats?[/B]


There's a whole grooming tools pictorial that JMM posted in the Grooming section- that covers probably everything you will need to have a beautiful coat on your malt! Link: http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1857


----------



## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

> thanks, I'm going to give it a try. One thing is I don't know what brand or size pin brush to get. What products do you use to keep up your dogs coats?[/B]


You will be truly surprised at how easy a nice coat is to maintain. I must say that Jellybean has the nicest coat ever. She never ever mats (cross my finger) and she is 10 months now. I can literally not brush her for days without a problem. On the other hand, Cupcake mats more easily. She has to be brushed daily.

I live by my two CC brushes - one is the gold series and the other is the one with the white pad. I get the 20 mm size as the other one is too big for me. I also love their silver combs.

I find that different products work well depending on the coat type and climate. There has been many threads about this topic and you can't go wrong with trying out a few.

Brit is so right that the first coat is always easiest to grow. It is always a lot more challenging trying to grow out the coat again. I cut Cookie down when she was around 2 years old. I am still trying to grow her coat out but I always give in and cut it down. It was a lot of work trying to keep all my kids in coat.


----------



## ddsumm (Jan 26, 2006)

Well take a look at Sassy! She got long coat and she lives in Florida!!

Maybe Pat could give you some advise??

Just my two bob's worth.


Dede and Chloe from down under



PS Yes I keep Chloe in a puppy cut in summer because of our hot summers. And she doesnt go out in the sun much at all. Just to potty, then its back indoors to the airconditoning!!


----------



## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

I recently ordered from CChristensen. I have the handy size gold pin brush and the tiny butter comb. I love them both! The pin size is 5/8's I believe.


----------



## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

> Well take a look at Sassy! She got long coat and she lives in Florida!!
> 
> Maybe Pat could give you some advise??[/B]


In addition to Pat's expert grooming, we have to remember that Sassy has an amazing coat. It really makes a huge difference in growing the hair long. For myself, I would try not to get a Maltese with a poor coat as I am a newbie in the show world and not so great in growing a show coat. The flip side of it is that I have been told a poor coat is not that difficult to breed out of a line.


----------



## ddarlingfam (Mar 30, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=175644
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Since this is my first malt I didn't consider coat to much. How can you tell if your dog has a good coat? can you tell by the pictures in my gallery?


----------



## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

What a cutie pie. Is she from Bonnie too?

You can ask the breeder and I am sure she knows best. They also go through coat changes around 6 months and I believe a year. However, my experience shows that it is not often that a great silk coat turns to crap and crap turns to a perfect silk coat.

It is hard to tell a coat from photos as it depends on the products and the grooming. In photos, Jellybean and Cupcake's coats both look the same but in real life .. Cupcake's coat is softer. I can usually tell a really cottony coats in photos with some tail tail signs. I don't know .. it usually puffs up like a cotton ball.


----------



## ddarlingfam (Mar 30, 2006)

> What a cutie pie. Is she from Bonnie too?
> 
> You can ask the breeder and I am sure she knows best. They also go through coat changes around 6 months and I believe a year. However, my experience shows that it is not often that a great silk coat turns to crap and crap turns to a perfect silk coat.
> 
> It is hard to tell a coat from photos as it depends on the products and the grooming. In photos, Jellybean and Cupcake's coats both look the same but in real life .. Cupcake's coat is softer. I can usually tell a really cottony coats in photos with some tail tail signs. I don't know .. it usually puffs up like a cotton ball.[/B]


No she's not one of bonnies pups


----------

