# Help! HOW to grow poor bald pup's hair!?!



## eevveellyynn (Feb 23, 2011)

My little Mochi is practically BALD! 

Background story: I got her when she was 10 weeks old from a "breeder" whom I will never recommend to anyone. It turned out she had a case of giardia resulting in frequent hypoglycemic seizures, a possible liver shunt (BIAL acid test showed NO despite vet being so sure)..and so a foster mom (breeder's friend) was watching and nursing her for 6 weeks to see if she'd get better. TURNS OUT.. she beat it ALL and doesn't have a shunt AND is one very energetic and hyper girl now!!! I wouldn't know it was the same dog except for a pink nostril she has! All is perfectly well EXCEPT.. she was taken to the groomers and they took off her beautiful fluffy puppy coat!!! ..see attachment :OMG!:

I have no idea why she was groomed like this?! Some of her hair is long as it should have all been...and the rest is down to the skin. Poor girl must be freezing!! 

I want to grow her hair out and maintain a medium length type puppy cut with a top knot but have no idea what to do. Do I just do _nothing_ except comb her every day? Do I let her hair around her eyes and muzzle just grow? Should I gel it as I've read in other threads? What should I be doing until her hair is long enough to be taken to a good groomer again? PLEASE HELP; I'm a clueless first time Maltese mommy!


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

good for her for getting all better !!! i just shaved my maltese like two weeks ago bad home grooming and already its growing .. she is a cutie !! it grows really fast


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## eevveellyynn (Feb 23, 2011)

how fast?? 

what do i do in the meantime? am i supposed to be trimming the hair around her eyes or just leave everything?


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

The hair around the eyes is a personal choice - some here trim and some let it grow out. I've always kept it trimmed in the corners bc I think it would be too irritating to their eyes in the grow out stage.
For the topknot hair as it gets longer you can put it in a band on the forhead to keep it out of the eyes until it is long enough to put up further on the head. Also I've seen people use those little baby bend and snap clips to help with bangs.


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

Just let it grow. She is lucky she is still here. :wub: The new coat will grow in thicker. It will take at least a year to get her coat somewhat long enough to put in topknots. It will all depend on what type of coat growth she has. She looks pretty spunky right now. Congratulations on having her.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

Something looks really strange to me about the texture of Mochi's coat after her haircut...do you have another picture of her sideways I could see? From the picture you posted, it almost looks like they stripped the coat, it looks as though there are just a few thin strands of long hair on the body, like it was thinned out somehow...

If you are wanting to grow out a topknot, do not trim any hair on the face or top of the head. It is up to you if you decide to trim the inside corners of the eyes -- some keep that trimmed, and others let it grow out. If it is currently trimmed, it will take several months for the corner hair to grow out to where it won't poke her in the eyes. Both of mine used to have topknots and I let it grow out without ever using any sort of gel and it was fine.

If the groomer did just shave in areas, you may want to have her entire body evened out by a different groomer so that it all grows in the same length. Having hair a bunch of different lengths can sometimes cause more matting. Was she matted at all when you took her in to be groomed? Perhaps the groomer had to shave mats out?

About 3 weeks after a Maltese has been shaved, they will start to look a little fluffier. Each dog's hair can grow at different rates, my two have hair that grows like weeds! I seem to need to clip their hair every 2 weeks (which sometimes I let them get a little fluffier).


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## eevveellyynn (Feb 23, 2011)

Lisa, 

YES, that's exactly how it looks like. It's IS THINNED out. *I* didn't take her to the groomer; when I got her back last week she looked sad and hairless like this. I wasn't sure if it was some rare style and that she was SUPPOSED to look like this. Perhaps she got lots of mats and then was taken to the groomer and this was the best remedy. The longer hairs are light and fluffy like a puppy's coat would be. The short cut hairs seem thicker and glossier if that's possible..or else it looks that way because it's so short.


Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely be taking her in soon to even it all out.


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## eevveellyynn (Feb 23, 2011)

Tina said:


> Just let it grow. She is lucky she is still here. :wub: The new coat will grow in thicker. It will take at least a year to get her coat somewhat long enough to put in topknots. It will all depend on what type of coat growth she has. She looks pretty spunky right now. Congratulations on having her.


Thanks :biggrin: I am SO thankful that she is here and SO well! I can't wait to see how she will turn out. 


...I've heard some stuff about Maltese puppy coats and an adult coats. Is there really a significant change?


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## jodublin (Sep 27, 2006)

hi Evelyn ..a good groomer would be your best bet,her hair once cut will grow back thicker too .coat change starts at around 1 year ,lots of maltese puppy owners find at this time the hair will mat a lot ,so go for a cut anyway ..
Ask your groomer to for a shampoo to suit mochis fine hair and a good conditioner 
i'm sure things will work out ,and by the summer you will never look back ..hugs to mochi .


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

eevveellyynn said:


> Lisa,
> 
> YES, that's exactly how it looks like. It's IS THINNED out. *I* didn't take her to the groomer; when I got her back last week she looked sad and hairless like this. I wasn't sure if it was some rare style and that she was SUPPOSED to look like this. Perhaps she got lots of mats and then was taken to the groomer and this was the best remedy. The longer hairs are light and fluffy like a puppy's coat would be. The short cut hairs seem thicker and glossier if that's possible..or else it looks that way because it's so short.
> 
> ...


This is what a puppies coat turns out like after they have had a bout with hypoglycemia more than once and if they have seizures. Or if they get sick for any reason and it takes lots of TLC to nurse them back to health. They start looking like a goose just starting to get its regular feathers in. When it has happened to me.........and a puppy.............we just start over growing the coat. It takes time for it to come back in. They are cute either way. LOL :wub:


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I would let it grow and just keep trimming off the whispy bits as you go. I have a dog who lost his gorgeous coat after being very ill. I've just been cutting off the crappy coat as the good stuff grows in. It has taken him a good 3-4 months for the healthy stuff to truly take over.


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## JChess (Sep 15, 2010)

How old is your baby? After a bout with girardia the same thing happened to Zeus and the short glossy hair grows way faster than expected and the long hairs will unfortunately likely continue to fall/ come out in brushes. Zeus was in dire need of getting another puppy cut in a few months (and he is not well bred nor does he have the fastest growing coat) Stick with it.


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## Mia's Mum (Mar 11, 2011)

Hi Evelyn, even with the wispy coat, she's still a cutie!! I would like to add that you might consider helping her hair grow from the inside, out. I swear by Grizzly Salmon oil as an all around nutritional supplement, but I'm finding it does stain the Maltese coat. If her skin is not dry, you might try regular baths with a quality shampoo every 1-2 weeks. That will certainly help.

As for groomers, please ask around a lot. Other dog owners can give good referrals.


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