# Help, I need grooming tips



## lora123 (Oct 27, 2007)

Hello, my name is Lora and this is my first time on this forum but from what I read on it everyone seems so helpful, so I decided to give it a shot. I have a 7 month old male maltese named Rosco he is the apple of my eye and my husband and I love him to death. Anyways heres my question. When I took him in for his first haircut the groomer chopped him up pretty bad so I learned my lesson and never took him back there. I did find a different groomer and the first time I took him to her she used just scissors to cut his hair and he looked so good, except she left the hair on top to long but oh well he still looked so cute. So 6 weeks later I took him back for another cut and I told her to cut the top a little shorter and when I picked him up she had used the clippers on his whole body which made him look well groomed but I still dont know if the top is still to long, heres my question, I want him to have a short cut all the time but how short should the top be without taking away the maltese look, I know if you cut it to short it tends to take away the maltese look or does it? Is it just me or what? Does anyone have a puppy around the same age with a short cut that I could see a picture of? Thank You


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

well, massimo's no puppy... but i keep him cut pretty short. i also use scissors. 

[attachment=31708:massimo.jpg]

[attachment=31709:massimo_1.jpg]

these were taken just the other day, you can see his face a little closer:

[attachment=31710icture_13465_copy.jpg]

[attachment=31711icture_13477_copy.jpg]


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## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

AHHH Massimo, goodness Carrie he is so VERY handsomely darlingly cute! I just love him to pieces. You do a great job on his haircut always.

Lora, mostly it's a matter of personal wishes I think. What looks good to you? I have seen Maltese in all sorts of cuts and personally some I don't care for but some I LOVE! It's all about pleasing your eye. I sure would love to see photos of your Rosco with his new cut. 

enJOY! 
Melanie


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## lora123 (Oct 27, 2007)

Thanks so much for the pictures, he looks so freakin cute!!!!! I do love the haircut, Im going to have to take my computer in to the groomer and show her his picture, because thats exactly what Im looking for, except his ears aren't quite that long yet, but she does leave the hair on the ears long and doesn't cut them except at the bottom of the ears. I would send pictures but I haven't figured out how to yet, when my son comes over I'll have him show me how until then I'll keep trying on my own. Even though mossimo was cut with scissors and his hair is cut short he still looks so fluffy and full, when she cut Rosco that short he didn't look that full for some reason. Its been a week since the cut and he is starting to look a little fuller. But I will defintly take his picture in and show her. If anyone else has pictures please send them. Thank You


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## lora123 (Oct 27, 2007)

How old is mossimo, and how much does he weight? Thank You Lora


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

thank you. 

in the first two pictures, massimo was 3 years old and weighed in at 4.2lbs. he's going to be 4 in jan and has gained a bit of weight due to his antiseizure meds... so he's a little chubby. i'd say he should weigh about 5lbs.


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## ShilohsMom (Jun 25, 2007)

I love those Massimo pictures soooo much :wub: What I like the most about his hair style is its very flattering, youthful and yet unique- makes the most of that adorable face and you can still tell without question that he is a maltese.


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

I don't know how you can answer this so that I can understand, but Carrie...how far back under his chin do you cut? I can never decide how far back I want to go. So sometimes I go farther back, then is starts to grow in and looks great, but then it get's to a certain length and it's like wooooow...that is really uneven looking. Oh, and anyone can answer, it's just that I was looking at Massimo and so I asked Carrie.


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

Massimo looks very nice in his puppy cut. Very pretty face and eyes. :wub:


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

ohhh gosh. i've tried to explain this over and over again, forgive me, i'm not so good at relaying this sort of info. :blush: 

first of all, when i cut him, i grasp his hair between my forefinger and my middle finger (like a hairstylist). i put my fingers against his body and cut just above them. i try to cut against the grain, so the hair kinda sticks up better and it tends to look more even. i cut him that short all over his body and _neck_. his face i do absolutely last. i cut that by eyeballing it. to keep him still, i used to hold on to his beard and talk sweetly to him. he did very well. but now he just rests his head in my hand so i can see either side of his face. oh, first, i put his ears up in a scrunchi so i can see...lol. then i just cut in a rounded fashion from the mustache up to the underside of his ears. then i cut the beard to suit. 

sorry if that was of no help. i told you i can't explain it well.


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## bek74 (Jun 26, 2006)

> Thanks so much for the pictures, he looks so freakin cute!!!!! I do love the haircut, Im going to have to take my computer in to the groomer and show her his picture, because thats exactly what Im looking for, except his ears aren't quite that long yet, but she does leave the hair on the ears long and doesn't cut them except at the bottom of the ears. I would send pictures but I haven't figured out how to yet, when my son comes over I'll have him show me how until then I'll keep trying on my own. Even though mossimo was cut with scissors and his hair is cut short he still looks so fluffy and full, when she cut Rosco that short he didn't look that full for some reason. Its been a week since the cut and he is starting to look a little fuller. But I will defintly take his picture in and show her. If anyone else has pictures please send them. Thank You[/B]



Massimo does look ever so cute, but he is also very little and has a little petite head, so going that short doesn't always look that nice on other Maltese. I personally would just keep asking your groomer to go a little shorter each time till you get the look you want.
I groom dogs part-time and we always leave that little bit of extra length on there heads, if when the owner comes in and says, no we would like it a bit shorter, it only takes a few minutes to adjust. You really need to communicate to your groomer, everybody likes their dog cut a certain way and unfortunately we aren't mind readers and it is of no help when you as a customer isn't certain of the look your after. Clipper cut is much neater, when we do puppy cuts, we clip them off first, and then hand scissor to tidy up, that was it is a very neat and even cut, most cuts done ONLY by scissor look very choppy close up.
Good Luck and communicate with your groomer, it may take a few cuts but eventually you get the look that you want and your groomer will know exactly what to do for you.
Bek


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## lora123 (Oct 27, 2007)

Thanks so much for the responses, you dont know how mu
ch I app. everyones input, and I have to agree with everyone about mossimo he is so adorable. I have a good tip on what you can give your pet if he or she has bad breath. Rosco had really, really, really I mean really bad breath for the past 3 months, it smelled like rotten fish, even if his face wasn't facing you, you could still smell it. I know alot of it was puppy breath along with loosing teeth and his permenet ones coming in but it was just to bad to ignore, so I called the vet and they recommended either toothpaste or this liquid stuff you put in his water, it doesn't change the taste but turns the water a little green but within three days his bad breath was totally gone, I love it no more sticky breath I swear I thought nothing could help his breath the stuff is called Virbac, C.E.T. AquaDent. If you haven't already heard of it here it is give it a shot.


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