# Question about growing out coat



## SweetMalteseAngels (Oct 16, 2011)

Hello there,

Milo is one years old and I have been growing out his hair. However, it seems to be growing super duper slow. In fact, I feel that it really hasn't grown for the last several months. Someone mentioned that you have to wrap or band their hair for it to grow full length. Is that true? If so, why does that help the hair to grow? If I don't wrap or band the hair, will it not grow? The mustache and beird is still not that long and the length on the side doesn't seem to be growing. Your comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you.


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

I think wrapping/banding is so that the hair doesn't get damaged and break off. For actual growth I think you would have to look internally, with diet, supplements etc. Some just don't grow good coat. But then I am really just guessing as I have never grown a show coat. Maybe Stacy can help.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Wrapping and banding are only done when the coat it fully grown out to prevent breakage from carpeting, etc. Genetics play a huge part in Maltese coats. Not all Maltese can grow a beautiful coat like the ones you see in the show ring.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

MiMi's hair touched the floor at a little over one year. I gave her a town and country cut and it seems to be growing at about a half inch a month...same as mine. So, at that rate it will be two years until the hair on the top of her back touches the floor again. Wrapping the hair seems to be quite an ordeal and not at all practical. MiMi's breeder doesn't even wrap her show dogs. For a pet, I think it would be insane.


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

Is there a lot of play on carpet? That can break coat off very quickly. Or a lot of matting? I personally would not recommend wrapping - It's a LOT of work for a pet. I would just bathe every 5-7 days and limit time running on carpet and on the grass. Wrapping is pretty much a waste of time if the coat hasn't reached the ground.

So to answer the question, no you do not need to wrap to grow a proper coat. My daughter's juniors dog hasn't been wrapped a day in her life and she has been in full coat for over 5 years



















She has very limited access to carpet and grass and she is just bathed at least once a week. Luckily she also has a durable coat because it has sure seen some abuse over the years, LOL!!


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

So much goes into growing the long beautiful coats that you see on the show Malts and some of the pet Malts.

First -- as has been stated -- you have to start with good genes that grow good hair. For example, I've always envied the beautiful long glossy hair of many of the Orientals, but my own hair is blonde and thin and no matter what I do to it, it will never be like the hair I so crave. The same is true with fluffs. You have to start with a good hair gene and many of the pet Malts just don't have this.

Next comes how you care for the coat. Do you know how to properly brush and comb it? Do you use the right tools on it? Do you brush it many times a day? Do you know how to trim the ends? Just like our hair needs trimming to avoid split ends, so do the coats on our fluffs.

Next comes products. What type of shampoo and conditioner do you use? Do you leave any conditioner in the coat. Many find that to grow gorgeous show coat, they need to keep their dogs in oil -- which is very messy for a pet. And if you put them in oil on a regular basis, you have a problem with leaving the coat out of oil for more than 1-2 days.

Last comes how the dog lives. Does he run on carpet? Carpet creates static electricity and breaks coat. Same with many area rugs. What about grass? Does the fluff play on grass? Again it can break the coat. When I was growing my show dogs, they where always on tile (no carpet) and never on grass. Some show breeders even keep their fluffs in large "drop pens" so that their coat never touches the ground except for shows.

As you can see -- there is a lot that goes into growing out a long coat. At a year old, your baby has just grown through puppy coat change which is usually hard for pet owners to deal with. The coat begins to mat badly sometimes several times a day. 

If a long flowing coat is important to you, you might have to reevaluate whether or not your fluff has the genes to grow a good coat. If he does, then you may have to learn more about how to properly groom to get a glorious long coat.

As time goes by, you learn a lot more about grooming. I look back at the grooming I did on my first show dogs and shutter when I see the pictures. I wasn't good at grooming, but I learned. I would encourage you to go to some of the dog shows and watch the handlers/exhibitors groom their fluffs. Talk to them after they've finished showing and ask them to tell you some of their secrets. You might even think of taking your fluff with you and asking them what they would reccomend for products. You can also call your breeder for help with this type of info.

I wish you luck. Keeping a long coat isn't always very easy


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## SweetMalteseAngels (Oct 16, 2011)

silverhaven said:


> I think wrapping/banding is so that the hair doesn't get damaged and break off. For actual growth I think you would have to look internally, with diet, supplements etc. Some just don't grow good coat. But then I am really just guessing as I have never grown a show coat. Maybe Stacy can help.


*Thank you for your input. *



Ladysmom said:


> Wrapping and banding are only done when the coat it fully grown out to prevent breakage from carpeting, etc. Genetics play a huge part in Maltese coats. Not all Maltese can grow a beautiful coat like the ones you see in the show ring.


*Thank you for your input. Milo doesn't have the greatest coat but it doesn't matt much so I am attempting to see if I can grow out his coat. His coat has some crimps in it. Do you know if the show dogs just naturally have straight hair or do they look straight because of the good grooming practice?*



Sylie said:


> MiMi's hair touched the floor at a little over one year. I gave her a town and country cut and it seems to be growing at about a half inch a month...same as mine. So, at that rate it will be two years until the hair on the top of her back touches the floor again. Wrapping the hair seems to be quite an ordeal and not at all practical. MiMi's breeder doesn't even wrap her show dogs. For a pet, I think it would be insane.


*It does seem like a lot of work. I don't plan to wrap him but I was just wondering if I need to do that for helping his hair grow. I guess it just takes time so I just need to be patient and wait for it to grow a little while longer.*


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## SweetMalteseAngels (Oct 16, 2011)

*Thank you for your reply. Your dogs are sooooo pretty. I have laminate floors but I do have rug in the living room where my fluffs like to chase and play with each other. During the day, they are in my room where there is no carpet or rug.*

*Does your dogs have naturally straight hair? Milo and Mimi had straight hair when they were puppies but their adult coat seem to have some crimps in their hair especially around their neck area. **Do you mind sharing with me your grooming regiment and the products you use? *



bellaratamaltese said:


> Is there a lot of play on carpet? That can break coat off very quickly. Or a lot of matting? I personally would not recommend wrapping - It's a LOT of work for a pet. I would just bathe every 5-7 days and limit time running on carpet and on the grass. Wrapping is pretty much a waste of time if the coat hasn't reached the ground.
> 
> So to answer the question, no you do not need to wrap to grow a proper coat. My daughter's juniors dog hasn't been wrapped a day in her life and she has been in full coat for over 5 years
> 
> ...


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## SweetMalteseAngels (Oct 16, 2011)

Lacie's Mom said:


> So much goes into growing the long beautiful coats that you see on the show Malts and some of the pet Malts.
> 
> First -- as has been stated -- you have to start with good genes that grow good hair. For example, I've always envied the beautiful long glossy hair of many of the Orientals, but my own hair is blonde and thin and no matter what I do to it, it will never be like the hair I so crave. The same is true with fluffs. You have to start with a good hair gene and many of the pet Malts just don't have this.
> 
> ...


*Thank you for giving me things to think about and look into. Do you mind sharing with me your grooming regiment and the products you use? *


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

The one in my sig picture has naturally straight hair but my daughter's is NOT straight. It's a bit wavy and poofy. She is one that has to be flat ironed before a show or she looks like a poofy mess. It flat irons out well though!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Most show dogs are flat ironed. I do at least iron the ends on my coated pets because it seems to seal it and help make maintenance easier. 
You will find that products vary dog to dog and depending on your water/weather. What works for one may not work for another. Usually you have to do some trial and error on your individual dog to figure out what is best. If you describe the texture and thickness of your dog's coat I'm sure people will make some suggestions. 
I do wrap the body coat on any of my pets I keep in coat that do performance sports...otherwise the activity would kill the coat. It would never hit the floor.


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

As Jackie said -- the right regiment for your dog may be different from mine. In fact -- all 3 of my fluffs have very different coat textures and I care of each of them differently.

Without knowing the texture of Milo's coat, where you live, the weather, etc., it would be difficult to help you with products or regiment.


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