Grooming Supplies:

Chris Christensen’s 20 mm Gold Series Pin Brush with ¾” pin length

Chris Christensen's 20 mm Small Pin Brush with ¾” pin length

Chris Christensen’s #002Buttercomb 7 1/2" ALL COARSE

Small narrow roll tooth comb for face and feet

Small wide tooth comb for touch ups

Nail Clippers with safety stop

Rounded scissors for trimming eyes

Solid Gold Super Sen Gelle Shampoo

Solid Gold Jojoba Oil Hair and Skin Conditioner

Chris Christensen's Silk Spirits to prevent coat breakage

Leave in spray conditioner

Eye Wipes

Styptic powder for 'just in case'

Never use a slicker brush as these. These will break your Kidz' hair and cause serious damage to your Kidz' coat. They also hurt!

The Havanese do not need to be professionally groomed and when shown are shown completely natural or corded. Because the coat is long it does require regular grooming to keep it in good condition. Although it's not necessary to have your Kid professionally groomed, some parents prefer to keep their Kidz clipped shorter so it is easier to maintain. Even with clipping, your Kid will need to be brushed and groomed regularly. We prefer to keep our Kidz in their natural coat or corded as this is one of the fine qualities of a Havanese.

Havanese are non shedding or minimal shedding. They have a double coat, the top coat is long and the under coat is short, both are soft. The Havanese have hair, not fur, and like humans they will loose old hair and grow new hair. The lost hair will be caught by the under coat and regular brushing will remove this lost hair preventing mats.

Between 8 to 15 months your Kid will go through a "coat change" over a period of approximately 2 to 4 months, the soft puppy coat is replaced with the adult coat. During this period of coat change, it will be frustrating and challenging for Parents. Be patient, it won’t last forever!  Your Kidz' appearance can take a beating. You can expect their coat to be rough, with uneven locks and your Kid will mat. Daily brushes will help to minimize the affects of the “coat change”. The texture of the adult coat may be somewhat different from the puppy coat and the undercoat will now begin more development. After the coat change, the adult coat will continue to mature in fullness and length, taking up to 3 to 4 years to fully develop.

Brushing:

The coat should be brushed in layers with a pin brush, never use a slicker brush as this will break your Kidz’ hair ends resulting in an undesirable appearance. When choosing a brush use it on yourself, if it hurts it will be painful for your Kid. A grooming spray or leave in conditioner should be used to prevent the coat from breaking. We use Chris Christensen’s 20 mm Gold Series Pin Brush with ¾” pin length and a detangle conditioner in a spray bottle to prevent coat breakage. This also lessens the static electricity, which will break the hair ends. Brush every part of the body that has hair!

Start grooming your Kid as soon as possible. Brushing your Kid a couple of times a week will get him accustomed to grooming as he gets older and has more coat. Teach him to lie on his side or back so he can rest and enjoy being brushed. One way of getting your Kid accustomed to this is by laying him down and rubbing his belly then slowly start to brush him.

Pay attention to areas that tend to mat easily such as around the neck, armpits, behind the ears and the genital area. If you do find matting, spray conditioner on the mat and work it in with your fingers. Holding the hair in your fingers, gently and slowly pull the hair apart working out the mat.

While your Kid is lying down begin by brushing the hair under the chest and belly looking for mats under the armpits. Start from the back end and work towards the neck in layers.  Brush the legs by holding the leg upward and brush downward towards the belly on the inside of the leg. Then continue with brushing the outside, front, and back of the leg in the same manner. When you complete this brushing, go over the same area with a wide tooth comb as this will remove any remaining loose or dead hairs and remove any remnants of mats. We use Chris Christensen’s #002Buttercomb 7 1/2" ALL COARSE for larger areas and a smaller wide tooth comb for the legs and smaller areas.

Now you can have your Kid stand for you. This is when you may want to use a grooming table for the comfort of you and your Kid. Brush the coat in layers again starting at the back end and working to the top of the head just above the eyes.  Don’t forget to use the grooming spray or leave in conditioner. Always brush the tail, rump area, sides, and back. Always brush in the direction the hair grows and never try to part the hair down the middle of the back; you should brush the back from your Kidz’ back end to his front end in layers down the middle of the back along the spine and allow the hair to fall in its natural way. Brush the neck up to the ears, side of the face, and under the chin. Brush the ears inside and out paying close attention to behind the ears and removing any mats that may have formed. You will now want to comb the same area with a wide tooth comb.

To complete you will want to use a fine tooth comb; we prefer a fine roll tooth comb, to finish the face area around the eyes, lips, and nose. Follow up with the wide tooth comb and don’t forget the grooming spray or leave in conditioner.

Ears:

Hold your Kidz ears open to check and remove excess hair in the ear canal. You can do this by either taking very small amounts plucking it out with your fingers or you can use ear forceps to remove it. We use our fingers and pluck the hair just inside the ear canal. Be careful not to place anything to deep in the ear canal as you may cause harm to your Kid. Your fingers are a good source to use because of the size of your Kidz’ ear canal you cannot get them in too far causing harm. If you do use ear forceps please consult a professional groomer or your Veterinarian for professional instruction.

Eyes:

Clean around the eyes with an eye wipe or use a cotton ball with eye cleaner. There are several good ones that you can obtain from your local pet store. Ensure that there is no hair curling into the eyes to cause irritation. A tiny bit of trimming at the inner corner of the eyes will help. We use a rounded tip scissors to clip around the eyes for safety. Also, keeping the facial hair out of the eyes will help by keeping it brushed back or fastened with tiny elastics, barrettes, clips, or a topknot. If your Kid has excessive tear staining getting a health checkup is the first step. If the cause of the excessive tearing is a blocked duct or an infection, veterinary interventions like surgery, treatment, or medication may be necessary. Once you are sure your Kid is healthy, the next step is to eliminate causes from the environment, water, and diet one step at a time. In the environment, try to limit the use of things like heavy air fresheners, carpet powders, and other chemical products. Vacuum your carpets thoroughly. We use bottled water for our Kidz as tap water sometimes will cause eye irritation. This also is good when traveling as you don’t want to change your Kidz diet and this includes water. A diet with high protein may be the cause as well, try changing the diet to a lower protein content. Kidz will tear more when they are teething as well. There is nothing that can be done for this except cleaning and trimming around the eyes to prevent staining and eye infections.

Clipping:

You will need to clip the hair between the pads of the feet and then comb the hair out on each foot. You will also want to clip around the genital area for cleanliness. You may also want to clip around the anal area but we have never had a need to clip this area. Use rounded tip scissors or, electric or battery operated clippers to clip our Kidz for safety.

Nails:

Cut the nails at an angle with the top angle on the front top side of the nail and bottom angle on the back bottom side of the nail being careful not to cut into the bloodline or quick. Light colored nails are easy to see the bloodline but, with dark colored nails it is pretty much a guess. Start with the light colored nails and use your judgment based on how much length you cut on the lighter nails to cut the dark colored nails. Should you cut the nail below the bloodline the nail will bleed so apply pressure directly on the nail until the bleeding stops or use a clotting product to stop the bleeding quickly. We always use a nail cutter that has a safety stop and we keep styptic powder handy for stopping the bleeding, yes we have cut below the bloodline, it happens.

Bathing:

Before bathing your Kid always brush and comb them first to remove any loose hairs and mats. Use a good quality pet shampoo and conditioner. Never use human shampoos and conditioners; human products will damage your Kidz’ coat and skin as they are too strong and remove the natural protective oils. Always rinse thoroughly removing any residual soap. Most conditioners recommend rinsing partially. Try not to frighten your Kid when bathing. Place a rubber bathmat on the bottom of the tub or sink to prevent him from slipping. Place cotton balls inside the ear canal to prevent water from entering the ear; this is one common cause of ear infections. After the bath apply Chris Christensen’s Silk Spirits to prevent coat breakage and add additional conditioner.

Most groomers recommend blow drying your Kid. It may be cute to see him running around like a maniac after a bath but all it does is mat the coat under the armpits and cause you a lot of extra work not to mention the stress on your Kid when removing mats. If you do not want to blow dry, use a crate dryer and leave your Kid in his crate until he is almost dry. We use both drying methods.

When blow drying brush as you dry the coat. When crate drying, brush out your Kid after he is dry. This will eliminate any potential matting and your Kid will look beautiful.

You should not bath your Kid too often as this will dry their coat and skin. We bath once a month, unless we find mud puddles. A good brushing will remove much of the dirt and debris in your Kidz coat.

Dental:

Proper dental care is also important. You can find good quality pet toothbrushes and toothpaste and your local pet store. You should brush your Kidz teeth regularly and always provide chewies for them to chew as this will provide a natural way to help remove plaque. Never use human toothpaste. Have a dental check by your Veterinarian regular and professional cleaning when needed. You can have the anal glands cleaned at this time also. Usually, your Veterinarian will offer these services.

With proper grooming your Kid will be a beautiful Havanese!