Growing Panda’s hair

Every month I will share how our experience is going with growing Panda Bear’s hair out. He’s a 7 year old havanese, who’s had many different hair styles in his life, but never had it fully grown out!

For those of you who don’t know, a Havanese is a toy breed of dog usually ranging between 7-13 lbs, although it can vary. Their hair can range from silky/straight to wavy to curly. They don’t shed, therefore need to be groomed on a regular basis to keep their hair tangle free and in good condition. Most people will get them shaved or trimmed, but if they are shown in the conformation ring they must have their hair grown out nearly to the ground and untrimmed. They are part of the Bichon family which includes breeds such as the Bichon Frise and Maltese; unlike those breeds, they come in a variety of colours. Their temperament is happy, outgoing and very trainable, these dogs love to entertain and are often referred to as velcro dogs because they love to be with their humans.

Panda Bear is a 7 year old Havanese, he is not registered, nor is he well bred, but we love him to death anyway! I got him as my second havanese, when I was about to graduate high school, before I knew anything about well bred dogs and good breeders! He is curly coated, which is unfavourable in terms of showing, as it is much harder to grow and keep maintained. He’s slightly large for his breed, weighing in at 14 lbs.

Panda has allergies that we are constantly trying to get under control with a raw food, chicken free diet, fish oil, other supplements and special medicated shampoo during bath time. He has been unintentionally growing his hair out for a couple months since I couldn’t decide what to do for his haircut this time. His allergies have been flaring up a bit lately, so I have decided to start his weekly bath routine up again. I think I’ve finally lost my mind, because I’ve decided this is the perfect opportunity to grow him out and see how it looks!

Weekly grooming routine:

What you’ll need:

  • A willing dog
  • Shampoo, conditioner and detangler specially made for dogs
  • A bath or sink depending on the size of your dog
  • A grooming table or somewhere safe to groom your dog
  • A slicker brush and comb
  • A high velocity dryer
  • Clippers and a 10 blade
  • Thinning shears, straight shears and curved shears
  • Lots of treats

I always start with the bath so he’s clean and dry before I start the grooming process. I use a generous amount of shampoo and scrub him well paying special attention to his itchy areas, such as his paws. I allow him to soak in medicated shampoo for 10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and use a generous amount of conditioner. I then allow him to soak for a few more minutes before rinsing him a final time. Once rinsed I wrap him in a towel and bring him back to my grooming table to get blown out. Before I start drying him, I spray him with a detangler.

*I always use lots of treats during grooming to keep him happy and make grooming a positive experience.*

I dry him with my high velocity dryer, this is his least favourite part of grooming, so I use the majority of his treats during this part. I make sure he is extremely dry as it straightens his curls and allows me to brush him out easier.

Once he’s dry I start with the slicker brush all over his body. Then I take my comb and comb out all of his hair, starting at his head, and going to his tail. There should be no hair untouched and there should be no tangles at all.

For trimming, all I do currently is his sanitary trim, trim by his eyes, shave his paw pads, and lightly shape his feet; then I trim and grind his nails. Once he’s done, I give him more cookies and let him go about his day!

Subscribe so you don’t miss any posts! There’ll be monthly updates on how Panda’s hair is looking, let’s see how long it can get before I give up and trim him!

Welcome to our blog!

Are you obsessed with dogs? Are you always wanting to learn new things about dogs? Does reading and seeing cute pictures and videos of dogs make you smile? If you answered yes to any of these questions then this is definitely the blog for you!

Throughout this blog we will be talking about all things dog related, including recipes. We will be sharing all our best recipes including dog cakes, cookies, pies, frozen treats, kong recipes and our favourite supplements to feed and what they’re good for. These recipes are tested on all of our dogs (but everyone knows they aren’t picky haha) as well as other pickier dogs. These recipes will be picky dog approved!

Our next category is going to talk about all of our favourite products. We will share all our favourite treats, food, toys, beds, collars, leashes and bandanas! All of our dogs have different favourites, and with our wide variety of dogs in our pack, I’m sure we have one that relates to your pup!

We will also be talking a lot about training, as it’s a huge part of our lives and our dogs lives. Our youngest pups typically have 2 formal training sessions daily, but their whole lives are revolved around training. Off leash hikes are a great source of enrichment and exercise but also a wonderful time to practice “leave it” “come” “stay with me” “fetch” and many more commands! Our older dogs don’t get as many formal training sessions as they aren’t involved in dog sports and they know all the basics. Some of our dogs don’t know many tricks, so we will probably use them to explain how to teach different tricks from the start! We are not trainers, we are just two people who have tons of experience training different dogs and want to share our journey with whoever wants to read about it.

Another category will be entirely about canine enrichment. A tired dog is a happy dog right? Who hasn’t heard that saying before? Most people think of a tired dog as a dog that’s just run a marathon, but what many people don’t understand is that a truly tired dog has to be mentally tired as well as physically tired. Training is one good way to achieve a mentally tired dog, but in this category we will talk about different puzzle games that you can put together for your dog easily, and anything that is considered mentally enriching for the dog! We will also talk about the best mentally stimulating products that are out there!

There will also be a section on dog grooming. We are both dog groomers and will be sharing different tips for nail trimming, properly brushing, bathing and sharing our experiences with grooming in general. We will also help show you how to deal with dogs that may not love grooming, or dogs that have some fear of grooming. During these hard times with COVID-19 many dogs will not be able to get to their regular groomers, so this section will likely help you keep your dogs in better condition until you can get to a groomer again!

Our final category is probably going to be the one we use the most, this section will be all about our fun adventures with our dogs. Having fun with our dog is the most important thing in the world to us. We are excited to share our gorgeous pack with you, and all our fun adventures! We’d love if you would follow along! Follow us on Instagram to see when new blog posts are up, itsallaboutthebarks.