Tools of the Trade

Since many of you will be getting your puppies soon, these are some of the things I use to keep my babies nicely groomed. You certainly don't need every one. Just wanted to show you what's out there that works for a Havanese coat. In a day or so I will post some photos of puppy cuts on Havanese that I like. Some groomers haven't a clue and your Havanese may wind up looking like a drowned rat!

For my puppies I use "Fresh 'n' Clean Tearless formula. For shampoo on my adult dogs I have, at the advice of my Florida handler Ginger Raber, been using Tresemme' Naturals...shampoo and conditioner. As a spray on detangler after rinsing out the conditioner  I use Ice on Ice (that I do not rinse out). I buy it online in the concentrate that I mix into a spray bottle. Then, if your puppy tends to get tear stains you can use Four Paws Crystal Eye or Petco's Tear Stain Remover. I put a small amount on a cotton ball to rub into the stain then rinse with water.

Steel combs. Don't spare the cost here. If they are not steel they will corrode and catch on your Havanese's coat. The fine one in the middle is a flea comb...not so much for fleas on our babies but great for their faces. Carefully, you can use it to brush out the eye goop that tends to gather from their tear ducts. The other two combs are for the coats. Good for getting out mats...you pull the mat apart with one finger and use the comb to edge out the tangles.

Nail trimmers. An infant's nail scissors on the left which is perfect for little puppies. Then I graduate to the adult human trimmer on the bottom because I can see what I'm trimming. Finally, when their nails get full-size you'll want a dog nail-trimmer. There are some nice ergonomic ones out there now.

Pin brushes are great for stimulating the skin and brushing out the top coat.

Slicker brushes will get out the fine undercoat. It is easier if you can part the coat and brush from the skin out. These are great because they don't pull out much of the wonderful top coat.

These are people bands...find them in the children's hair departments of CVS, Target, Meijer, etc. They don't pull out a lot of hair when you take them out. Actually, the ones in the middle I just cut out.

This is a new slicker brush I bought because of the curved head. Should make it easier on the dogs.

I posted this because these are on sale this week at Meijers. Two for one. Perfect size for our Havanese with a squeaker tail which they love.