Grooming Tips and Tricks from Pat Ross!
Wet Hair is the Enemy when it comes to our Four-Legged Friends!
This is a picture of a Havanese matting:
Perhaps when your Hav returns from a walk or a run in the yard, they are not quite this wet, but even just a set of wet feet can cause mats --- and in all the wrong places!
Winter walks on city streets or treated steps or sidewalks are the most problematic, as chemicals or salt, even animal friendly applications are caustic to hair. As you return home your Havanese eventually plops down and places moisture on the surface they are laying on, or tucks their feet underneath their body wetting the hair on belly, inner thigh, armpits and inside their front legs. All areas which are tough to see and difficult to groom. Those areas will, as they dry, become the beginning of mats. As time goes on those areas will mat, and the mats will grow or multiply (oh no!)
WHAT YOU NEED
There is a quick and easy solution. All of the ingredients needed probably are already in your home, or inexpensive purchases at a chain drugstore.
1) Cornstarch
2) Covered small container . large enough to hold about a cup of cornstarch and wide enough to be 2x the width of your brush.
3) Brush – my favorite is a large makeup brush, but a boar bristle brush or even a baby brush will work as well .
4) Towel
5) Hairdryer
WHERE TO DO IT
I find the kitchen sink the easiest ( if its empty LOL ! ), or a raised surface such as counter or table, covered with a towel . The place should be one where the dog’s undercarriage is at least as high as your waist.
HOW TO DO IT
Place the dog in sink or on surface and dry to damp with towel or hair dryer. In many cases you can skip this step.
Dip the brush about an inch deep into the cornstarch container, then gently tap the handle on the edge of the container.
Paint all the damp areas with the brush, refilling the brush as necessary. The wetter the spot the more cornstarch to use.
Smush and rub the cornstarch in with your fingers. Shake the paws at the end and brush off belly with your fingers .
YOU’RE DONE !
Put the dog back on the floor. I usually have a towel on the floor where I put the dog down to grab any excess, but the cornstarch is harmless to floors or rugs, or carpet.
You can check the previously damp spots and repeat if necessary, but once you get the hang of how much cornstarch to use. If there is remaining cornstarch or white cords of hair, just brush with your regular grooming brush.
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