# Messy messy messy!



## patriciap (Jul 30, 2010)

My puppy is a Pekatese (Maltese/Pekingese Mix) and I could use some advice on maintaining her fur/grooming her.

Lola's fur is pretty odd. It's got slight waves that go in every direction so it looks sooooo messy all the time. I' brush her everyday, but she's only fluffy for less than 5 minutes. Also, her fur is fine and not dense at all. I've tried letting it grow and although she looked like a cute messy furball, it was hard to maintain (her pee would run down her hind legs and I was always working out little matts, and her fur was in the way of her eyes leading to the tear lines. Next, I tried the puppycut, but it still looks mess... I think maybe messier because all of her waves are pointing in different directions. What to do?! What to do?! 

Oh, I brush her, wipe down her face and paws daily, but I leave the "real grooming" to the groomers. I'm afraid to clip her nails that I may hurt her because my trainer said that the live part in her nails is long.

Also, I should mention that it's only been 2.5 weeks since her last groomer visit and she looks a mess even though I've given her a bath since then. Also, I noticed that the fur between her paw pads is already grown out. How long is too long for the fur between her paw pads? I'd say its currently about 1/8 of an inch. Will that hurt her paws?

I've looked for other Pekatese owners online, but to no avail. Can anyone help? I've attached some photos so you can get a better idea, but as I was looking through them I realized that I only have pictures of her right after she's been groomed for the most part... lol!


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

With this dog I would just use a slicker brush and a comb in between the pro grooms. If you keep the dog clean, I'm not sure what the problem is. The coat has a messy look because that's the way it is. Dogs are selectively bred for many generations to obtain a particular coat type. In this case, a cross or mix, you have to take what you get. It's not reasonable to expect a particular predefined "look" from a first generation mix. The look you get is kind of chaos -- but she seems pretty cute none the less so I'm not sure what you're bothered by. She's such a small dog it shouldn't be hard to brush and comb her out every day. If she dribbles on her legs, you could have that area trimmed closer and use a silicone oil type spray to repel the urine (Chris Christensen Ice on Ice, Crown Royale Magic Touch, Show Sheen or equivalent). A lot of white toy breed owners deal with tear stains and there's advice out there (my dog is black). On the feet, 1/8 inch isn't much. You want to shave it before it gets so long that it folds under the pads and prevents the pads from contacting the ground which makes the dog slip. If you like you can get a trimmer or clippers and level it off between grooms or ask your groomer to clip the fur between the pads and not just level with the bottom so they won't lengthen too soon.


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## patriciap (Jul 30, 2010)

Bart - 

Thanks! I didn't know about the urine repellant. I'll look into that. 

Don't get me wrong, I think my baby is adorable, but every 2 weeks she looks so scraggly that she looks homeless. All of the pictures above are immediately following a grooming. I thinks it's the texture of her fur... it picks up everything and since I live in a loft in Downtown LA, which isn't the cleanest place on earth, she just gets dirty really fast. That, coupled with the fact that her hair grows in every direction, she looks a little homeless. Sometimes I'm embarrased that people may think I'm not taking care of her when in fact my worry is that I'll over groom or over bathe her! lol


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Wait it all out, in a few months she will go through a coat change and get her adult coat in. And it may change all together. And by then I will bet you will just have her shaved down any way, as that coat combo is going to be a nightmare to look after.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

We call the pups with this type of hair, and at this age, "Scarecrow Babies" because their hair is impossible. It usually gets better, but a maltese/peke cross is could have any type of coat. Here's a cute mixed pup we groomed








Her coat was IMPOSSIBLE, don't ask me what mix she is, but once her puppy coat was gone and her adult coat came in it was much, much better. What is really comical is bichon puppies who have their adult coat close to the skin with that long, scraggly puppy coat still attached. They look like walking spider plants!


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

I agree..give the puppy coat time to change over to adult coat, then reassess..I find some mixes just have terrible coat..unfortunatly sometimes those dogs just look better in a short body trim, with longer tails, and round faces. When the hair grows every which way and is wavy, its hard to do much with, and hard to keep looking decent..And really, 2 weeks or so after grooming, most dogs look messy again..That is why many people keep their dogs on a 4 week grooming schedule..because they can't stand the "messy" look.  Hang in there til adult coat comes in..


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## patriciap (Jul 30, 2010)

Thank you all for your feedback and advice. I'll keep my fingers crossed that Lola's coat improves as she gets older. However, my groomer's under the impression that it is what it is - she doesn't think the coat is going to change much and that I should just keep it short. Short if fine for about 2 weeks, but then I think it looks even messier as it grows out. I'm starting to wonder if I should let it grow a bit to see if it "lays down" a bit.


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## hachna (Jul 31, 2010)

Hi patriciap,

Yes let her hair to grow longer. I think short hair looks messier but your dog is very pretty regardless....


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## patriciap (Jul 30, 2010)

Thank you Hachna... I think so too! I just don't want to look like a bad mommy who neglects the grooming needs of her poor little puppy! LOL


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

I think it would be great to grow it out some, and see if it helps. From looking at your pup, and seeing the texture and the waves however, its unlikely to lay flat and "neat"..:-( Give it a try though, and wait for coat change to be over, then reassess how you want her to be trimmed.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Graco22 said:


> I think it would be great to grow it out some, and see if it helps. From looking at your pup, and seeing the texture and the waves however, its unlikely to lay flat and "neat"..:-( Give it a try though, and wait for coat change to be over, then reassess how you want her to be trimmed.


It seems like with wavy hair, it's either full coat or short if you want a neater look. I groom a bichon/maltese cross who has bichon curls but with the maltese softness...yikes. Her topknot kind of reminds me of Jim Carrey, it's off to the side and has a cowlick right in the middle








We settled on a #3, and she looks better. LEaving her full was an option, until we had to shave her once with a #7 because she got so matted during her puppy coat to adult coat change. (Another thing for Lolas owner...when she gets to be about a year old, comb her DAILY to keep mats from forming. During that puppy coat to adult coat change, they can go from combed out to a matted nightmare in a matter of days. Your groomer will thank you! )


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## patriciap (Jul 30, 2010)

Thanks everyone, for all of the feedback and advice. I've decided to grow out her fur a bit and see how that goes. Also, I'm not taking her to ***** and Pooch where they have self-service bathing stations you can use ($12 for a little dog like Lola). They use Earthbath products and I have to say that there was a HUGE difference in her coat after bathing and conditioning her with the products there. Also, she didn't itch afterwards so the products didn't seem to irritate her at all. She's much fluffier and even though her fur goes out in every direction, it looks much cuter! 

Also, I just bought some Pawz (those balloon footie things) to try to keep her paws cleaner when I walk her in disgustingly dirty Downtown LA.


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