First Haircut for Coton de Tulear

(UK)

For those who like to keep their Cotons in a puppy cut, at what age did you begin this? We've given our pup a trim around his eyes to aid his vision, and also trimmed around his belly/behind area for sanitary purposes. We'd like to keep his hair short (not too short! we love the fluffiness!), but are hesitant to do this at too an early age (if that even exists!)

Comments for First Haircut for Coton de Tulear

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May 01, 2012
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First haircut
by: Anonymous

Yep, start as early as possible with the brushing and combing. I didn't and now she won't let me brush her. And you MUST brush them at least once a day if you want the coat to be long at all.

My coton's coat didn't mat at all until she was about 1. Then it changed and now it mats easily.

I take her to a private groomer who knows how to do cotons. Don't go to Petsmart or Petco or any of those cheaper pet store groomers because they don't know how to trim them right and treat them like poodles.

My groomer gives her a puppy cut, with shorter hair and then trimmed very cute around her face. Since I can't brush her every day, she can't get more than a couple inches long.

Apr 25, 2012
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Get A Groomer to Teach You (if you can)
by: Kathy

I have 3 cotons -- 1 is 6 years old & 2 are just over 1 year. I think I started with the older coton too late. Start brushing ASAP tonight would be good. Learn how to use the blunt tipped curved scissors to "comb" through small tangles. And learn how to use a slicker brush.

With the older coton (Daisy), I bought clippers but could never get them to work on her hair. So I clipped her hair. At one point I took her to a groomer & they may have used the clippers. Her hair mats badly if not brushed through on a pretty regular basis (I don't brush every day, but every couple to 3 days). She is also curlier and more cottony than the other too -- so far. If I keep her hair under a couple of inches, there is no problem combing. I'm letting it grow out again to see if I can tell when the problems begin. Right now, it's about 2 inches long all over. It took her a while to get used to the grooming (especially the blow dryer), but she is doing much better than before. Just remember to be gentle and don't work too long on any given day. So long as you are not hurting the dog and giving her plenty of praise and attention, I think they get to like grooming (somewhat). They like the focused attention for sure.

With the two younger cotons (Poppy & Tulip), I took them to a friend of a friend who had lots of grooming experience, but not with this breed (of course). And she has experience with long haired dogs (like Afghan hounds). She taught me the things I listed above. I've been able to keep them tangle free & bathed & groomed between visits to her every 8-10 weeks. I have her clean their ears, trim around the face, bottom and shave their private area on their belly. She also trims their nails & does an overall shaping -- gets between pads on feet, etc. I like when a good groomer does their legs (they call it teddy bear cut). One of the things that my groomer taught me is to comb them out before the bath and also after. Do the best you can before but once they get wet, you'll be able to see the tangles more. There are youtube videos of bathing a maltese that I followed. Works well.

Poppy's hair is long, thick and very pretty -- just like some of the prettiest ones I seen on websites.

Tulip's hair is different. These two are not related; I just got them at the same time. She has a cowlick over one eye so we keep that trimmed or no telling which direction it would point. Her hair is also thinner and lately much more prone to knotting up. I was going to cut her hair last weekend, but after I brushed for about 15 minutes, it was much better. I now also own a good quality dematting comb with replaceable blades.

I'll post this comment on the Facebook page as well. Feel free to PM me.

Apr 25, 2012
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Adult coat issues
by: Anonymous

I agree that it's very important to start grooming right away to get your Coton used to bathing and brushing. My dog got his first puppy cut some time after his adult coat came in. I found the puppy coat easy to maintain, but around a year or so his coat started to change and we started having problems with matting. Keeping him in a puppy cut was a good solution for us.

Apr 25, 2012
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Early
by: Mitch Tuckness

Start as early as possible (beyond the 11 week mark). that way they get used to trimmers, the positions, holding etc of being trimmed.

Longer you wait the less accepting the dog is and the harder it becomes. Same principle of giving cats a bath. It's a lot easier if you started giving them bathes when they were kittens then when they are full grown!

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