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HPCF "Havanese Puppy Cuteness Factor"

18K views 97 replies 22 participants last post by  Bowie's Mom 
#1 ·
This posting is not intended for those who "show" their dogs, and is merely an opinion I have harbored but have yet to express until today. This is for those of us who love the face of a puppy and don't mind the effort to achieve and preserve it. I think that the "Havanese puppy cuteness factor" (HPCF) is best seen in the face of a Havanese puppy whose hair has yet to be butchered by well-meaning groomers who often do not have time, patience or knowledge of preservation of the HPCF. I noticed on the headline photo border of the Havanese Forum, a great example of HPCF and am posting it here, along with my own version as modeled by Tux. For those of you who groom or pay someone to groom, having a photo is a great way to explain the HPCF of a Havanese. This look is unique to Havanese. It breaks my heart to see a Havanese face, sheared down to a typical dog face that is produced in droves by the big box groomers, or those that just don't care to or know how to preserve the HPCF. Let's start a movement and insist that groomers learn to preserve the proper HPCF. Nancy
 

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#2 ·
Thank you sooo much for bringing this up, Nancy. I have been struggling with groomers maintaining Layla's face, ears and tail like I want. It is hard for those of us that want a puppy cut to explain just how we want that to look. I tell them I want her in a long puppy cut, but she comes home looking like a Shih Tzu. I've taken in photos and she's come out looking so "Not" like the photo I just showed them. Do you have any suggestions on how to communicate to a groomer the HPCF or a look like Tux has? I have heard of a "teddy bear" cut, but when I mentioned it, my old groomer looked at me like I was nuts...I would let her grow long, but my husband likes her shorter and I concur.
 
#25 ·
The way to preserve the puppy face HPCF, is to trim the ears AT THE BOTTOM (not drastically though) at the same angle the hair would grow (NOT straight across). Longer ears bely an older dog. so the shorter the ears the younger the look. The longer beard also is not prevalent on a puppy. The hair on the snout is shorter but long enough to give the face a wider look. The hair around the eyes is also trimmed a bit. Do it in tiny stages (usually you have to until the pup learns the scissors are not a toy or something to eat). In the photo I attached today, Tux's ears look longer than they are because his neck hair is black . I just recently cut it and will post another picture (he's in "Nap land" right now.) Tux has unusual cowlicks at the tops of his ears, which give him an unusual look.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
That's why I decided to do Pixel myself. This is how I like her face. I do it a little bit at a time, so I don't ever take too much off at once. Because I do her at home, I have the time to work slowly. And if I make a mistake, I have no one else to blame! :laugh: The second photo is one of her actually AS a baby, and is what I try to make her look like when I trim her. Of course, we can never get the chubby, short legged puppy look back, but I try to keep a little more length on her body too, so she doesn't look like such a string bean! :)
 

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#10 ·
Karen, if you have side pictures of Pixel could you post a few? It is hard to find longer puppy cut photos that are done with scissors. Mayb I need to get brave and groom Layla myself also. Now, my husband would love not having that monthly bill :wink2:
 
#5 ·
I love this post!!! Willie is our second Havanese and the stories I could tell you about groomers. Our older Havanese Guce came home once from the groomer with her ears shaved!!!! When my husband picked her up here told the groomer " I can't take her home looking like this". The groomer told him why not? She's a cute terrier!
So I agree.... keep the HPCF.... I'm soooo of in.
 
#13 ·
Karen,

Do you trim Pixel's ears? I love her cut!😇
Yes. the ear hair on puppies isn't long either, and that's the look I was going for. I just wanted them to frame her face.
 
#14 ·
Of course everyone has their own idea of how they want their dog trimmed (assuming they DO trim them!!! ;) ) but a puppy does not have long ear hair. so if you're going for THAT look, you would probably want the ears trimmed too.
 
#8 ·
Yes, this is a great thread. I would be interested in seeing photos of cuts you weren't happy with too. (Although I suppose you didn't run right out to photograph them!) Our breeder recommended that, if we ever do put Shama in a puppy cut, we insist that the groomer hand scissor it at about three inches in length. She also said to be sure to not let the groomer cut the hair on the ears and tail.
 
#9 ·
That's exactly the kind of puppy cut I'm after with Layla, 2-3 inches on body and leave those ears and tail alone! The last groomer took too much width and diameter out of Layla's ear and tail hair (don't know how he coulda possibly not known he was doing it, they were both super long, so he cut a 5-8 in long chunk off of both). Her hair on her left ear is only about 1 inch wide and her right is prob 3 inches, it looks so dorky and just a horrible job, grrr. It will take Months to grow them out again. Luckily the average Joe won't notice, just her neurotic momm:frown2:
 
#11 ·
"That's exactly the kind of puppy cut I'm after with Layla, 2-3 inches on body and leave those ears and tail alone! The last groomer took too much width and diameter out of Layla's ear and tail hair (don't know how he coulda possibly not known he was doing it, they were both super long, so he cut a 5-8 in long chunk off of both). Her hair on her left ear is only about 1 inch wide and her right is prob 3 inches, it looks so dorky and just a horrible job, grrr. It will take Months to grow them out again. Luckily the average Joe won't notice, just her neurotic momm"

Good point for us all to remember. The average person is not going to mind any haircut on our dog. And (although it may not come back the same) the hair will grow back.
 
#12 ·
That's why it's important to know if the groomer has professional grooming training. When I had my first Havanese Sparky I wondered how someone could take a cute furry dog and do such terrible job. One time my husband refused to walk him unless I bought him a jacket. :( Now I understand why poor Sparky had so many not good grooming experiences.
 
#18 ·
All three of them were in the photo... They had just had baths. and I was able to get them all lined up on the couch in my office. I'll tell you... it's like taking Christmas card photos of a bunch of kids! :laugh:
 

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#23 ·
Thanks, Christine. Pixel is DEFINITELY Daddy's girl. She loves me too, but if she has to make a choice, it's him every time! :)

The photo of the three of them is several months old. Here's one of Panda after her bath two nights ago.
 

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#27 ·
Karen and Nancy-Thank you both for the posts, pictures and all the grooming advice! I plan on taking Layla in to our new groomer in about two weeks. Now I have some great pics and ways to describe to her what I want. We'll see how it goes. All of your dogs are beautiful and you both do a super job with the puppy cuts.

I think Panda looks like a reverse double-stuff Oreo...delicious.
 
#29 · (Edited)
One other thing to keep in mind, however, when asking for a certain "look" in a Havanese "puppy cut"is that not all Havanese coats look the same or behave the same when cut. Some stay very "poofy", while others, even if the dog does not look curly when its hair is longer, look decidedly kinky when it is shorter. Some have hair that lies closer to the body also.

Some people have said they want their dog scissored at 3". That may work for some dogs, but it is decidedly TOO long for Pixel's very soft coat. At that length, it is already long enough that it parts and divides down her back. (I know because I just measured it ;) )

So you DO also have to work with your groomer and listen to them in terms of what will work with your specific dog's coat.
 
#32 ·
Ruby looks absolutely darling! Yesterday Scout and Truffles got groomed. I asked the groomer how do you get the HPCF. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this right but, she said the face needs to be trimmed so it is round and defined from the neck. I almost did a puppy cut on Scout but chickened out in the end. 😊 Love Ruby's puppy cut!
 
#34 ·
Mario's groomer does a pretty dang good job of the puppy cut on the face. She has owned a Hav in the past, so she has a little more experience, but Mario has the weirdest hair (like a Coton with a but of a wiry texture) and there are times she doesn't get the bangs quite right. The two winter ones are from this past winter, my favorite cut I've photographed. He got into something gross just after being groomed, hence the messy mustache. The other photo is current, about 2 weeks post-groom. This time around, the bangs were a bit too visor-like for me, but I think he still looks nice.
 

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#35 · (Edited)
Mario's just darling! His cut is perfect!! I love his coloring...his face coloring is totally symmetrical. Groomer did a great job. More pics for my groomer...

P.S. I also love that he is lying up on the back of a couch. Layla does that and it makes me crazy, but she's never fallen :smile2:
 
#36 ·
You mean like this? (Panda is sleeping in the cat's bed here... it's there to keep cat hair off the back of the denim couch! ;))
 

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#38 ·
Why do many of you say to only scissor cut? I actually don't know if my groomer scissor cuts or uses a razor. I always think Willow looks cute when she gets groomed. I think that the groomer may cut some of the tail hair that is close to the anus. Willow's tail curves up over her back and I think the groomer is cutting the tail hair on the back of the tail that would possibly fall over the anus and get soiled. Does anyone have a good picture of what a havanese tail and rear end should look like?

I love the picture of Ruby and also Mario. Now I'm seriously considering changing Willow's cut to something like Ruby. I've been letting the hair grow on top of Willow's head and can now do a topknot but Ruby looks so darned cute!
 
#39 ·
If you like the way Willow looks, then there is NO reason to change! The biggest reason to scissor rather than clipper is that there is only so long you can leave it and still use clippers. So when people say they want it 3" (or longer) they are really talking about a scissor cut. Clippers, even with the LONGEST blade guard, still cut shorter than that.

As far as hair at the base of the tail is concerned, even on Pixel, I never cut her tail hair. She has a very soft, fluffy coat, and if it's not trimmed around her bum (especially when she still was in full coat!) we need a lot of butt baths. But it has never caught on or soiled the tail hair on any of them.
 
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