Is my puppy getting dread locks?

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Rooney's coat is amazing - when he moves it just floats, it is very beautiful.  But it is SO thick and has individual little curls that are seperate, kinda like dread locks are.  Also his fur is getting very long for a dog that only weighs 17 lbs.  What is going to happen when his adult coat starts coming in?  Should I trim a few inches off now?  His coat is 4 inches long.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I keep thinking that I'm going to find a nest of squirrels in there - lol!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Ha, ha.. be glad your dog has hair!!! Izzy is still working on GETTING hair...lol  She had a beautiful coat when we got her and lost a lot of it. We have no idea what her coat is going to be like. We say it's the ugly duckling that will turn into the beautiful swan-dood:) We love her no matter what!

Keep brushing to keep the mats out and I would get Rooney groomed so he can also get used to being groomed and touched. I started Lucca at around 4 months with the groomer.

[shelly]

LOL - Tori has dreds too..But BEWARE: Here come the mats.... CAREFUL!  Keep brushing Rooney.  But just remember no matter how much you brush one day you may wake up and find mats.  It's the dreaded (not locks) coat change.  tori's hair does the same thing... I LOVE it long and really leave it long (despite a few terrible groomings).   It's all a matter of taste - once the coat changes the mats will be able to be controled with brushing much easier.. except of course if you have winters like we have been having... Tori is matted in many places... I'm afraid to bring her in - she may need more than a trim.  but my groomer is great - she knows I like her hair long and flowing - she works SO hard on Tori... just talk to  your groomer and bring him in sooner than later... but if you don't want him cut down - be VERY specific.  I think Rooney is just GORGEOUS! His coloring actually looks like he's getting redder - pretty!

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

He has taken on a reddish tint but mostly just at the ends of the curls.  I think with his first big boy haircut it will be gone.

[Lauria Orr]

I hope he is not matting.  That is when it gets tough.  Melody is not a fan of brushing.,  She has issues with anxiety, so this is a problem.  Thankfully, she does great with our groomer.  Because of her nervousness issues and that she won't tolerate me trying to brush her for very long, I keep her coat on the short size. It curls and can get matted easily.  She is on the small size...12 pounds, so it is not a huge job for our experienced groomer.  If you can comb and/or brush Rooney yourself, and keep that matting under control, I would think you could keep it as long as you want to. There are some great suggestions here on good brushes, conditioners, etc.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

The wonderful news about this coat is that he has only had 2 matts and both were right under his chin.  We just keep that area trimmed a little bit shorter now.  Other than that we have (knock on wood) never had any others AND I don't brush him, gave up a long time ago, he hates it.  I'd rather us do something fun.  Call me lucky so far, of course that could change in a second.  I'm very fearful of what the dreaded coat change will bring!  ;)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really don't think you have to trim him down unless he starts to mat.  With Murphy it started when he was about 10 months old.  I had him trimmed a little then to try to keep them under control.  Once the full "coat change" got started though, there was just no controlling the mats with his long hair.  I was combing and "dematting" daily, and still couldn't keep them under control.  The rest is history....a crewcut yesterday.  I'll definitely let his beautiful coat grow back in once he's through with the coat change, but for now it's just much better for both of us to have it short.  I do think it's a great idea to get him used to the groomer though.  I love Rooney's "dreadlocks".

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Along the back of the coat is the Kemp, a wirey type of coat that comes down along the mane to the tail.   Kemp is the permanent type of coat.  Your adult coat looks like it is beginning.   The matting is most severe beginning now--at least for most, and I hear it lasts about a year.  It may be the time when you begin brushing daily.  Or twice daily.  Or more!  Arg.  Starlit finally began matting at 14 months.  She is late on her adult coat.  It is a lot easier ( although I hate to keep them short too) to take the coat down to an inch or two for awhile.  It helps so much. But he really is just about that age when it begins.  Join the crowd.    Or you could join my crowd--the corders.  Actually, so far, I'm alone in this group.  But I think I will have more soon  This is how I groom Spud.  I cord/dred him.    

Cording

 

I think Rooney's ALD coat is too fleecy and it won't dread out completely.  Starlit's coat won't but Spud is successfully corded almost to the feet now.  It began in June with his last hair cut

 

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Simon has a spiral fleece coat and when it's long it looks like he has tiny dreadlocks everywhere. If Rooney is somewhere between 8-12 months old, beware the dreaded coat change because with this kind of coat, it is VERY DIFFICULT to keep mats out. A good thing you can do is get a non-static metal comb and comb him from the root to the tip of his hair everywhere after you brush him. My suggestion would be what breeders and groomers suggested to me....get him cut down to 1 1/2-2 inches. Grooming will be so much easier for both of you and it will help get rid of the puppy hair faster.

 

Top picture, Simon is about 10 months old. Bottom pic, he's about 7 months old. (Both pics BEFORE he had his first professional hair cut)

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Simon is beautiful!  And Rooney has those same spirals right around the neck too!  They almost look like someone put a spiral collar on him.  I am planning to keep Rooney's hair long for about another month and then I am going to get it cut down so that it isn't so hot.

[Lynda Kamrath]

It was the same with us.  I think Harpo's coat was even a little more corded.  I would brush him out and he would shake and a half hour later he looked exactly like he did before he got combed and brushed.  The area under his ears were getting quite matted and my DH wanted him to be groomed before we took him on a trip to Arizona in a few weeks, so we got started and he ended up with a full grooming.  He was pretty good for the whole thing.  I would suggest you look for problem areas (like under the ears) and the belly area and start snipping a little.

(By the way, Rooney was the puppy I REALLY wanted when I started looking for my Hondo replacement in September, but he was already taken.)  I ended up with Harpo and he has worked out well.  He is a little larger than Rooney, and a little older, but a great challenge for Groucho.  They are great buddies and that is really what we both needed.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Wow - you were looking at a Seaspray puppy?  It would be so cool to know someone else with a puppy from there, so far I haven't been able to find anyone.  Harpo is one cute doodle!