How to Keep a Havanese's Hair From Matting: 10 Helpful Tips

The small but mighty Havanese is a gorgeous dog that has earned its title as the national dog of Cuba. As you'd expect from a canine so well-appointed, the Havanese has a flowing, luscious coat of silky hair rather than fur, which grows continuously and requires regular grooming. However, Havanese are dogs, so they will still roll in the mud, rush through the bushes, and generally mess up their beautiful coats.

If you own a Havanese, you may wonder how you're meant to keep their hair from tangling! Luckily, we can help; we'll take you through 10 top tips on how to keep a Havanese's hair from matting.

The 10 Tips to Keep Your Havanese's Fur From Matting

1. Get the Right Equipment

Because of the fine, silky texture of Havanese hair, having the right grooming equipment is essential. In addition, Havanese hair is prone to matting due to its texture and continuous growth, so using equipment that can deal with the specific hair type is crucial and will save you lots of time.

There are a few tools that suit the Havanese perfectly, and they'll help you keep matting to a minimum:

• Pin brush: Since Havanese hair is fine, it can be prone to static and tangling, especially when dry. For this reason, brass pins are best, but any machined metal with rounded ends is fine. Ensure the ends aren't unrounded, as this can be painful for your pup!
• A comb with rounded tines to prevent scratches. Metal is best, as plastic can get easily broken by a stubborn knot.
• Blunt-ended scissors for cutting out any unmanageable knots
• A conditioning or detangling spray

2. Plan Enough Time

A rushed groom is an incomplete one. Havanese dogs need regular grooming, at least once daily if the coat is worn long. These sessions take time! Havanese need to be brushed in a certain way to ensure all the little knots and beginnings of tangles are thoroughly brushed out, and a quick once-over of the top layer of their hair won't do.

You need to plan grooming sessions, so you have enough time for your Havanese to be relaxed during the grooming and so you can locate and tease out any tangled hair before it begins to mat. If your Havanese does get matted, it can be difficult (if not impossible) to groom them out, so taking the time to groom them thoroughly is well worth it.

3. Part the Fur

Havanese have a lot of hair. It's part of their charm and serves a function; their long, silky coat can help protect the skin from direct sun exposure. However, this can make preventing matting more tricky, as these dogs must be groomed in sections to ensure thorough grooming.

Similarly to the point above, Havanese grooms shouldn't be rushed, so parting the hair into sections and brushing each out, in turn, is important to stop any tangles from becoming mats. Again, using sectioning clips is great for this, but make sure to start close to the skin (without pulling) and comb through to catch any tiny knots that could work themselves into larger mats.

4. Brush Every Day

Most Havanese owners will know this one, but it's important to reiterate it: Havanese must be brushed daily if they have long coats. Their coats are prone to tangling and often get debris stuck to them, so a thorough brushing each day can remove anything stuck in the coat from the day's adventures and can remove any tangles.

5. Only Keep Collars on When Needed

Collars and harnesses can rub against the hair and cause it to tangle due to friction. Make sure you take your Havanese's collar or harness off when at home and give them a quick once-over with a brush when you do, which can prevent any tangling.

Friction from sitting down or scratching can also cause tangles and matting, so keep this in mind when grooming your dog. Pay attention to "trouble" areas like the neck where their collar would sit so that you can catch any forming tangles.

6. Use Detangling Products

Many detangling products are available for use that can help keep your Havanese's coat tangle-free. There are conditioning coat sprays that soften and lubricate the hair strands, allowing the hair to slide around each other to reduce friction and tangling.

They also help prevent breakage, which can contribute to mat formation when loose or damaged hairs become entangled with the surrounding coat. In addition, many detangling products contain other ingredients for additional benefits, such as improving skin health or coat shine. Ensure the product you pick is non-irritating and non-greasy, as grease can further clump hair and cause tangling.

7. Bathe the Right Amount

Dogs are messy. They love playing in materials like fox poop and mud, and they often need to be cleaned up after walks. Regular bathing is vital to keeping them looking good and feeling great, but you can over-bathe them.

Bathing too often strips natural oils from the skin and coat, which may leave the skin dry and the hair brittle, which can make it more prone to matting. Not bathing enough can also leave your dog greasy, dirty, and more prone to matting. Balance is key; bathing every 3–6 weeks is typical for many dogs, although this can vary depending on coat condition and lifestyle. More frequent bathing may be appropriate when using gentle, dog-specific shampoos.

8. Deal With Tangles Immediately

Tangles are the beginnings of mats, so dealing with tangled hair as soon as you see it is important. Leaving tangles or clumps of hair will always result in mats, which are bundles of the shed and "live" hair all wound together.

The bigger the tangle, the quicker the mat. Once hair is matted, it can quickly become unmanageable and may cause discomfort or skin issues, so dealing with any little knots as you see them can prevent matting.

9. Keep It Trimmed

If your Havanese isn't shown at competitions, or you want to avoid dealing with rigorous grooming regimens, you can try a more manageable style. Puppy or "teddy bear" clips are names given to a short all-over clip that many Havanese have; they're attractive yet highly manageable cuts that can decrease the likelihood of mats and tangles.

These short hairstyles won't cause any harm to your Havanese, and they'll still be able to regrow their coats, so they'll need tidying up every month or so. If you want to keep your Havanese comfortable but avoid grooming them extensively, a puppy cut might be the answer.

Even clipped Havanese will still need regular grooming to stop mats in the shorter hair, but it's a much more relaxed affair.

10. Take Your Dog to the Groomer

Above all, if you want to ensure your Havanese doesn't form mats but don't feel you can adequately groom them yourself, you should take them to a groomer. This can be costly as most groomers will charge by the hour, but it'll be much quicker (and more comfortable) being groomed regularly than having an emergency grooming session due to heavy matting.

Grooming trips should be regular, but your Havanese will still need regular at-home grooming, particularly if the coat is kept long, to keep them comfortable.

How Can I Keep My Havanese’s Hair Healthy?

You can help to keep your Havanese tangle-free by keeping their coat and skin healthy. The dog’s nutrition plays a big part in this, so ensuring your Havanese has a complete and balanced diet rich in coat-healthy components can nourish them from the inside. Healthy fats, in particular, play an important role in maintaining a dog's skin and coat, as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can help support skin barrier function, modulate inflammation, and support overall skin and coat health.

Most high-quality dog food will be well-balanced and contain adequate amounts of skin and coat-supporting ingredients (such as omega-3 and vitamin A), but you could also supplement your dog if recommended by your veterinarian. Fish oil contains high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and is usually well-tolerated by most dogs.

However, always check with a veterinarian first if you want to give your Havanese supplements.

Why Is De-Matting Important?

Making sure your Havanese is matt-free is very important because mats are painful, and they can cause sores to develop on the skin, which can become infected. When a dog's hair gets matted, it pulls on the hair still attached to the skin and collects any hair that would be shed out of the coat.

This hair winds itself around the matt, making it bigger. This cycle continues until whole areas of the coat are matted together!

In extreme examples, dogs can have reduced mobility due to the mats restricting movement or causing severe skin damage that may require extensive veterinary treatment. Mats around the backside of a dog can make it difficult for the dog to poop and can trap pee and poop close to the skin. Open sores can become infected if not properly cleaned and treated.

Matted hair is very painful and can significantly decrease the dog’s quality of life, so every dog should always have its grooming needs met.

Summary

Havanese are beautiful dogs with signature silky coats that need regular grooming to keep them from getting matted. There are several things Havanese owners can do to prevent mats; even something as simple as using the correct grooming equipment can keep your Havanese looking sleek and matt-free.

It's crucial to keep your Havanese's coat free of tangles, as matting is a serious issue that can cause significant skin problems and discomfort, and in severe cases may require veterinary attention.

• See also: How Much Do Havanese Cost?

Featured Image Credit: Ralf Bitzer, Pixabay