[Nargle]

After looking at some old pics of Basil from a few months ago, all I have to say is... What happened? Lol! Basil used to have a lot more ear fringes than he does now. It's quite baffling. I don't think I'm doing anything different. He was still going to dog parks and playing with other dogs back then, but he's never really ever played rough with any other dogs. Now that I think about it, back when we lived in Fort Worth my boyfriend's sister's aussie was over all the time, and she was really rough with Basil! But he still had ear fringes. Now he's an only dog, and they're gone! Lol! Do you think a papillon's ability to grow ear fringes might be seasonal? Or am I just clueless and have no idea how to maintain my dog's coat?

Four-ish months ago:


A couple of weeks ago:

[Michiyo-Fir]

Well what I've found is that now that it's wetter, Nia's fringes are wet a lot because they drag on the ground when she's sniffing. Then when I comb through it, I tend to tear a lot of it out because they're stuck together! I'm such a bad Pap owner lol.

Maybe that's what's happening with Basil as well? Plus they do break as well because of the dirty water getting on them.

Nia has long fringes but not a lot of them, they're not thick. Hopefully she'll grow more as she grows older. I would just love to steal Rose or Nard's fringes!

Here's Nia's very thin but long and often breaking fringes lol. (11 months old)

[Laurelin]

Beau goes through bouts where he loses most of his fringe. I blame Nard though since they wrestle 24/7 and his favorite 'handle' is Beau's ears.

[MoosMom]

This is probably not the case, but I used to groom a standard poodle puppy that would chew the bottom of his ears off, so we ended up having to keep them short. Maybe this is a seasonal thing since the dogs are all losing the summer coats and getting ready for winter.

[Nargle]

Michi- That could be the case. The dog park has been super muddy lately, and Basil has even gone into the lake a couple of times.

Laurelin- But I don't have Nard to blame!! XD Basil's not that into the whole wrestling thing. At the dog park he just chases other dogs and sniffs them


You know, that's it, I'm getting Basil a snood and some hair care products XD

[Michiyo-Fir]

I want to get a snood too when feeding Nia raw. Yucky raw meat fringes are not appreciated around here

Hmm....Vellus conditioners and their Satin Creme are great for the coat. A lot of show breeders apply the satin creme on the fringes before blow drying their dogs as well as putting it on the furnishings.

I use the Vellus shampoo and conditioner but no satin creme. It makes the coat smell nice =D But be warned, their products are quite pricey.

[Nargle]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look them up

[lucygoose]

I know Willie's ear fringe is thinner because of the pup......but I didn't think he ever just lost it before......Good Luck!! Where do you buy that shampoo? I I have just used Earthbath.....but would change to something else.....:-)

[Nargle]

I just bought a bottle of Hartz Whitener shampoo from Walmart. Before I was using the oatmeal variety. I have NO IDEA if that's an okay brand XD Any suggestions are welcome, though!

[Michiyo-Fir]

You can buy Vellus through the Vellus website or look in the store locator.

It's www.vellus.com

I think any brand is alright though. I like to use a 2 in 1 shampoo or one with moisturizer/conditioner because Nia's furnishings always seem so dry. Especially her culottes and tail plume. But I've seen lots of people use just any plain old dog shampoo and their paps have good coats.

Also try Biogroom if you have any around your area. That's my breeder's favorite. It's not even expensive either!

[lucygoose]

I have also used Cain & Able shampoo......got that at th foo foo dog store......LOL.......it was pretty good, too......

Thanks!!