Christmas time is here and I have the perfect ornament. Riley, the Havanese Snowball!!

Below is the before and after video of Riley. He is an absolutely darling Havanese that is about 1.5 years old. He was a referral from Marley, (Makeover Madness, 2nd dog featured, a Champion Havanese). When I first met him he was extremely nervous, anxious and matted. I started grooming him about 3 months ago so, I had not had the opportunity to teach him the grooming process from puppy hood. My first grooming visit was challenging because he was quite long, matted and uneven. Despite this, I could see that under the matted, uneven mess that there was a diamond. He whined and sort of screamed and trembled most of that first grooming but, eventually with patience I completed the grooming. The owner stayed with me and observed that first grooming and learned how to properly brush and comb him. She even purchased a grooming table which helps tremendously so when she brushes and combs him now, he is secure. She was doing this work on the bed which is not a proper place for grooming, especially for a naturally high strung, nervous animal. It also doesn’t allow the animal to firmly plant all four feet for ultimate stability and thoroughness.

Today was his third grooming session with me and he has improved. The below video shows a little of the anxiousness but, by the time I was finished he had calm down a lot, still a little wimpering but, handled the session like a big boy!!

His coat definitely requires advanced grooming skills. The challenge is to create evenness without scissor marks. He also has great expressive eyes and I wanted to keep his face full, round and feathered. Shaping with thinning shears on his face is a must. I just think he looks like a big SNOWBALL!

Merry Christmas