Should I trim that fur or leave it?

He's probably thinking "eye infection waiting to happen".

I wouldn't see snagging a small clip of hair out of the corner of his eyes as harming his natural coat.  Am I missing something?

Xebby

I really wanted to keep Rummy in a natural coat. 

Rummy's coat is not natural. The coat you see on a wolf, coyote, or jackal...is natural. His coat is man made, man selected for. If he has hair around the eyes then chances are it will catch things and that could be good or bad. If it were my dog I would clip the area around/under the eye. If you are not comfortable or think you might hurt him, than don't. But it would hardly be noticeable if done well. You can alwaus wait and see if he appears to have drainage or issues with pawing at his face and go from there.

But I did want to point out that since his coat is a man created one, it will need maintence and upkeep...because it is NOT a natural easy care coat like a wild canid would carry.

I'm wondering if this is going to be a problem as he ages or if I will eventually be able to leave it alone?  If I let it grow with him and it grows out natural (no trimming) would it be safer then trimming it then letting it growing back when he's older?  Looking at pics of other doodles in a full coat, the fur seems to grow out just fine.

It kinda makes me nurvous taking a trimmer to my puppies face, not because I'm afarid of hurting him but more because I don't want to change him. I know it's just a little snip but he's my baby right now and it is a big deal to me, I love that face. The fur doesn't seem to impair his vision and it doesn't touch his eyes, he's adjusted just fine with it right there.  I'll do it if he really does need it though. He is just about the age where I want to take him to a groomer to desensitize him to going to one, so I may just see what the groomer has to say.

rwbeagles

His coat is man made, man selected for.

But I did want to point out that since his coat is a man created one, it will need maintence and upkeep...because it is NOT a natural easy care coat like a wild canid would carry.

Gina, you are absolutely right. I don't mean natural as in the scene of a wild animal goes, I mean letting it grow to it's full length. As far as a pet coat goes it does need some maintenance but since he is a puppy all I am doing now is daily brushing and use a detangler between baths.  I'm not sure what his coat will become when he's older so just guessing right now where to go with it.

I wanted to see what advice I get, good or bad before I change anything to him. Looks like a little trim may be coming soon.  I knew when I decided to adopt him that he was going to need a lot of maintenance to his coat.  It's one thing of many that I love about him but I want to start him off right.

Other than trimming between the eyebrows so that they don't have a unibrow, I have never trimmed/removed hair around my Schnauzers' eyes.  Not the same type of dog, but they are heavily facial-haired and I have never had an eye infection to be honest, or any type of eye issues.

Kash had the same fuzzy look at about the same age:

If it bothers you and you think it might be problematic, then it's not a huge deal to remove a bit of hair. With a mix it's hard to predict how the moustache will turn out (if there will always be little sprigs, or if it will lengthen out evenly), but I don't see anything right now that concerns me personally.

When my cousin had a Coton, we did trim the face, especially around the eyes.  She had tear stains (I don't have white dogs or small dogs so I know nothing about this problem) and my aunt wanted to see her eyes/expression.  We just used a normal hair scissors and thinning shears, which are the same tools I used on the rest of the dog and use on Coke (and myself and my DH, lol).  I've never had an electric shaver.  My cousin didn't show her Coton or anything so we just trimmed and blended until the dog looked like what we wanted, and I do the same for Coke.  Cheap/free and kinda fun to play around with!

Xebby

all I am doing now is daily brushing and use a detangler between baths.

It's all in the perception, Zebby -- I hate conditioners (because they tend to catch pollen, dust and hold it) and would call THAT messing with the natural coat!  Snipping a bit of hair so he can see past it better or so it won't breed infection?  to me that's just like cleaning ears and doing nails.  "Mom stuff" not "changing".

*smile* -- it really is all in your own personal outlook.  I'm with Gina -- ain't nuffin about most of these dogs that is truly "natural".  They live in a human world so we help them cope.

(hiding the "natural" mega-grey-roots to my own "coat" tha't s starting to need a touch up LOL)

Kim_MacMillan

Kim -- does SUM-BUDDY call this adorable dog "Boots"?  It would be irresistible to me!  (Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin" is just going round and round in my head)

I'd let the groomer trim it.  Personally I like the hair trimmed around the eyes to see those beautiful brown eyes of Ava's . *S*

 They actually sell trimming tools just for around the ears and eyes, like these:

http://www.seniorpetproducts.com/product/millers-forge-pet-ear-p4769.html?&parent=565

I don't think there is anything "unnatural" about a coat that's trimmed in sanitary ways like this. Then again, we had an English Sheep Dog when I was a kid and I used to have to trim his hair from his eyes all the time.

Pikas Palace

I think it is all based on your opinion and how you feel about it. Unless there is some kind of eye infection, I wouldn't worry about it. Some do get the hair around the eyes trimmed to show off their eyes a little more. I vote for leave it for now. You might decide later to trim it. EEither way, it won't make a difference to your dog. 

Pikas Palace

I think it is all based on your opinion and how you feel about it. Unless there is some kind of eye infection, I wouldn't worry about it. Some do get the hair around the eyes trimmed to show off their eyes a little more. I vote for leave it for now. You might decide later to trim it. EEither way, it won't make a difference to your dog. 

I totally agree.  Then again, I'm one who really likes untrimmed fur.  The only thing I ever trimmed in my Paps was the fur between their paw pads & that was because, in the winter, they'd get snow balls stuck in their feet.  Owie.