Cavachon Grooming Tips
Our Scruffy Kasey
When our Cavachon, Kasey, starts to look a little scruffy, it’s time to think about grooming. Here are some of the things we do.
If you are looking for a good recommendation for a groomer, ask your Vet. I generally take Kasey to the groomer every 4 to 8 weeks. It depends on the weather – in the summer, I like to keep his hair shorter so he goes more often. Since we live in the mid-west, our winters get pretty cold and I don’t take him to the groomer as often so that his hair can grow longer – and keep him warmer!
In between trips to the groomer, his coat still needs to be taken care of. Our Cavachon has a combination of both types of hair. He has some areas that are straighter, but for the most part, the longer his hair gets, the curlier it gets. I have found that using one of the metal combs with the wider teeth works the best. I have tried several different brushes and they just won’t get through his coat. Right after he is groomed, I don’t need to comb him for a week which is great! As soon as the hair starts growing, he starts getting tangled areas and I have to comb him more often. The frequency of combing quickly picks up as the hair keeps growing. After a month or so, it’s pretty easy if I do it every other day. Combing can take between 30 minutes to an hour depending upon how many tangles he has – the more often you comb your Cavachon, the fewer tangles he will get.
I recently found that using one of my little eyelash combs works great on tangles!
I would recommend that you start combing your Cavachon when he/she is young. Kasey grew up getting combed and he is very tolerant of it now. He won’t fuss at all even if it takes an hour and he ALWAYS gets a treat when we are done!
As far as bathing goes, it again depends on the time of year and weather. Right now, we are knee deep in snow and he doesn’t really get very dirty so I’ll give him a bath every 2 -3 weeks or so. However, when we get a thaw, he may need a couple baths in a week! White hair and mud don’t go well together! Even though he is 1 1/2 years old, I still use Hartz Groomer’s Best Puppy Shampoo. It’s gentle on his eyes and it smells great. Bathing is another thing I started doing with him when he was very young. He doesn’t mind the bath anymore and…oh yes, he gets a treat when he is done.
Update 3-17-2010: If you want to see some before and after pictures of Kasey being groomed, check out his visit to the groomer!
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Hi. We have just been to look at a puppy and she is cute as they all are but my daughter is in love. The mom -bishon Frise has quite fine hair that was had a wave rather than being curly. Will that mean that the puppy even though crossed with a poodle will have fine hair? The puppy had a wave in her coat but not a tight teddy coat. Don’t mind not having a puppy that’s really curly. But the straighter it is the note it will possibly shed. But I don’t want a fine wispy coat that looks straggly
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Hi there,
I have a cavachon, Peach, who is now 17 weeks old. She is an absolutely adorable puppy. We got her at 8 weeks old and she has just been great.
However, recently I have noticed her gwaning at her front legs. Hair on these legs are noticeably decreasing by the day. Some parts I can even see her skin.
Can you please advise me as to what I can do to minimise her gwaning? I currently have limited finances to go to the vets to have her checked up.
Your comments will be much appreciated!
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We have 2 cavachon puppies, 12 weeks old. The problem we are having is the little girl, Ginger growls when we pick her up. Why is this happening and what can we do, we thank you for any advice.
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We had the same problem and were told to buy distiller water for puppy. It really worked I couldn’t believe it. Apparently the iron/ minerals in tap water is the reason their tears stain. Try it your won’t be sorry!you can’t buy Angels eyes here in the us anymore. Vet told us there is some sort of drug in it to so the FDA took it off the shelf BUT I found out if you buy tour dog distiller water the stain goes away. It seems the iron/minerals in the tap water causes the staining. Try it you’ll be glad you did
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MY CAVACHON SUKHI IS 5 MONTHS SHE IS ADORABLE,BUT I NOTICED WHEN I BATHED HER, HER SKIN IS VERY DARK WITH BROWN PATCHES ON HER TAIL AND BODY,I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS JUST PIGMENTATION.
HAS ANY OTHER CAVACHON OWNERS NOTICED THIS.
TRISHA
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Anonymous Replied:
July 20th, 2014 at 10:15 am
Don’t worry, the skin pigmentation is normal. When we first gave our dog a bath, we were shocked with his dark and spotted skin underneath his cream coat.
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Melissa Craig Replied:
August 1st, 2014 at 10:00 am
Ours is the same way Odie, has dark markings
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Rosie Replied:
August 18th, 2015 at 6:25 am
our CAVACHON puppy is 14 weeks old. We have been crate training her about two weeks. She usually does pretty good during the day…but at night she sleeps well, but in the morning we sometime find a little poop! She is in a small crate. We have a 2 x 8 ft area that we put her in and she does great…I don’t put her in the crate all day…we hold her. Anyone have any answers? This going in her crate is driving us crazy!
Thanks, Barbara
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Anonymous Replied:
September 11th, 2015 at 4:56 am
We have never used our crate we just put her bed in the kitchen put dog nappie down cried one night now she is 17 weeks old and she does nothing in the house at all she’s brilliant
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Emma Replied:
October 18th, 2015 at 10:33 am
Rosie, does. Your puppy sleep with any blankets or soft padding in the crate? With my cavachon puppy who is 5 months used to go potty in her crate SO MUCH! We had soft padding in the crate so we asked the vet and she said that puppies like going potty on soft surfaces, so we took the soft padding out put a chew toy in there and she did not have any accidents! Now we have put the soft padding back in there so she learns ” if I go pee in here then I have to sleep on an uncompterble place” now she does not have any accidents in the crate and she sleeps until 8:30! I love my cavachon puppy SO much and would recommend this breed to ANYONE! If anyone wants any breeder advice I got my puppy from. Cavachon by design in Tennessee and the breeder is so nice and helpfull! Enjoy your cavachon puppies!
That same thing exactly just happened to my dog lily. I didn’t even recognize her when I went to pick her up. She looks like a terrier sorta and no longer the living teddy bear. But she does seem happier and more comfortable. I actually came on here to find out how they should look properly groomed too.
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Hahaha!
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hi every cavarchon owner out there, we have had mather now 2 yrs we had the empty nest syndrome when the last of four son’s left home.my husband kept saying no we’r not having a dog. we live at the seaside in north wales,walking along the prom one day I saw the most adorable little puppy, yes it was a cavarchon. I came home got on line found out all about the breed,no hair loss not to much walking, very good with children, (grandchildren) in our case. found a breeder in west wales, got in touch, she had a litter due in two week,s of contact.the breeder got in touch when they were born, sent me photos of the pups when they were six week,s old so I could pick one. The rest as they say is history. my husband has a new love in his life, she is the most loving little dog. my son ,wife, and grandchildren look after her when we go away, they love her as much as we do.we think it’s the perfect breed.
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Hi there, we have a rehomed Cavachon girl and she has settled very well and we love her to bits. Only worry is if she has to get moved she has a growl at you. If you try to lift her she also has a growl She is four and half years old..
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Hi we have a beautiful cavachon puppy called millie she is 10weeks we have had her a week she is very loving and excellent with my two children,my eldest son has allergies to dogs and cats and we bought this breed because of their hypoalergenic factors,my son has recently been unwell with his allergies since we brought millie home,im hoping that he will grow out of this allergy (antihistamines are working)as we don’t want to part with her:-)can anyone give me any advise on when i can bath my cavachon puppy?
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Hi, I have a 13 week Cavachon pup called Lola could you please give me some tips on how to keep her eyes clean and how to remove the brown tear stains from her fur around her eyes.
Thanks Lisa
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Lindsey Replied:
January 5th, 2014 at 3:01 pm
Hello, my 6 month old puppy , Bella, just started to have the same issues. She is white furred with brown ears. I asked my vet about it and she said that is normal and they have a product out there called “angel eyes”. It takes the stain out and it comes in a couple different forms. I haven’t tried it yet but I am definitely going to try it!!
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lisa Replied:
January 27th, 2014 at 3:33 pm
Hi, my cavachon is 2 and half and iv used angel eyes and it really does work, iv tried lots of different products and this is the only thing that works.. the only thing i found is that when i stopped using it, the staining did come back so you would prob have to give it all the time..
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Anonymous Replied:
April 10th, 2014 at 1:49 pm
Angle eyes is not a good product to use. Has been baned in some countries. google the product. If you give filtered water it will keep their eyes from staining.
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Anonymous Replied:
September 24th, 2014 at 6:19 pm
We were told to use distilled water only for a month or two..after two months it is completely gone..now on regular water, and our little guy is fine..no stain
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Mum11962 Replied:
February 22nd, 2014 at 11:09 pm
I initially tried products for dog eyes, but the best preventative has been to filter the water. We have excellent tap water, but too many minerals for Maisey. I just use water filtered through a Britta pitcher. No gooey eyes ever since- for my cavachon and our yorkie as well.
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petalmac Replied:
April 21st, 2014 at 11:58 am
Hi. This really works! I tried everything for our cavachon Poppy including expensive stuff from the internet but within a week of giving her water from a brita filter her eyes cleared up and we have had no problems since.
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Anonymous Replied:
May 30th, 2014 at 9:44 am
sorry if I sound naive but is the filtered water to drink or to wash the eyes with?
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Rebecca Replied:
June 9th, 2014 at 7:05 am
To drink.
Rebecca Replied:
June 9th, 2014 at 7:09 am
They have problems with the hard water in their bodies. Also feeding filtered water will help prevent urinary tract stones in the future. They are prone to that too if not given filtered water.
JackR Replied:
March 21st, 2014 at 5:07 am
Hi, Lisa. You can buy some products for eyes, but when you clean it once, you will only need filtered, or boiled and chilled water.
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Anonymous Replied:
December 16th, 2014 at 4:02 pm
We had the same problem and were told to buy distiller water for puppy. It really worked I couldn’t believe it. Apparently the iron/ minerals in tap water is the reason their tears stain. Try it your won’t be sorry!
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My Elsie is 4 months old, she hasnt been bathed yet, but it wont be long now!!! Can you recommend a good quality shampoo that keeps her “locks” looking beautiful. Thank you
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Jeff (17 months old cavachon) is like a child, he gets hyper then drops like a stone for a little nap. If a nap is not possible, we can see his eyes going red as he struggles to stay awake so as not to miss anything. On a recent trip to a local regatta Jeff spent the return walk under one arm as he just couldn’t walk another step. We had only been out two hours and a lot of that was spent sitting down watching events. We put it down to the excitement of the day.
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Jackie Replied:
October 29th, 2013 at 1:20 pm
I have a 10 month old Cavachon and she has crazy spells also of running madly around the house. We just get out of her way and let her do her thing, she always calms down. I heard someone call it the “Bichon Blitz” haha
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Sue Replied:
December 26th, 2013 at 12:51 pm
We have a 3 year old Cavachon, Tucker. He does the “Bichon Blitz” also. I just say “run Tucker run”. He runs around & gets it out of his system. We love him & he is so cute & fun. So glad we have him for entertainment! He’s very spoiled & smart.
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I did the same and was quite sad but Jeff was so happy as it was quite hot this summer. He is 17 months old now and has his hair cut every three month or so we are adjusting to the two very different looks. The main difference seems to be he gets fussed over in the street more and called a girl when he has long hair. He’s the same pup as ever he was, just not as hot and he so loves his groomer. We use the groomer at the local kennels where he goes for his holiday while the builders were in.
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My cavachon had REALLY bad tear staining, I tried several products and then someone told me to switch to giving him distilled water instead of regular water or bottle. I don’t know why it works but since I started two years ago he has not had any tear stains at all. Its cheap and it worked!
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We just brought home Rudy our 5 month old Cavachon. He is very calm and mushy. He does have staining under his eyes and I will ask our vet about cleaning out his tear ducts as someone mentioned they had that done while they were getting neutered. What’s the best type of brush to use?
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Nikki is a 5mo. old girl and the light of our life. She’s so much fun. She’s on Dick Van Patten Natural Synergy food and we treat her with Peanut Butter when we crate her, and her favorite is frozen peas. Has anyone had a problem with food~~or any type of allergy? Nikki is licking/chewing on her hind leg and most of the fur is gone. Trying to weed it out with the vet, but thought maybe another Cavachon owner would have an idea of what it might be.
Thanks
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Dolores Replied:
October 20th, 2013 at 11:44 am
Joey, my Cavachon just turned 3. He has so much personality ! ! Joey loves frozen peas in his food too. I had a problem with licking his front right paw. My groomer suggested Gold Bond Medicated Powder (the baby variety). It worked wonders. Just after two applications he has stopped licking. Hope this helps you. Enjoy your funny little girl as much as I enjoy my Joey.
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Anonymous Replied:
September 26th, 2015 at 4:05 am
Wheat is not good for any dog , so try a food that has not wheat or additives , I have my dog on Wainwrights grain free food since we have had him and we have not had any pro meal with him at all he is now six month old and doing very well his skin is clear and his fur is lovely , I hope you don’t mind me posting this to you but it must be very annoying for you dog ,you can get this food from pets for at home stores .
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My cavachon puppy Chloe is just like that. She is 16 weeks old now. I have had her since 9 weeks, and her “demon” phase started about 10 weeks. She is hilarious. She tears around the house making a low throaty growl. I don’t know if it is “normal” but I have talked with others whose puppies have done the same. She also cleans herself regularly, and scratches although the vet says she has no fleas. I’ve been told it may just be dry skin and to see if it continues when the seasons change. It’s nice to know there ate other cavachons with similar traits
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