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Hair over Eyes
by Betty Page
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
We're new and delighted owners of MIsty, a 6 mos old puppy. He has a great deal of hair ove his eyes. Very cute but, I would think, would impede his vision quite a bit. would it be advisable to have it clippe off or thinned out? We'd appreciate a reply from anyone more expeienced than us.
DISCUSSION:
Hello! I would trim the hair or have a groomer do it for you. The very first thing I did when I brought my girls home was trim the hair around their eyes. I have to see their eyes. It bothered me that they might not be able to see very well with all that hair covering their beautiful eyes. Take care!
Angel
Do you have a pair of barber's shears? Pull the hair on the head up between your fingers being careful to leave the ear hair and make one big cut to the desired length, approximately two inches is good, then trim to the shape of the head to form a "pouf". Next, take the shears and cut bangs to the desired length. This is adorable on the boys.(girls, too) It is very easy to do. Hope this helps-
April B
Hi Betty! I have trimmed Cubbie's hair around his eyes and also the hair on top of his head. He looks so much better, and I believe he feels better. I use a pair of barber scissors to do this.
Felicia & Cubbie
Hi Betty, the beasties wear these really cute twisted ponytails that stay in for days and keep all the hair out of their eyes. If you are interested in trying these then just e-mail me and I will send the instructions (really easy - takes two minutes to put in). My email address should be in the forum user directory which you can access from the top of the page where it says "make a selection".
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
Deanna, I'm interested too, as I'm sure lots of other people are. Can you please let us know how to do your 2-minute ponytails? Also, I once heard about a kind of french braid that stays in too. How would you hold the end -- which I imagine must be wispy and thin?
Isabel
Isabel, you don't really notice the end because it stays flat along the head and shouldn't look wispy. OK, for those of you that have seen this before.....I'm sorry! For anyone who hasn't, here's the 2 minute ponytail method, courtesy of Moose & Squirrel's breeder: This is REALLY easy to do, looks great and only takes a couple of minutes. You take one of those little terry-towelling hair bands (about an inch in diameter) and work with your baby facing you. Part the hair from ear to ear, in front of the ears. (You want the ponytail anchoring site to be close to the front of the head, not right in the middle, otherwise the short strands will escape.) Use only the hair which would normally fall into their eyes - don't use the side bits of hair or the ponytail may be uncomfortable for them. Do a small ponytail at the front of your baby's head and wrap the band 3-4 times around. (Not too close to the head, the ponytail should be hanging down slightly over the face.) Divide the hair between the skull and the band in two and push the loose end of the pontyail through the gap in the hair, away from you, making sure that the band goes through too. The ponytail bit should now be lying on the top of the head, with the end pointing toward their tail. Tighten by dividing the ponytail in two and gently pulling the halves in opposite directions - the band will slide down to fit snugly against the head. The end result is an attractive flat twisted look (not a "fountain") which will stay tidily in place for 1-2 days and which they seem to find very comfortable. It will actually stay in for a lot longer but if you don't redo it every couple of days the twisted bit will get knotty. Try using an "ouchless" polyester band if you find that the ponytail comes out (ie, if you have more than one maltese and they like to "re-arrange" each other's hairdo!) just wrap it around enough times until it is well secured. It doesn't look as nice as the terrycloth band, but it will better defy efforts to remove it! 
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
Deanna - please post the directions for your 'stay-put-ponytails'!!! I put Phoebe's hair up and the ponytails stay, but she gets down and rolls in the floor and adds "bangs"! By the time she gets done sometimes I have to start over... The ponytail part stays, but I am definitely wondering if I should just trim this part and deal with her having a unique hairdo. I tried braids, but her hair is so silky that it was only good for a few minutes, maybe I goofed it up?
Leslie R
This hairdo is the greatist an my husband doesn't object to this like he does when I put bows in Quiggley's hair. The little bangs will grow fast, I wouldn't cut them, just let them grow a little more.
Gloria
Deanna, Isn't it hard to poke the end through the space under the band? Do you use some kind of tool? When I try to visualize this, I see a rolled twist over the band toward the front of the forehead and the tail on the top of the head, pointing toward the tail. Is that right? Also do you have any tips on the french braid? Thanks.
Isabel
Isabel, yes that's exactly how it should look! I do cheat sometimes and use the end of a tailcomb (if I have it handy) to define the gap to poke the hair through but I wouldn't try that if your baby is a bit fidgety, just in case you accidentally poke her in the eye. If you put the band on far enough away from the scalp you shouldn't have any trouble using your fingers to separate the hair into two equal bits and create a gap big enough for the band to go through. Don't worry if it looks a bit messy or insecure at this stage...when you slide the band back down toward the scalp to finish it off it will hold the ponytail firmly in place and should look very neat. If you're still having trouble then try using one of those polyester "ouchless" bands as they end up being less bulky than the terrycloth ones. Re the french braid.....I don't know anything about that method although I have a feeling that it may have been a description of this method that Gloria used last time????.....perhaps? Hope it all works OK for you, feel free to email me privately if you have any problems with it.
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
Yes it was me that gave the description of a french braid for this hairdo. Maybe that's why my daughter always asked someone else to do her hair, I don't know what a french braid looks like!
Gloria
What I had my groomer do was cut 'bangs.' REally, its just the first to cm. of hair is cut quite short so it holds up the rest of the hair behind it. This works very well until it is long, then go to topnots. I would reccomend baby barrets for topknots - easy to get in and out, no pulling or matted top. Good Luck!
~Karen & the C-dog
Karen & Clover
WOW! I read the instructions very carefully - dug out the hot pink terry covered ponytail holder that my grandaughter abandoned here - and I put Phoebe's hair in the cutest little knot! It really does lay back on her head, the twist look is adorable! Just as easy as can be, really a neat look and now we will just see how well it stand up to romping with the cat! Thanks!
Leslie R
Roughly sixty seconds..... One good dragging and rolling of the head on the floor and there hangs the terry cloth in between Phoebe's eyes, so I did it again and the extra twist might help. If not, then I will keep using the polyester bands. I did discover that we get less 'fall out' as far as bangs go when I do just one centered ponytail instead of the two pigtails & frankly I thought it would be just the opposite. Oh well - I tried!
Leslie R
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