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top knot alternative? by Marie

ORIGINAL MESSAGE: Rudy is 17 weeks old and his hair is starting to hang down over his eyes. I used to put a top knot in 2 year old Baxter who has a long modified puppy cut now for about a year (which I love). Anyway, I remember the elastic used to break the hair in the knot. I've read somewhere that baby barrettes can be used on puppies, but I worry about them coming out and him swallowing them or something. Has anyone ever tried this? Or any other suggestions? I really don't want to start with the top knots. They are such a job to get in properly and they'll probably just come out when they play anyway. Help!

DISCUSSION:

Dear Marie: My Sofi has a modified long puppie cut. I guess I'm just a clutz but I can't use the little bands. For that reason we use baby barrettes with the little sponge backing on them. They do stay in and they don't seem to break the hair. Sometimes we use just one on top, other times we use two, one on each side of her ears. k.mager

I put two ponytails in the hair of both of my kids. On the little girl I use very small rubber bands that I buy at the groomers. I tie a pom pon to each rubber band, and she keeps them between grooming sessions. I redo ponytails daily, and it's no problem. My male's hair is different and rubber bands do not work in his because they cause major tangles. For him, I bought the small size Goody pony tail elastics, and they work great. I tie the pompons to the ponytail holders. My experience with barrettes is that they fall out, and the dogs chew them into completely unrecognizable shapes. Hope this helps! Karen

My mom has put barettes in her dogs hair ever since she was a small puppy. She can pull them out, but rarely does. It has worked great! Allie hated top knots, but has not minded the barettes. I will probably try them with my puppy, as soon as her hair is long enough. Good Luck! - Meredith

I used to use a barrette for my Yorkie with no problem, but have tried it with Phoebe (4 mo) and it doesn't work very well. Her hair is thicker and very silky, compounded by the puppy romping I just keep having to put it back in. I tried the all plastic kind and the plastic ones with the metal clip did work better. I think she was not keen on the weight of it sitting on top of her head. I had to go ahead and do a topknot, so far only have to do that twice a day - LOL. She still has bangs though, those will grow out... Barrettes are easier, but the only way you can find out if it works is to try it. Leslie R

Hello! I have tried a number of things in Ellii's hair. No matter what kind of rubber band I use, she rubs her head on the floor and mats it up. I make sure while doing it that nothing is pulling anywhere. She just doesn't like the feel of it I guess. I am now using barretts. I have tried the kind with the metal back and can't get them to close and stay closed. The only ones that seem to work for me are the ones that are all plastic, you know, one piece that is folded in the middle. She leaves them alone (thank God) and the hair doesn't mat up with them. I also only have to do it once a day. I was too nervous about using the ones with the metal because I thought that if she got it out and ate it, it would do more damage than just chewing up a plastic one. I don't know. Everyone will have luck at something different. That is why I love this site. We can all compare notes and try different things out. Good luck and God Bless. Jeannie

I have a friend who braids her maltese's hair instead of using a top knot. The rubber band goes only on the very end of the braid, so there's virtually no matting! It's also a good althernative for people who would rather not put a bow in a male's hair .Skylar's hair is not long enough to do this yet, but that's our plan. Wendy

Thanks for all the suggestions! I went out yesterday and bought some barrettes. All they had were the kind with velcro and they were bows, which I always feel it's like putting a dress on a boy, but I did it anyway. My little boy is growing up!! They don't stay in very well at all. The hair is just at that length that it falls down over the eyes, but not quite long enough to stay in a top knot. I would love to see pictures of the braid - it's hard to imagine but sounds quite suitable for boys. Marie

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