Doodles Galore

by Heather Boyd

We groom A LOT of DOODLES at Doggie Detailing! Goldendoodles, Labradoodles, Shepadoodles, Bernadoodles, St.Berdoodles you name it, we have them every single day in our shop. There isn’t a moment during the day where I can look around my salon and not see at least one doodle on a table being groomed. They are simply VERY popular. They come in a huge variety of sizes, shapes and colours with an array of coat textures, lengths, and workability.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE them all. They are sweet, loving, gentle, happy dogs. After all, they are all part Poodle. My favorite breed. Doodles, in my experience, are lovely and super cuddly! I truly understand why they are so popular.

Lately we have had quite a few brand new Doodle clients. This post is mostly for them as I feel there is a disconnect between the information the breeders are telling new owners and the reality of what goes into maintaining these dogs to truly look the way people really want them to look.

From a grooming perspective, Doodles are by far the highest maintenance dogs we see in the pet grooming industry today. When you add up at home maintenance, plus the regular professional grooming schedule you get one pretty high maintenance pooch.

Lately, it seems our newer Doodle Clients are waiting until 7-9 months of age before getting the dog groomed for the first time.
By then, these 50 – 60lb dogs have 6-10 inches of dense, wavy, curly, unruly coat.
These young dogs have never met us. They have never been brushed by anyone other then their owners at home. They have not been away from mom or dad much. They have no idea what our grooming salon sounds like; the rumble of the dryers, the other dogs barking, the phones ringing, the strangers talking, the clippers buzzing. They have no idea what it’s like to be up high on a grooming table. They have no familiarity with the smells, sights and sounds of the grooming salon. Not to mention the sensation of a vibrating clipper zipping across they’re body or scissors snipping near their eyes.
You’re setting your groomer and your dog up to fail if you wait until the dog is nearly full grown before getting them groomed for the first time.

The pictures you see below are randomly taken from Google. It seems as though this is the most sought after look for most doodle owners. We hear owners say things like, “We want him to look less groomed” , “like a hobo”, “more shaggy”, “natural, long as you can go” , “still curly” etc.

Everyone wants a long, unkept, shaggy haired doodle.

Here’s our #1 difficulty with providing clients with long hair on their Doodles, as groomers:

MATTING. 😢

Matting hurts your dog. It’s like wearing a tight pony tail and never taking it out. It pulls and tugs on the skin and restricts your dogs range of movement and mobility.
In addition to causing discomfort, these matts and knots can create serious health problems for dogs. Severe matting can cause bacterial infections as they trap moisture near the skin and cause serious damage to the skin.
Severe matting can lead to bruising, infection, hot spots, itchy skin, etc.

When matting is severe, and covering more then 50-60% of the dog, the only humane option is to shave it off and start fresh. I know this isn’t what most people want. It’s not what we want to do either. We much prefer doing pretty fluffy haircuts! No groomer feels good about their grooming ability after shaving a severely matted dog. Dogs that have to be shaved often behave differently for a few days after the groom as well, which makes us sad. They don’t understand what has happened to them. It’s so much better if we can keep them in a medium length but manageable length haircut. A length that can be kept matt-free in between grooming appointments.

In order for us to give your dog a haircut, especially a LONGER haircut, they need to be 100% matt free. A comb needs to glide through your dogs hair from nose to tail without it snagging on anything. Once the dog is completely matt free, then and only then can we slide our clipper with a long metal attachment comb on it through your dogs coat to the desired length.

Yes we can de-matt your dog in the shop. We have excellent products and tools and techniques to help loosen mats and help get all the tangles out. And we will. And we do. Everyday. (Be aware, this is something we charge extra for). However there are times we may refuse to do it if we feel the dog cannot tolerate it, or the matting is too substantial.

There is saying we have in Grooming: “ Humanity before Vanity”.

Dematting can be uncomfortable to your dog. Dematting is the most strenuous activity for a groomers body to endure. Also, we are not willing to contribute to a cycle of neglect that is 100% preventable.

Brushing at home is part of pet ownership. Just like walking your dog, feeding your dog, training your dog, and vetting your dog. It’s simply part of owning a pet. Just like cleaning the debris that collect in the corners of the eyes, or cleaning up the “cling-ons” that stick to your dogs bottom. It’s part of being a good pet owner.

Whether we can or will de-matt your dog is situational. It is always up to the individual groomer to assess your dog. It depends on coat type, severity of matting, and whether we think your dog will tolerate it.

Our clipper comb attachments go up to 2″ long. We can clip your dog any length possible, up to 2″ of hair. It’s a beautiful trim for an owner that is regimented in their home maintenance!

How to keep your dog “Matt-Free’ so you can have the long haircut you desperately seek:
1. START YOUNG: Start your dog early! Your first professional groom should be as soon as they have had all of their puppy vaccinations. And every 6-8 weeks after that. (It can be just bath and tidy’s, without a full haircut, but at least PLEASE get them used to is while they’re still young and impressionable)
2. BRUSH: your doodle at home (daily) with a good quality slicker brush. Everyday, just like your own hair.
3. COMB: at home daily after you brush to get right down to the skin and check your work to see if you missed any tangles.
4. BRUSH AGAIN: after the comb. Go back over with the brush after combing to pull out any lose hair the comb was able to find.
5. SECTION: Continue working in sections until the entire dog is matt-free
6. NO BATHING: Don’t bath your dog at home.
7. DRY COMPLETELY: If you must bath at home, you really need to dry your dog completely, while brushing, at the same time, preferably with a conditioning spray, to avoid the hair from drying into tight curls which will very quickly turn into a matt. Stretching out the hair and straightening it out will prevent the hair from getting matted so quickly.
8. SCHEDULE: Keep your dog on a regular grooming schedule . Depending on the length of coat, Doodles often get groomed every 4-6 weeks. Typically they are trimmed to ½” all over and longer… up to 2” in length. Sometimes for lose wavy coats we are able to leave the coat longer, or use scissors to lightly tidy area that you prefer to be kept longer.
9. BATH AND TIDY’S IN BETWEEN GROOMS: If you have a hard time brushing in between haircut grooming appointments, schedule a bath and tidy with us half way between your grooms. So if you’re getting haircuts every 6 weeks, have a bath and tidy booked at the 3 week mark to help with coat maintenance.

We want you to be happy! And we want you to LOVE your Doodle’s haircut! Help us help you get that perfect look for your shaggy friend!

If you would like to learn more about the specific tools and brushing techniques, we find especially beneficial for Doodles, please call the shop to schedule a 15 minute brushing and maintenance lesson. We can help take the guess work out of maintaining your doodle!