Can I go without cutting my doodle?

[Breanna]

Crush has a long, pretty fleece coat. I've seen pictures of doodles with nice long hair and I want to keep it that way. She does shed a tiny bit which is probably a good thing, grooming wise? I know I'll need to cut the hair away from her eyes, and I've trimmed the hair under her feet so it doesn't mat. I brush her hair every few days because I want to keep it long and I DO NOT want it to mat. I've seen some animal cops episodes with bloody matted fur and that terrifies me. (I obviously wouldn't let it get like that). Anyway, does anybody here not cut their doodle's hair? 

[Jennifer and Jack]

wow Beautiful..... Stunning.

[carmel lowry]

We were the same, loved the long  coat, I had brushed everyday but did last week decide to bring Joey to the groomer for his first visit, he got a scissor cut.  Why ? because at 9 months everyday I could see mats forming and thought maybe would be easier to transition from puppy coat with a trim.  

It has taken me a week to get used to the trimmed down Joey !  I think you can get your doodle cut back without doing anything too drastic.  He still has his mop head and his legs were just trimmed, the body was cut back to 1'' a little more than I had hoped,   I would still prefer long but I know it will grow back but differently as adult coat comes in and hopefully will manage the coat change better and never have to go any shorter..      

[Kathryn digregorio]

Thank you for starting this discussion, Brianna, I have the horror story, Breezy got her first cut of the puppy coat and he put a poodle knot on the top of her head. Now we are working on trimming and getting it even and letting it grow out. It has been 2months and still bad. I am goin to try the comb, i brush every other day, she is 1/2 inch long . My dream and Breezys dream is to look like Haley, georgous dog!!! Thank you will follow the response. Love this DK and all you DK followers.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Quincy matted up on me when his adult coat came in, despite my attempts to keep his long hair.  He had to be shaved down, it was bad and seemed to happen overnight.  But that was the beginning of June and he is already shaggy and in need of a face trim.  If you use a comb, and you are hypervigilant, you may be able to avoid cutting.  It was more than I could do, though. There are groups here about "no cut" but they don't seem very active.  Maybe you can stir them up!

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/dontshavemydoodle

[Donna K & Quincy]

It's always your choice if you want to cut your doodle's hair or not. I have never had Quincy cut really close but I do keep him trimmed to 2-3 inches, mostly because it takes his coat so long to dry. You can brush all you want but if you don't comb you will get mats and you need a fairly fine comb, if the teeth are too wide it still misses the mats. A comb with closely spaced rotating tines is the best tool you can use.

[Jen Fischer]

Crush is adorable and I believe his coat is very similar to my Axel's coat! Axel's coat is super easy to maintain. I do a thorough grooming once a week with a rake (get one with rotating pins) and a comb. His trouble spots are behind his ears and the tuft of thick fur above his front leg "elbows." The rest just combs right through! Here's my boy:

[Breanna]

I hope you are right, that is a beautiful coat! I would love it if her adult hair grows in like that. Thanks for the information, everyone!

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Crush is gorgeous!

[Jennifer and Jack]

another beautiful doodle!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

what a cutie face Skye has!  so innocent and sweet.  Quincy's hair became tighter curled after puppy hair, but it is still soft.  He was just groomed today and it is all blown out on the top of his head.  not my favorite look but by tomorrow it will settle back into wavy curls.  

[Melanie ann]

Yes, sometimes you can go a long time without cutting but you have to trim and brush.  I prefer using a pick.  It really depends on the coat type your doodle has.  If it is wavy it will be easy but the tighter the curl the easier it will be to mat.  There are usually problem spots on your dog where you have to be attentive to prevent matting.  You are doing all the right things. Also since their hair is similar to human hair you can use a good organic leave in treatment or oil to help with maintaining the shine and prevent tangles. go to Gorgeousdoodles.com under care to find out even more

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Sherry is beautiful!