GOLDENDOODLE TAIL...

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

How does your goldendoodle hold his tail when just leisurely walking? mine holds it down almost between his legs.. i dont think its because hes scared..maybe thats just how they hold their tails? im used to my moms dogs..standard poodle toy poodle and lhasa apso who all hold their tails curled over their back.. anyways let me know how urs holds their tail please! :)

[Paul Greenwood]

I believe ours holds his curled up unless he is wagging it :)

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Our Gracie Doodle has a tail that resembles a Golden Retriever and it has GR fur, not hair.  Everywhere else on her body she is wavy and curly and doesn't shed.  Her tail is a beautiful plume and when relaxed and just walking it is down sort of swaying along.  When she is alert it rises and when in a very heightened alert it goes up over her back.  When she sees her friends, human or dog, she wags it in a big circle.  The rest of the time when she is wagging it is just back and forth.  You really don't want a high tail because that means the Doodle is alert and not relaxed.  Now some breeds automatically have dogs with up tails so in that case you have to read the tail differently.  Go to my page and check out some of Gracie's photos.  I don't have many puppy ones up because I didn't discover DK until she was over a year old!

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

oh very good to know!!! Midas also has GR fur.. its soo funny...his whole body is wavy like a poodle-ish and his tail is totally GR lol..but he sheds.. :( .. when we first got him he was very straight haired..then we gave him a hair cut and he became wavy..but is still shedding..the color change a bit too... i hear the coat changes as a puppy..have u heard that? When Midas sees someone or gets excited he does wag his tail and stuff and it does go up sometimes.. but when he is just on a walk sniffing around..it is down and swaying..

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Yes, your puppy goes through the dreaded coat change starting around 8 months and can last up to almost 2 years.  This is when you must use a comb and really spend time combing his coat.  Many people just drag a brush across their Doodles and think they have done a good job.  You need to get a good comb that doesn't have sharp tines on it and part back the hair and start at the skin and comb outward.  This is what we call "line brushing".  So much depends on the coat your Doodle has.  The really thick wooly coats are hard to deal with.  Luckily for us my Gracie Doodle has what is called a soft wavy fleece coat and she is not wooly at all.  As the coat change takes place there is the puppy hair that drops from the body and it then gets tangled up in the other hairs and new ones as well.  This is what causes matting which is a huge problem if combing is not maintained.  Almost every first time owner comes home from the groomer in tears after the first grooming...why?  Because the poor Doodle is completely matted down at the skin and there is nothing that they can do for him but shave him.  It is very painful pulling at mats and trying to break them up when they are let go and really bad.  You might want to join the grooming group too.  Many of us now groom our own Doodles.  Everything I know I learned in that group!  We have professional groomers as members.  You should also start introducing Midas to the groomer just for paw trims and sanitary trims so he gets used to be handled and the noise and new experiences.  This way he will become a better "customer" when you send him to the groomers for a big groom. 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Oh very good info!!! Thank you!!! My sister gas groomed him twice so far... He does okay... But then gets into puppy crazy mode and play bites... Hard!!!

[Amy M. and Molly]

My Molly had the strangest tail for the first few months.  It was LONG, and quite bare, and had a small "crink" in it. People would say "what an adorable dog...but what's the deal with the tail?!"    (Good thing she couldn't understand or she'd really have a complex!)   Slowly but surely the fur is growing in, and now it looks definitely more like a retriever tail than a poodle tail.  She now holds it "up", and it is getting a beautiful plume/fan.   The rest of her is the wavy fleece of a poodle, but the tail is definitely retriever.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Sasha hold her tail high in the air most of the time :)