Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Help! I need grooming ideas!
I love their beards and the length of the fur on their faces/head/ears. Would a puppy cut look better? Will they look like a bobble-head if their head is untouched but their body is shaved? Would it be better to shave or just a scissor cut??? Would you get them groomed or just leave them the way they are? Decisions, decisions, decisions!
Sheba and Duke don't mat much on a daily basis so I don't have to spend much time grooming them. When Duke swims his fur doesn't mat to badly. When Sheba swims it's a whole other story! When we were in Florida in December she was going through her coat change. What a mess!!! She was a matted mess from the coat change AND swimming. I spent hours cutting out mats and brushing her. A few weeks ago I took the dogs to NJ for a romp. Sheba did a lot of swimming and got extremely matted. Again I spent hours brushing her out. I am amazed that she has any fur left! I got a regular sized Walmart bag full of fur.
I welcome any ideas. Please feel free to post a picture of your doodle showing their summer cut or any links you know of that show doodle haircuts as I would love to have a photo to show the groomer. Thank You!
This photo was taken after our trip to Florida. (I also spent hours while we were in Florida de-matting her.)
This last picture is a dog we saw at Bow Wow Beach when we visited with Joanne, Spud & Starlit. I don't think I'll do a cut like this but it was kinda cute. (I cloned out the poo!)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on
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I only know that at one point in her life, my poodle's skin was badly irritated from clippers and I was told never to let them touch her with clippers anywhere other than her feet...hand-scissoring only.
I wouldn't know clippers, let alone a guard, if they fell in my lap. I never used them and never watched them being used, lol.
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Permalink Reply by Adina P on
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LOL. A guard is like a comb attachment (at least that's what I'm referring to) that attaches to blade so that it keeps the blade a certain length from the skin/start of hair. This keeps it from trimming shorter than ___(whatever the length is of the comb)___.
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Permalink Reply by Adrianne Matzkin on
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A - when I groom the girls, and maybe I am so doing this wrong so someone please tell me the right way - with the attached comb, I hold the foot of the clipper against the skin so the length would stay 'even'.
I assume the way I do would that irritate a dog with skin issues.
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Permalink Reply by Ann Kendig on
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I'll keep that in mind Karen. I DON"T need any more problems with their skin! I will probably opt for a scissors cut.
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What beautiful ragamuffin sweeties they are! I think going to 1 inch would be appropriate, but that is up to you. I do feel strongly about heads and bodies being close in length...their faces will be cleaner for it and they will match. Plus wouldn't it be neat to see what their whole bodies' (including head and snout) look like if you end up getting it all shaved? I've always wondered what Rosco's body and head shape would be if he were ever fully shaved. But I have never had a reason to go totally shaved short.
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Permalink Reply by Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom on
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Oooooohhhhhhh no, not me. Seeing Lucy and Sophie's whole bodies and heads shaved is my worst nightmare! I have no desire to see that!
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Heehee. I know! Your girls are so pretty with their full coats. But I was more speaking to the idea that IF one's dogs are gonna be shaved...might as well keep things even and see what they look like all over!
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Adina, thank you for your nice compliments! I'm confused, do you use a guard and a comb at the same time?
I have thought of cutting them fully. I can almost imagine what they would look like with short hair when I bathe them and their fur is wet and isn't fluffy. Sheba would look sooooo different! I'm guessing but I think Sheba would look better than Duke shaved. If you ever decide to shave Roscoe, make sure you post his picture!!
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Permalink Reply by Nancie & Gracie Doodle on
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Ann...the guard/comb are the same thing. On the clippers you have a blade. You can change it to different sizes. This blade pretty much regardless of the size is going to cut very close to the skin. I have a friend down the street who does her Springer Spaniels and she only uses the blade but switches the sizes based on how close she wants to go in various areas. The "sanitary area" is usually done close. The COMB or GUARD is a plastic attachment that slides on over the blade. It comes in sizes like 1/8" up to 1 1/4". It has big comb teeth on it. The numbers represent exactly how short the cut is going to be. There are some variables that come into play when you use the clippers. You always go with the growth of the hair. If you go against it you are going to take the hair down another step shorter than the comb number says. It is OK to go against the growth but just be aware it is going to be shorter than the number represented on the comb. Also, if you don't firm up your wrist and keep the same smooth angle you can dip and dig into the hair which will result in a shorter area or a divot. It is a hard thing to do because as you go over shoulder bones, elbows you sort of go in and out of dips in the body. The good thing is that with all the wavy/curly hair the uneven areas sort of blend in. Hope this helps!!
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The closest Rosco's ever come to "shaved" is in this album from just over 2 years ago: http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/albums/rosco-gets-a-haircut-again
I can't bear to cut him that short again...while he feels wonderfully soft I HATE that I can see his boy parts. It just doesn't look right...LOL. Although I didn't really trim his head or tail as short as the rest of him.
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Roscoe would probably look like a skinny Poodle!!! I know Gracie Doodle would for sure!
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