Help ! I want my pretty long haired GoldenDoodle Ben Back ! How do you Care for their Coats ?? He is just a puppy, we brush him...he had matts under his arms....now he is naked!

[Kathleen McDonald Peterson]

[shelly]

Holy Nakedness!  :o(     I am so sorry! Was he that bad?  did yo know they were doing this, or was it a terrible surprise (which has happened to many of us).  Hopefully it was just his puppy coat blowing and you will be able to manage it from now on.  tori doesn't really enjoy the brushing and it was really hard to keep her brushed smoothly.  If he lets you brush him, and think that after this stage goes by, you will be able to manage it much easier.  At this age, the mats just seem to appear over night - LITERALLY!

   The important thing is to TRY and not let him 'feel' your unhappiness.. I know FIRST hand how difficult it is.  he is and will continue to be your Ben.  It does grow quickly, but I am sure that is no consolation to you now!  :o(

[Kyoko]

Oh, NO! They really cut it short!!  They should have called you befor ethey did this.....:-(  He is still so beautiful, though. I take Charlie to the groomer for short 15 min brushing every 2 weeks beside me brushing her on regular basis. ( Pet smart - she get brushed while I shop.) At home, I use rotating comb and it seems to work well.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I have to say that I am a fan of shorter cuts for our doodles. My two have very different types of coats and they both are much easier to maintain when about 3/4 inches when first cut. I think Ben actually looks so handsome and I love his face. The tail would upset me as that does take quite awhile to grow back. I would probably just trim what's left of the tail a bit shorter so it's not so liony looking, but that's me.

I have been doing my own grooming since I've had them, Murphy went once to the groomer and was so anxious and afraid that he was shaking and had diarrhea when I picked him up. Swore I'd never put him through that again. He's a big scardey cat anyway, but this was something I could avoid easily.

[Liana & Jindi]

He looks beautiful with coat & cute shaved, but I would cut the hair off his tail, don't know what they were thinking !!!!!!!!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Aside from the horror of coming back and seeing him like this, there are a couple positives here.  One, he has an adorable face that looks so cute cut even this short.  And Two, you have a clean slate with which to start and learn how you are going to be able to maintain his coat.  I'm guessing that he is going to come back in much curlier than his puppy coat was.  As others have mentioned, contact Kemp at Doodle Country Store and get yourself a Les Pooches brush ...... they take a little getting used to as you have to learn to keep you hands out of the way of the brush (because if you catch your hand it hurts), but once you get the hang of it, you will not be sorry.  And then get yourself a good comb.  Watch the videos mentioned about learning to line brush and groom and you will be well on your way to success.  Some areas to watch as he starts growing back in:  Chin, under his ears, chest, arm pits, in between his toes, under the collar, and his belly.  All areas that tend to matt.  Make yourself aware of his coat.  Anytime he is near, run your hands through his coat.  Feel all the way to the skin, feel between his toes and under his ears.  (All of this handling will also get him used to being touched and help with grooming).  I am pretty much mat obsessed, so if I find a mat I have to just stop what I'm doing an go get it out.  I don't wait.  Best of luck!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Yes, quite a difference from the old and the new.  However, groomers tend to do things like that if there are any mats at all.  It is their only way of dealing with such a huge coat.  Good news is that it will grow out quickly and you can have the old dog back before you know it.  My suggestion would be to take over as much of the grooming as you can and don't leave him alone with a groomer.  Guide them every step of the way.  If you don't want him "naked" tell them to leave the matted areas and you will deal with them on your own.  No need to have him completely shaved down to get rid of the mats under his arms.

By the way, he looks beautiful short or long.  You will get used to it, and I think that he would be more comfortable with the shorter coat for the summer months.  Does he go into the beautiful river behind him in the "old" picture?

[Bryce P]

He was so cute and happy looking. Now he looks naked. :( I hope . you let his hair grow back out. Just brush him when he gets his hair back and use conditioner on him when you bath him. Or a shampoo & conditioner 2 in1. Use detangeler on him. After a bath blowdry him if you dont he could end up getting badly matted. Me and Taylor bath Huff ourselves in our shop. It is a selfservice and full service doggie spa. He gets a bath with our best 2 in 1 shampoo 3 times. Then a brush and blowout. We give him a batg once a week. It is a hard job but it has to be done.