Honestly - long or short hair on your doodle

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Honestly now, I am taking a sort of a informal poll about your doodle hair.  I want to know not what we wish we did, but what we really do with our doodles hair.

1) Keep it brushed and matt free and the length I like it by hand scissoring ( you or a groomer)

2) Keep it 2 inches or less and matt free

3) Keep it 1 inch or less all the time so it does not matt

4) Let it grow, shave it, let it grow, shave it

5) Something else - please describe

 

Since there seems to be some judgementalism about hair length, long is best, shaved is worst, I will go first and freely admit ( remember I am proactively trying my best to give up guilt) that I am a

 

                                               #4. 

 

 My shaved doodles look funny, but other than short, very occasional, brushing annoys all of us.

[Amy & Bernie]

I guess by default we're a #2.

Bernie has a mixed coat, he's mostly fleece, but combined with hair along his back and rump. So far his body doesn't seem to grow very quickly, so we brush once a week and trim around his eyes and on his chest - he has a lion mane!

[Hunter and Daisy's Doodle Mom]

Well, we bring them to the groomers about every 8 weeks so I guess I'm a number 2, but they get shaggy real quick and I have to keep up on their brushing so they don't get matted on their legs. I like to bring them to the groomers to get a good pamper session. They get a bath, skin conditioner, nail trim, ear trim, teeth cleaning, the works. But I do love it when that shag comes back within a few weeks. They just look so scrappy and cute :-)

[Carol and Banjo]

#1 here.....so far no matting. I've found one on his belly and one under his ear. I know this may change as he's not yet a year old. I think we will go for a short cut just before summer for his comfort. I do love his rag a muffin look!

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

keep it short on her body (fleece) - about 1 inch, longer on her legs (hair like), about 2 inches, fuzzy face. We need to brush her every 3 days to keep her matt free on her legs, feet and behind the ears.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I also meant to add, with:

Number 1: in our case, we have to brush Peri almost daily to keep her matt free (going on right now)...
Number 2: I think this might be my favorite because it involves only 1 brush/comb a week and she still looks doodley.
Number 3: in the summer WOW how wonderful! No brushing required for the first 2-3 weeks easily!

Again, I rotate between 1, 2, 3. 3 during July and August only. TOO HOT in TN

[Roni Wise]

Max is only 4 months old so I am really new to this. Right now I love him as a fluffy ball so I brush him once a week with a furmanatior to keep the mats out. He goes to the groomer every 4 weeks to get his face, pads of his feet and rear end trimmed and to get a bath and to get out any mats I may have missed in the weekly brushing. We haven't gone through a PA winter yet or a summer so this all could change!

[Chelsea and her doodle Piper]

Funny, I was just logging onto doodle kisses after a very long absence, to find out how long people keep their doodles coats! Piper is now 14 months and his mats are terrible! We have had him trimmed to 1 inch/lamb cut every time, but I would love to keep his coat long. I guess the matting never ends...I was hoping it was due to losing his puppy coat! I guess we are a #3 who would like to be a #1!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Don't despair! They often continue the coat change until over 2 years old. So it might not be totally permanent. :-)

[Cindy Gross]

I am a # 2 in the summer for swimming and the heat and then let it grow and I try to groom but Toby is not so cooperative so we go to a wonderful groomer every six weeks for a nail clipping and a professional bath and comb.

[Janine & Beau]

Beau was # 3 during the summer months... Now we do the #1... I forgot how cute he is with the long hair, besides over the summer he had surgery. My kind neighbors dog decided to bite him. So in order to deal with 27 staples and 2 drainage tubes for 3 weeks it was alot easier... But Beau loves to be brushed, he will roll on his back for his belly and doesnt mind a bit...He is my baby!!!!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Guys, number one is not about length! It is about keeping mat-free and groomed to the length you like.

[ej]

#5 for us... Living in the tropics, it is either warm & humid OR extremely warm & humid most days of the year. We do get a lot of rain some days in the month of Nov and Dec when it is slightly cooler, but still rather humid. We noticed that K panted a great deal when we kept his coat longer (around 3-5 inches long). Each time we have him groomed to 1/2 to 1 inch in length, he pants a lot less. So in these recent months we have been keeping his coat on his body a lot shorter, around 1/2 inch long, but we like the look of the "pillar legs", so we kept those legs longer around 2-3 inches. We love the shaggy look of a dood, so his hair on his head is always left to grow out, hence he looks like a bobble-head.

If we live in a cooler climate, I would probably be a #4. K does not mind being brushed, and he does not mat that much anymore. He turned 2 just a few months ago.