How Often Do You Brush Your Doodle?

[Rae]

We were talking to some friends that have doodles and I asked how often they brush their furkids and they replied "never". That really surprised me and I told them we brush our girls about every other day or at least every three days and they were surprised. So I'm wondering what other doodle owners do. Our girls get a bath about every 4-6 weeks, depending on how dirty/smelly they get (rain & mud can be a problem in Oregon) and/or if they have rolled in something really special to them. We groom the Rozee, with a wonderful fleese coat, 3-4 times a year depending on weather, matting, etc. Bella, with a not-so-wonderful curly wool coat, gets groomed more often because she mats likes crazy - even with the brushing. Are we "over fussing" with our girls?

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I brush Cooper once a month - or twice a month if she has been wearing her harness or backpack alot (these make her tangle under the armpits and the chest a little more). I love how her wool coat goes into little dreadlock like curls. She doesnt mat too much.

 

I bath her every 3-4 months, though she has been swimming alot recently and when we gave her her 4 month bath barely any dirt came off her, so if she has been swimming a lot i think ill bath her every 6 months

 

I clean her ears every week and cut her face every few weeks.

 

She gets a full cut to 2 inches every summer when it gets hot, other than that i let her grow long (up to 6 inches). She gets the occasional trim when needed to remove the "split ends"

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

Now that I am letting Murphy grow long for the winter, I find I have to comb him every few days. I have read on the grooming site that combing is more recommended to really get down to the base of the hair.  I have the Les Pouches brush and he hates it, but I do use it when he's dirty with grass and leaves and dust as that does a better job than the comb I feel. Just my thoughts.

[Stella]

Our F1 LD only needs brushing every couple of weeks.  He sheds a little and has a gloriously easy coat to take care of.  Our multi-gen needs combing 1 - 2 x week, more if his coat is longer.  We try to keep him about 3/4 inch all year round.  I don't have the time or the energy to comb him every day to keep the mats at bay - it takes about 3 hours to comb him through when his coat gets to 1 1/2 inches.  I clip him myself every 6 weeks or so.  Neither of them is routinely bathed - they never get smelly, unless they have rolled in something!!  The multi-gen gets awfull snowballs, so in the winter he sometimes has to go in the shower to rinse them off. 

[Kelsey Levine]

I brush daily because honestly if I didn't they'd be totally matted. I use a stainless steel greyhound comb and a medium length slicker brush.