Keeping Your Doodle From Getting Knotted

[Joanie]

Hey Everyone :)  Quick question... do you have any tips to keep your doodle from getting knotted?  I had Lani's hair cut short for the summer, but even so she just gets soooo knotted!  I try brushing her every two days, but she gets so mad at me and refuses to stay still long enough for me to do a good brushing, which leads me to taking her to the groomer every few weeks for a good brushing out.  But, does anyone have any tips or know of a good brush that might work better for me at home to keep her coat knot-free?  Currently I am using a comb to groom Lan.  Any tips would be great :)  Thanks!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

What I do for my doodles is put them up on a table, I have a grooming table so they stay put :)  I keep Sasha who is very poodley kind of short.  Oliver has curly hair but its not as tight curl as Sasha's.  I brush them daily with a good brush and I also have a matt buster rake type comb that gets the matts out.  Also which is a must have is a good detangler spray, you spray it on the matt, let it soak for a minute or two then comb out with a good quality comb.  When I am done grooming them I put a bit of grooming silicone which helps keep the matts at bay as well.   Try different products, combs, brushes and see what works best for Lani's type of hair.  I found that the more expensive, better quality products work much better - they are costly but do work.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Joanie a good brush is imperative in keeping a doodle coat mat free. I recommend either Les Pooches or Chris Christensen brushes which are expensive but excellent and achieve better results then most brushes. Combing is using done after brushing to ensure that all mats have been brushed out. Lani may be going through the coat change when her puppy coat sheds out and is replaced by her adult coat. This is a very difficult time for mats and things will improve once the coat changes. Frequent brushing will pull the old coat out faster.

Are you line brushing? This too is necessary to get down deep into her coat and pull out the loose hair. Here is a video about line brushing.

I suggest you join the Grooming Group here on DK where you will find lots of helpful info about grooming our doodles.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

How old is Lani? Could she be going through her coat change? If so, keeping her short will help along with daily combing and make sure that you comb all the way down to the skin because that is where the mats form.  Also try grooming her up on a table or bathroom counter so that she won't be able to walk away.  She will learn to realize that when she is up in that spot it is for grooming and not playing and hopefully learn to stand still.  If you can't get her done all at once, try breaking it up into smaller sections -- body, legs, head, tail.  If there are spots that mat more easily, make sure to stay on top of those even if it means combing those sections once or twice a day.  I used to comb the section behind Cubbie's ears twice a day because the mats would form like crazy.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

My Murphy is not a fan of being brushed either.  I keep his coat pretty short and then I can just comb it every other day.  That seems to work well for him....no mats.  For us the key was just keeping it short enough.  I agree...join the Grooming Group for lots of great information.

[Joanie]

Thank you everyone for the great tips :)  Lan just turned 10 months.  The groomer said she would be going through the coat change so that's part of the reason we cut her hair shorter for the summer.  Her trouble spots where she gets matted a lot are her ears, tail, and face.  I'm going to def look into those brushes that were reccommended and watch the video on line brushing.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I have only skimmed the responses. Did anyone mention some of the grooming sprays that help? I am waiting to finish the bottle I have to try one made by Stazco Conditioning Spray that I have read about on DK. I use the Les Poochs brush and would not have a doodle without one! I have said in other discussions that the first place I tried the brush when I got it was Kona's ears and it went through like butter!

[Joanie]

Two quick questions: the Les Pooch Brushes... there are sooo many different ones.  Which one do you reccommend?  Also, speaking with my groomer she told me NOT to use any type of detangling spray because by dampening the coat and then brushing through it you end up ruining the coat.  Please give me your thoughts :)

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

send a message to Kemp at the Doodle Country Store (He is a member here) and give him a picture and explanation of your Doodles coat.  He will tell you which brush you need.  FYI -- It takes a little getting used to but once you learn to keep your fingers out of the way it is the best thing ever!   They are not cheap, but worth every single penny.  Also, find Lan's special treat that he would do anything for and use that only for when he is being brushed.  He will learn to associate the two together and it should help a little.

http://www.doodlecountry.com/les-poochs-brushes-.html

[Leonie]

I agree that once you have your products / brushes sorted - a huge part is asking your pup to be co-operative. I give Zali treats throughout the brushing (she skips a meal to make up for it!). Also talking to her through the brushing etc - whatever works to make it a positive experience. In the long run - having her tolerate the brushing better will be in your favour of course.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I have a grooming table and my dogs are great at standing on the table for a groom.  However, Harpo has been corded (or attempting to be corded) for the last two years.  I have trimmed up his face and belly, but it has gotten out of hand and I finally decided to clip him down.  My other dog, a 6-yr-old goldendoodle needs very little grooming and a good brush after a walk to get the burrs and seeds out of his coat is really all he needs.

I think it really depends on each individual dog.  Some need a lot of grooming and others require minimal grooming.  But I guess an appropriate cut helps.  We shall see.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Daisy did not like brushing for a very long time - too bad, she got over it. She still doesn't really like it but she has learned to "grin and bare it".

My suggestions would be to make the sessions short and sweet (like 10 - 15 minutes) and end with a nice high value treat so she knows something good is coming.

[Joanie]

Since I didn't have the money for the more expensive brushes I found this brush by Furminator on sale (and was more expensive than I had previously spent).  I used it tonight and followed up by using a comb and it definitely got out a lot of knots and lots of extra hair.  I think Lan is going through the coat change... she is 10 months old.  This is the brush I got her.  What do you think?  http://www.furminator.com/grooming-tools/dogs/firm-slicker-brush-large  She started fighting me, but I put her leash on and she eventually calmed down and laid on my lap or would stand up when I needed her to.