Shave down - how long to grow back?

[Kami Allen]

My poor Meggie doodle was nothing but matts!  I was working on her for 2 hours a day at least, I spoke to our breeder and she said it was proably because she was getting her adult coat and mixing in with her puppy coat.  Never had a problem with matts before so I'm assuming that was it.  I brought her to the groomer and she ended up pretty much shaving her down.....she has so fluff on the ears and tails and that's about it.  My kids are calling her "rat dog" because she looks like a drowned rat now :(  I put a sweater on her to keep her warm, but I think she's embarrassed....she keeps looking at me like "Mom, I know I don't look cute now". 

Just curious on how long it takes for her coat to grow back in - did anyone else experience this issue with matts and have success after taking off the puppy coat?

~ Kami and naked Meggie doodle (aka - rat dog)

[Becky & Sheeba]

I completely understand about the changed look of our Doodles when they are clipped short. When I took Sheeba in for her first grooming 5-6 months old. Her fur was too matted for them to groom her. I took in a fluffy apricot girl and came home with a giant rat looking Doodle whose coat was creamy white. I even went as far to check for her recent scar on her tummy to make sure it was the same girl. What a change that was and a shock. The good thing is that her coat grows back pretty fast.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

That is funny-checking for the scar!! The only way I knew that Tara was my girl was because SHE knew ME!!  At first I thought some stranger's dog was fixating on me!! LOL!! They do grow out pretty fast and at least get past that "giant rat" stage quickly!!  And it helped me to see how completely okay she was with her new do. She seemed much lighter and bouncier.I actually think she enjoyed it!! And Tara is just the opposite of Sheeba-she gets darker when she is cut. She goes from light apricot to dark apricot/red!

[Becky & Sheeba]

How funny is that, going darker! As for Sheeba and her first grooming, she was very quiet getting her home...I think she was in shock from loosing all of her hair. It was kind of funny because she acted like she was embarrased. "Don't look! I'm naked!" kind of thing. LOL

Now during the spring & summer she seems to enjoy the shorter cut.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

 Becky, here are before and after shots of Tara's very first hair cut. She was 8 months old and it was not a shave down-that came LATER! :( But you can see how much darker she was after her cut and also if you look at the before picture you can see that her roots are darker. It wasn't quite a dramatic as it appears in the photo's-I think part of it is the camera and lighting but it was pretty noticeable in "real life" too!

 

[Pat and Traveler]

Tara is such a cutie!!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

:) Thanks!

[Becky & Sheeba]

Wow! That is quite a difference in coloring!

[Anna and Achilles]

It will grow back, don't worry!

[shelly]

Ohhhh... we ALL could probably say we have been there at least once or more!  It's so hard not to let them see our reactions.  There was twice that I actually cried when we had Tori groomed at 'reputable' chain pet stores - Petco and PetSmart... but now, we have been sooooo lucky! BUT - just when you think it will take forever to grow back, you wake up one day and notice it has grown in nicely... Tori took a good 2 months to grow back to where I didn't cringe when I looked at her - LOL  Good luck!  I feel for you!

[Shelby and Kev]

Shelbys hair seems to grow about an inch a month.  Relative to when I last shaved her.  Keep brushing regular! 

[Heather & Brinkley]

We are in the same boat.  My groomer told me the same thing-- that Brinkley's adult hair was growing in and mixing with the fine baby hair.  We brush him constantly but he just got matted.  We picked him up from the groomer two days ago and I'm still in shock... and I think he's still in shock too.

 

Here are some before and after pics.  He doesn't even look like the same pup!

[Pat and Traveler]

Yikes!  That is a dramatic change!  I feel for you and Brinkley.  Traveler has been growing out for 2 months and still looks pretty naked to me.  I have some pics above, from the day of the haircut and yesterday.  At least Brinkley has a bit of hair on his face.