What should the next Doodle info page be?

[Adina P]

So far we've got two new doodle info pages/infographics:

Feeding a New Doodle Puppy: Feeding%20Your%20Doodle%20Puppy%20Final.png

Choosing a Responsible Doodle Breeder: Choosing%20a%20Responsible%20Doodle%20Breeder.pdf

What is important to create next?  If someone has an idea you love or you agree is most important, respond with a vote of "YES" or similar.  Then I can get an idea of what you'd like to see most.

[Adina P]

Yes!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Great point, Sheri!

[DonMarie and Picco]

I think there should be a section on how to communicate with a groomer.  If never having to deal with one before we don't know what questions to ask and some groomers don't know how uninformed we are.  It seems people are shocked to find that their doodles were matted and had to be shaved or their doodle has turned into a poodle!  And it's perfectly okay to shop around interview groomers but we need to know some basics on how to start those conversations.

[Adina P]

Soo... with the basic grooming needs info sheet.  What should the objective be?  When people are done looking the page over, what is critical that they understand? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That if you get a doodle with a true non-shedding coat, you are going to have to spend a fair amount of time and money maintaining it. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

First of all, people need to KNOW THAT DOODLES ARE NOT A BREED and do NOT HAVE A CONSISTENT LOOK OR COAT TYPE.

Briefly:

1.  various coat types - briefly show a pic as an example. 

2.  range in shedding from none to major.

3.  some doodles (mostly but not always the shedders) need very little maintenance - no more than any other dog they might have.

4. many, many doodles have major grooming needs, whether from a professional or self-done.

Then go on to list the  need for complete brushing/combing to the skin,  and so on......

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I think a link to the grooming Sully Videos on youtube that shows about line brushing would be an excellent link to show about getting to the skin.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Yes!

[Frank & TeddyToyDoodle]

Good stuff all around.  Learned alot by reading this and other threads.  Let me add this:

I am a 1st-time dog owner.  Never had a dog growing up.  So EVERYTHING is new to me (the bloat discussion freaked me out a bit), and as you all know, you can go back-and-forth on the Internet forever and get paralysis by analysis.  At some point, like making any other decisions, you have to be a little bit like Tom Cruise in "Risky Business" and say.....well, you get the idea. Take the plunge, in other words.

I ended up getting a Toy Goldendoodle partly because of the size, non-shedding, and hypo claims. So far, no disappointments on any of that.  I haven't found a single hair in 6 months but maybe I'm not looking hard enough (my mother would agree with that assessment based on my lack of dusting acumen LOL).  But my seasonal sinus allergies don't seem aggravated and Teddy appears to be cresting/slowing down right at about 12 pounds.  Maybe he's going to reach 15 pounds but I can't see high-teens or the 20 pound upper-limit that my breeder told me her Toys usually max out at.

Yeah, I thought since Teddy was genetically more Miniature Poodle than Golden Retriever that his coat would be more poodle-like than GR wavy-like, but as explained to me here, coat type does not equate to genetics.

Grooming is definitely something I am learning about.  First, it's expensive.  Second, don't get your dog groomed around rainy times because the first time he gets wet the entire grooming is going down the drain. Third, hope your dog lets you comb/brush him because while he may not look spectacular like after being groomed he/she will still look OK/Good and that's better than the ragamuffin that Teddy sometimes looks like because he attacks the comb/brush when I try and do more than 2 strokes on him.

Still...if in the scheme of things that is the worst thing that surprised me about being a dog owner (besides the cost, which I was kinda informed about, especially the 1st year).....that's not too bad a tradeoff for the joy of having him around me.

Thanks for hearing this newbie out.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Many of us also believed the marketing hype when we got our doodles.  Some of us, like you, lucked out and got what we thought we were getting. Most of us, like you, had NO idea what our non-shedding doodles were going to need grooming-wise.  You are a true member of this club. :-}

[Amy and Annabelle]

Annabelle always looks like a French Poodle when she returns from the groomer. I call her Fifi for a couple of days afterward. So sometimes going out in the rain is actually a good thing.