About $120 month...?

[Pat and Traveler]

Here are some pictures of Traveler, just back from the groomer.  The pictures aren't good and don't do justice to his appearance--he looks gorgeous!   

Here's the thing.  His fur has reached a threshold--just a tad shorter and he pretty much stays mat and tangle free.  This time, he had to be hand scissored, and had many small tangles.  His coat has gotten much thicker as he's gotten older. 

The groomer wants to keep working with him once a month, but it takes time and effort and real skill to keep up with his coat.

Is $120 a month a reasonable price for maintaining a doodle coat?  I know it's an individual decision, but I never had him groomed on a regular basis and really have no idea what people pay.

I sort of like a scruffy appearance for doodles, but for Trav that means mats.  Bummer.  Any thoughts or ideas you may have would be most welcome!

 

[Linda And Loo]

He is beautiful! You have a good groomer! I did a double take when I saw a $120. To get Loo groomed it runs me $42 plus a $10 tip. However, Loo is a mini and Traveler is at least twice maybe 3 times bigger than Loo. Loo is 16+lbs, so maybe $120 is not out of line. I would be interested to see what other folks have to say about grooming costs!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The price is reasonable, especially if he's being hand-scissored. That's what it would cost to groom a Standard in my area, too. I paid $45 to have my Miniature Poodle groomed, hand scissoring only, and that was 8 years ago.  But reasonable and doable are two different things, lol. I think he looks gorgeous, and if you can afford to do it, I would. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Pat, this is a great length on Traveler. He looks wonderful but I understand what you mean about liking it longer. Tara's coat is the same way and just when she gets to the "muppet" stage I have to cut it because the mats are coming on faster than I can brush them out. When she went to a groomer I was paying $50.00 for Tara's hand scissor cut about every 6 weeks. But as you know she is considerably smaller than Trav so if you factor that in it is probably comparable.  Plus if you can find a groomer that does this great of a job...well, that's worth something too.

[Pat and Traveler]

Linda, thanks for commenting.  Trav is about 56 lbs. and fairly tall.  He sure qualifies as big compared to Loo!  Okay--sounds like $120 is within reasonable bounds.

Karen, thanks for the input.  I know it was a real chore to groom him today because he'd just been at the beach and was tangly and messy.  I do think the groomer does an incredible job with him--and she like working with him, which hasn't ever been the case with a groomer before!

Ricki, you do a great job with Tara, and I simply don't have any skills along those lines.   I wish I could hold him up so you could see him in real life--what a fantastic grooming job!  He's sooo soft and almost regal looking, if you squint just right. lol  You're so right about finding a good groomer--I never thought it would happen for me, and Raven (groomer) seems to love working on him.  I don't want to underpay her for her skill--and it is a skill!  Plus she listens to me.  :)   

[Bev and Tess]

Trav looks really good! She did a great job, and many groomers would rather take it off than work out the mats....and a scissor cut too! She is a keeper! I have been doing Tess's hair since her first cut, and also do a scissor cut. It takes a long time, with the cut, brushing, and bath. I also know I go over it quite a few times to make sure it is even, so if you figure it by the hour, she earned it ;) I love his hair long! See you when the romps start up again!

[Pat and Traveler]

Thanks, Bev!  I've been thinking about it, and remember all the d****** shaved noses and poor attitudes I've gotten when taking this hound to groomers.  You're right--Raven is a keeper, and I know she worked really hard on him, not only today but the other 3-4 times she's worked on him.  Plus, he gets a bath, nails done, ears plucked if needed, etc. 

Looks forward to seeing you at romps!  

[F, Calla & Luca]

I would not be happy spending that monthly if I could help it. I had my two groomed, mostly scissored for $140 ( for both) about 3 weeks ago, plus tip. I plant to do that every 2-3 months as of now. We'll see. Trav looks terrific.

[Pat and Traveler]

Thanks, F!  From where I'm standing right now, sounds like you get a great deal on grooming!  I've had no luck with groomers in the past and no skill at all when it comes to grooming, and no knowledge about what grooming costs.  Trav would be a mass of mats if I just let him go for 2-3 months.  Do Calla and Luca get mats?  Or bunches of little tangles, which is Trav's newest coat surprise?  I certainly don't want to go groomer shopping again, so it'll either be Raven with about $120/mo. or me just snipping away as best I can.   

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

What kind of brush are you using, Pat? Do you have an LP?

[Pat and Traveler]

Ricki, I do have an LP, a yellow one, if that means anything.  I'm a bit wary of using it, because the tips are so sharp.  Am I just being overly cautious?  I usually use a brush that has the little knobs on the ends of the bristles, along with thinning shears and regular shears, and a steel comb.  The change from his last grooming to this one was a surprise--he'd really started to get tangles and I wasn't staying on top of the grooming like I should have.  How often do you brush/comb Tara?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I actually don't know much about the LP brushes except that they seem to work well on doodles with thicker coats. Tara's coat is very fine and thin and I use a CC pin brush (knobs on the ends) on her plus a regular old over-the-counter slicker brush, steel comb and rolling tooth comb. I don't stay on top of brushing either. It is something that neither of us really enjoys. So instead I choose to keep her coat pretty short (and inch or less) so we can go long periods without brushing except her head and tail.  I have to trim her face and feet about every two weeks though. Right now her body hair is about an inch and her head an inch and a half.  Once her body hits 2 inches it requires constant brushing-daily or every other day to stay mat free.  She gets grumpy and fat because I use food bribes to elicit her cooperation. We decided we would rather be playing than brushing. :)

[Pat and Traveler]

Thanks for this info, Ricki.  It might be a good idea to keep Trav's coat at about an inch too.  It just seems to go crazy at the length it is now, which is about 2".  We both get grumpy too when we have to do daily brushing/combing.  I give a treat only after I've finished the brush/comb session.  lol  He jumps up on the bed when he sees me looking at the grooming stuff--I guess he thinks the bed is a sanctuary.  But he will come over to me if I tell him to come on over for some grooming.  He sure doesn't look happy, though! 

I'll be talking to Raven in the next day or so, and will ask her about keeping him at about an inch.  That should be a length that would work with a clipper.  I really don't want to upset both Trav and me by pulling out the hated brush/comb too often.