Beginning Groomer Questions

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Hi everyone.  I'm so glad to have discovered this site.  Thank you to those of you who have already "friended" me.

@Barb - if you are reading this, I thought I would mention that my doodle's mother is one of yours, Gemstones Tawny.  Small world.  Thank you for starting this group.

In any case, I started reading the posts last night because like many of you I've been frustrated with the professional grooming scene.  I live in one of the biggest cities in America and can barely find anyone who knows what an Australian Labradoodle is, let alone how to groom one.  After reading the posts on here I figured everyone has to start somewhere, so why not give it a try myself.  In general I am a DIY kind of person and I have a pretty good sense of what looks good.  And at least I know that no one else will care more about the outcome and pay as much attention to every detail.

I spent several hours last night reading everything I could find on the Internet.  Then I watched every Youtube video I could find that looked like it could be helpful.  Finally I spent several hours at Petsmart this morning watching them groom different dogs through the glass.  At that point I had some ideas as to how I thought I would go about it so I decided to jump in.

Basically I went for a 1 inch puppy cut all the way around.  The dog is about 5 1/2 months old, and I wanted to get rid of all the whispy, frizzy puppy ends.  Plus the previous groomer had cut the top of her head pretty short, so her head looked too small for her body like in Beetlejuice.  I thought if I would get everything to even ground that would be a good place to start fresh.

It took us several sessions over the course of the day, because I didn't want to stress the dog too much. I now have a not-so-terrible 3/4 inch puppy cut on most of the body (I wound up going a little shorter than I first wanted to fix some mistakes along the way).  In any case, there are a few spots left that I'm not sure what to do with.  I thought I would ask if anyone has thoughts or suggestions on these (or anything else I have done):

1.  Between the ribcage and where the back leg meets the body.  At first I thought I would leave this long, so that she had a square line all the way across underneath.  I think this might look good at a longer length, but at this length it kind of looks silly, like she has a dust ruffle underneath. I think I'm just going to cut that part down to 3/4 inch as well.

2.  The spaniel-ly hair that extends past the leather of the ears.  For lack of a better word I call this the sideburns.  It seems to me that this serves no purpose, it just gets in her water and gets matted.  So I tried to trim it down to even with the actual ear.  The problem however is getting a proper cut.  No matter how I do it the cut looks very blocky and fake.  I guess I kind of what it to naturally taper to an end.  Also I'm wondering if this would be a good place to use the curved scissors to follow the curve of the ear.

3.  The long hair on top of the muzzle.  I have no clue what to do with this. Right now it's pretty long and it kind of sticks up in front of her eyes and then curves down like a handlebar mustache.  Obviously this is not the look I want for my little girl.  I'm hesitant to take it down to 3/4 inch, however - because I don't know if it will stick straight up into her field of vision.

4.  Finally, it's apparent to me that I will need to get some decent shears.  I have a good clipper but the shears I was using were not so good and are pretty much ready for the garbage.  I do have a decent pair of human hair shears so I switched to those to finish the job.  I think that to start I will need a straight pair, a pair of thinning shears and possible a curved pair.  I don't think I need the really expensive professional ones because I'm only using them on one dog - but still they have to work.  If anyone has suggestions on brands and models I would love to hear.

Thanks so much and looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Cheers,

Jay

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

There is a learning curve involved but eventually you get quicker with it and I find that I'm not so picky with how the end result looks anymore (I've been grooming my 2 for almost 2 years).  At first I was obsessed about every stray hair but now it is more about getting the job done and moving on.  I will still occassionally go back and trim up a spot if I find that I missed a chunk of long hair, especially when I go from their winter cuts to their summer cuts, but over all I tend to just go with it.  I've had people ask me where I get my dogs groomed so I must be doing something right.  lol

[Trudy Harlow]

Oh, my, she is cute as pie!  Personally, I like a rougher cut, especially on puppies.  It gives them a softer and more playful look.  I restrain myself from endless after-grooming trimming of Paddy because he really does look cuter and more loveable with his coat a bit rough, even when it's summertime and he's pretty closely shorn.  I would never close-cut him in the winter, fyi, although I have had to trim him close when we've traveled south with him in late spring and then had to put a coat on him when we returned home. Life is all about trade-offs!  Anyway, I think you've done a great job.  She looks terrific!

BTW, I agree with Amy about the beard.  Our doodles are not schnauzers, LOL.

[Adina P]

She's super cute!

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Thank you both!  I still woke up to "doodle kisses" this morning, so I guess it must not have been too bad...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

You did a good job for your first attempt.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Thank you - I appreciate the words of encouragement.  I'm really glad I decided to take this one - I am looking at her completely differently today.  I consider myself to be pretty good with dogs as far as training, communication, etc. - but I've never had a long-haired dog before and just didn't feel with respect to her coat.  Now I feel much more comfortable, like at least I have a basic understanding of how the whole thing works.  Obviously I still have some learning to do, but at least now I am starting to think about it intelligently and figure out what I should do next.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

And ... here she is after a little more messing around by me and a proper wash and blow dry.  Not the best photo in the world but you will get the point.  Now it's time put the grooming stuff away for at least another month or so.

[Trudy Harlow]

Way cute!  Yes, quit grooming and just play now! ;o)

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

very cute.  I can't remember if you said you used a clipper or scissors but it is important to wash and dry your doodle before you clip her.  A dirty coat will dull your clipper blades more quickly than a clean coat will.  Plus it is much easier to get a clipper with a comb attachment through hair that is fully brushed and tangle free.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Thanks - that is good advice.  This time I mostly used the scissors and just used the clippers without the comb to trim here and there, but also I ordered the 3/4 ht blade because I think that for next time that will be easier.  I will definitely be sure to wash and dry before doing that.  I have a good metro air dryer at home so I like doing that anyway.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I'm not sure about the HT blades as I haven't used them, but I know that there were a couple of discussions in the grooming group about needing to be extra careful when you use those types of blades because your doodles skin is more likely to get caught than with a normal blade. 

[Adina P]

regarding number 2. I don't have an Australian Labradoodle. I have a regular f1 labradoodle so what I think looks good on my mine may not be the same for yours.
I use my clippers over the entire ear including the flap and the tip. I prefer this look because it is a layered look and all the hair on the ear is the same length. not sure if that addresses what you were referring to or not...the comment about sideburns confused me.