Do I have to do it?

[Rob haddix]

Well, my baby girl is almost 7 months old now and I just lover her beautiful coat and mullet on top of her head. I brush her 3 - 4 times a week and I never give her a chance to develop any mats. I trim her feet top & bottom, Clip her nails, Trim her private parts, and Clip around her eyes to make sure she can always see . The weather is finally starting to warm up and I notice she is starting to pant a lot and always wants to go outside where it is cooler. My sister says it's time to think about shaving her as short as I can. I, really don't want to do this ever. I figured maybe this summer I would trim her down and leave about 1 1/2 minimum but not shave her down to nothing.

I have read that it's not a good idea to shave a dog too short because of sunburn, is that true?

I have to wonder how long haired dogs have survived the heat for millions of years before humans came along with clippers and started cutting. I think when we look at our dogs and say to our self , " I wouldn't want to wear a fur coat in this hot weather" so, neither would my dog.

I love the way she looks with her long hair! Do I have to cut her down to cool her off? Am I being cruel if I don't.

Please help, I want to do the right thing for my little girl.

[Lorraine Bromley]

There is also a group here for people who will never shave their doodles! I am in that category. Although I did just trim him up a bit. I just did the eyes, paws, peri area then just when all over with the clippers taking off the whisps of hair that seem thinner that the main coat after you get him all brushed out and fluffy. He was really matted as I have a hand that is not as functional so brushing hurts. And my husband never seems to get down to the skin when he brushes, and I think Neely makes the little mats while he's being brushed! I had thought this will be too much to get him mat free but no it didn't take long at all with the two of us and all the right tools. Using the blow dryer really helps to show you where the problem areas are.

[Ivy Bates]

you can shave her belly so when she lays down she feels the coolness and you won't see it when she is up and running. That's what I do for Austin and my client's doodles.

[Rob haddix]

That's a good idea! Most of the house is slate and tile floors, she will love that on her belly. Thank you...

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

Love the pics-- they are a handsome pair.

[Jessica & Zoey]

I LOVE her long coat, so beautiful!

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

 I love, love, love, love her flowing long hair (and if you look at some of my photos you'll see why).  I am one of those doodle owners who sees no reason to ever shave my pup.  I do little scissor trims around the eyes and toes now, and hope to only have to do minor scissor trims in the future too.  There are lots of really long haired shaggy breeds on the planet, and if they can be shaggy in hot desert heat, then so can Kona and your little girl in milder climates!  I LOVE his rumpled shaggy dog look.  I comb him out frequently and within SECONDS he looks like a shaggy muppet again and it makes me smile.  

I had an extremely thick coated and long haired husky growing up, and we would never consider shaving her so that she could be cool in the summer, so I'm not sure why I would ever shave Kona unless it was an emergency sort of situation....like he is lost in the woods for weeks and gets matted beyond comb-out ability.  

I keep hearing about the dreaded "coat change" coming in the near future, but I'm hoping that I can just stay on top of the combing and avoid the matting that everyone is warning me about.  I was lucky to meet another Doodle Kisses pup (Yarra) this weekend, and was thrilled to hear that Yarra sailed through the "adult coat change" with no issues and never had to be shaved.  And her owner (Kate Pappas) believes that Kona's coat is thin enough and wavy fleece (like your girl)  to also bypass the matting stage.  So maybe we will luck out!  My niece was not so lucky with her doodle, and the Montana winter snow romps made her get behind on the matting, and she had to shave him to get back to square one.  I think it is much more about their natural coat type, and the longer wavy fleece doesn't seem to mat as much.

[Rob haddix]

I'm really hoping to avoid the problems with the coat change, I've noticed lately when I brush her there is a lot more hair left in the brush, so maybe the new coat is coming in a little at a time.

After a good long brushing she looks like a beautiful Golden Retriever for about 10 minuets then the coat turns into those wonderful flowing curls.

Her personality is the thing I like most, she is goofy, loving and smart as could be. She is a real happy girl :-) 

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

Yes...we certainly live with little breathing cartoon characters!

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

She definitely has the same coat as Kona's....even the same color.  From the back, they look identical when they sit and look away from us. 

[Rob haddix]

When I get home tonight I'm going to check out Kona.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I keep Riley long all year round though I do trim his body a little in Summer. Like you I groom very often, most days in fact.  He is almost two years old. From 8-14 months was the worse as he was matting up even over a day.  If I left it for longer than three or four we were in big trouble.  Boris is almost 7 months and I'm just waiting for it to start again.  I know a lot of people swear by clipping them down during the coat change but I was determined I would not do that and I didn't.  Riley is mat free, I love our grooming time. I use horse mane and tale de-tangler, a les poochs green brush, a rotating pin comb and a Christensen pin brush.  A mat breaker is also sitting there for those odd occasions. You most definitely do not have to do the big clip/trim but you do have to groom right to the skin all over very often, especially during the coat change (believe me you will know it when it happens) As for the panting, ice chips in her water bowl would be nice.  Good luck : )  

ps I also frequently brush teeth, remove ear hair, trim nails and put a salve on paw pads.