Fed up

[Judith and Griffin]

We LOVE Griffin's long shaggy coat. It is just part of his personality!  We keep his eyes trimmed and he's had a "hygiene trim" twice so far.  And he's had to have horrid mats shaved off his belly and under an arm :-(  He's 10 months and we're in the dreaded coat changing time.

We're also in muddy winter time. Between the mud/leaves/mulch and the matting, I'm DONE.  I cannot bathe him every day nor can he be a muddy mop.  I can't get the mats out without him getting frustrated with me so we're just cutting them as best we can.  His back and top of head are the only places without issue.  Would it be weird to really trim up the rest? Would it even help?

I'm just at a total loss right now :-(

If anyone has pics of a trimmed doodle I'd love to see them.  Though it makes me sad to even think about taking that part of him away.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I think he looks good! I'm more accustomed to the shorter cuts though, so maybe I'm biased. You'll find you hardly have to brush/comb him at all, except for his ears, muzzle and tail. Its a great cut for a coat change.

[Diane Sloan]

He looks cute.  Yes I know its a huge change but you will be thankful.  We are getting used to Si being short.  He is growing back and already about 1/2 inch-1 inch longer already in just a few short weeks.  I am hopeful that Si will grow in a bit more manageable.

[Marie Dennen]

Matting hurts. Are you sure you have them all out? Between the toes, both on top of the foot and between the paw pads? The groin? Make sure you can take a comb to the skin and glide through coat just like you would your own hair. I have two clients like your dog's coat consistency and longer than home and they are in bi-weekly if not weekly. I do brush/comb out service, bath and tidy, and occasional full scissor haircut. They do maintaince at home as well and their bill has been as much as 450-500$ for the month. They are a pair a full coated doodles who are very active and have pretty invested parents