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.

[Judith and Griffin]

Here's a deceptive pic of Griff and me.  He's really not so huge - only 60 lbs :-)

[Marcia & MoneyPenny]

We have just had this issue. After being at the boarding kennel for 8 days, Penny came home a matted mess after a fun "vacation" rolling in the snow with her buddies. I took her to the groomer knowing there was little or no hope & I was right, she got a shave & thus needed a coat. Attached is a pic of Penny hours after her new doo with her new coat. Do what you have to do, it grows back. Penny didn't get a trim, she got a buzz. It was all they could do. It will grow back & in the meantime she has a coat & might spend a little less time outside for a few weeks. My groomer has suggested she be clipped every 3 months to keep it manageably short. Penny is 11 months so I think we are still in the process of getting the adult coat but clipping in 3 months sounds reasonable & manageable.
She is definitely smaller with no hair & for a few days more clingy. She looks too much like a poodle which we do not like so we will be careful to keep her clipped to look like a doodle & not a poodle.

[Trudy Harlow]

I keep Paddy pretty well clipped because I just can't handle the mats and mud (yes, at the age of 6, he still mats). He has a very curly, wooly coat and it's a challenge to take care of. So, while I let him grow out a bit in the cold weather, mainly it's just his head and tail that have fluff. If you go to my page, you'll see lots of pictures of him, particularly in his very well shaved down summer cut.  And as Marcia said, it will grow back. You may have to buy him a coat for the cold weather, but at least you won't be dealing with the mud and mats.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Here is one of my ALD's with her 'new mommy' cut. This is a 3/4HT blade with scissored head. She was carrying 7 babies. I guess they were hiding in her deep chest. She never looked very large.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I bought a 3/4HT blade and Lucy's wooly coat is just too thick for it to pass through. I thought it would be a great way to avoid attachment combs, but no luck :-(

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Mats are the main reason I keep my doodles short. Luckily, they both have rather athletic bodies and they look good short. The first pic above is my favorite cut on Lucy, who has a very wooly coat, and the 2nd is my first attempt at cutting/grooming Oscar myself. He has a soft curly coat. I keep Oscar a bit longer than Lucy because of his coat type, and I think you could go even longer on Griffin due to his wavy coat.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

First of all let me say that Griff is adorable.  I'm not sure though how anyone could keep up with all that shaggy hair during coat change time ...  He certainly is a shaggy boy.  The sooner you get him to the groomer the better obviously.  Hopefully they can leave the tail and leave his head and face shaggy.  That usually helps.  Did you see the blog on the front page from Camilla http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/happy-holidays-from-cami...     She just had to shave him down.  If you are going to let him grow back out and try and keep him fairly long you are going to need to come up with a maintenance schedule for his coat.  We brush every day.  While that is probably a little bit of overkill, we can tell the difference if we skip a day.  Doing it daily it is a fairly quick process just 5-10 mins per doodle.  Where if we skip a day then it might be 10-15 mins per doodle.  You get the picture.  If you haven't done so already I'd get a Les Poochs brush and a really good comb with both a wide tooth end and a narrow tooth end.  You really need to double check your brushing with the comb to make sure you are getting all the way down to the skin.  Particularly in those areas like the armpits, behind the ears, chest, tail etc.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

The shaggy look is great....until somebody starts matting. You will never be able to keep up with the mats and coat change. I was bound and determined to keep Simon's gorgeous, angora-soft, spiral fleece coat at full length. At 10 months, he could not go 24 hours without mats. When his feet got wet in morning dew, he would get mats the size of a walnut on his feet. When I realized how stressful the mat-cutting and pulling/combing was to him, I took him to the groomer for a haircut. I had to try a couple of different ones before I found one that did a really good job, but I did finally.

Simon (ALD) is now 4 1/2 years old and he still mats when his coat's long if not combed several times a week (line combed with a metal comb, then finished with a wire brush). So I keep his coat at about 1- 1 1/2 inches long. Now I can comb him out completely nose to tail with NO MATS and only an occasional tangle in about a 1/2 hour. He no longer runs from me when I get out the grooming box.To me, his comfort and my ability to keep him looking good and comfortable is much more important than going crazy trying to keep his coat full length.

Remember: It's hair. Your dog will be adorable if it's short, long or anything in between. His good heart, sense of humor and sweet temperament are what makes you love him. Once you get used to the ease of his grooming with a shorter coat, (and how much happier he is without having to deal with being pulled and having to have mats cut - mat cutters do tear the coat and make it mat more) you'll wonder why you hesitated. People will always notice what a special, precious baby he is.

[Diane Sloan]

I just did a full body 1/2 inch shave on our 12m GD but I was thinking of only trimming the matted legs that were 4-5 inches down and then I tapered in the hip and trimmed the top of the back then I gave up and just cut the rest down to 1/2 inch as it was taking forever for me to do and I was hitting a few tangles here and there so I opted to leave the head and tail longer. 

The mud and snow was awful.  I have been using Mushers secret on their legs which has helped with the snowballs but the mud and washing that long fur in a bucket and tub washings I was out of time.  I did well with it for the summer and fall better than I thought I would but with the holidays coming and things being in chaos around here finding the time to brush daily was gone and after 3 days of not brushing I had a mess.

Good Luck.

[Judith and Griffin]

Thank you all so very much. I cannot tell you how relieving and comforting your replies and photos were.  I surprised myself about how attached I am to his fluff! But I think we're going to do a big trim on legs, belly, chest and see if it can be tapered up to his back and head which I'd like to leave alone if possible.  I'll let the groomer figure that out I guess?  I just called one and apparently this is super busy season so I can't get him in til Jan there. Will try a few more places b/c I just want to get it over-with.  My guess is we'll be stuck waiting through the holidays, which is okay.

Truly, your stories and understanding support and advice has meant so much. Thank you.

[Diane Sloan]

I would love to see before and after pictures as well.  I keep looking at Si thinking is it growing?  Then I think this is so much easier  and right now with the holidays and other things.........  Hoping that the puppy fur grows out for you as well and that neither of us have to deal with matting coats again :?)  Paws crossed.

[Judith and Griffin]

Here's the same reply I posted in the puppy group:
Well, I had to do it. After he stayed a few days with my brother, playing up a storm with his dog, he was more matted than ever.  The groomer warned me it would be a drastic change but there really was no option b/c the matts were so big and down to his skin.  I'll try to upload pics.  Kids haven't seen him yet.  I wonder if the girl will cry... Poor Griff will feel tons better but hardly looks like himself!  Groomer says since his coat is changing, we'll just see what comes in and she'll help me lean to deal with it as it comes.  It will grow... It will grow.  And I'm sure the cut will grow on me after a while too :-)  He's still my sweet goofball :-)