First attempt at DIY doodle grooming - ?'s about trimming the face

[Eric & Rufus]

Hi everyone,

This is a wonderful site with lots of good information! I've been reading through these forums for months now and have several pages bookmarked - along with dozens of pages from other sites. I have been trying to gather the knowledge (and nerve!) to try and groom Rufus, my giant schnoodle. Rufus is almost 15 months old and has been to the professional groomers on three occasions. At $100 a pop, I can't afford to take him as often as necessary. (I'll admit that when I chose a new dog, I was one of the people that didn't think far enough ahead to realize that "no shedding" equals "lots of grooming" - of course now that I have Rufus, I wouldn't ever change my decision!)

Anyways, as much as I would like to have Rufus professionally groomed, finances have dictated I invest the money up front in some decent equipment in order to save money in the long run, At bbird's suggestion, I purchased the CC 16mm pin brush and a wooden handled poodle comb. I was using inferior products before that and these made a huge difference in the day to day brushing. I also finally purchased a pair of Andis AGC2 clippers and some Andis clipper combs, as well as a pair of blunt-end curved shears and a pair of thinning shears. I cannot afford the table and arm just yet, so I had to make do with a plastic table I already had.

After bathing, drying, and combing, I used the "B" comb (13/16") on his body and the "D" comb (15/16") on his legs. I also used the "F" (1.25") on his tail (Rufus' tail is a long dock so it is done differently than the  typical doodle). The hardest part about clippering the body was actually working up the courage to turn the clippers on and start buzzing him. Considering it was my first attempt, I was fairly satisfied with the outcome of his body and legs.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same about his face. I was very lost as to what to do and searched through this forum quite a bit before starting Rufus' face and head. I also watched several YouTube videos (for the umpteenth time) until I thought I had the idea. I started with his ears, and somehow I got it in my head that I should hold his ear flap with my fingers below the actual "flap" of skin and then trim just below my fingers using the curved shears. As soon as I did it I knew I had cut the hair waaaaay to short. Of course, in the name of symmetry I had to do his other ear the same way. I tried using the thinning shears to make the bottom edge look a little more natural, but wasn't too successful. I was really discouraged afterwards and didn't do too well on the rest of his face either. I mostly just used the thinning shears to shorten the top of his head and his mustache and beard. I also used the curved shears to clip between his eyes.

I am looking for any other resources, instructions, guidance, etc. on how to groom Rufus' face/head/ears in the future (once it grows back out!). Of course now I know not to cut the ears so short, but I am still baffled in particular about the sides of his face - not his snout but the area in front of the ears (his cheeks?).

Here are the before and after photos. Thanks in advance for any help given! - Eric

[Cynthia and Magic]

What a cutie - and for a first grooming you did a great job!! There is so much info on this site...and amazing advice. Here is a link I found really helpful for my labradoodle. I may not do a perfect job on my doodle - but I love being able to do it myself and so far, everything has grown back :D

http://www.royaldiamondlabradoodles.com/grooming_videos

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

very very true on the "everything grows back".  The best part about doing it yourself is knowing that you can and when people compliment you on how cute they look it just means that much more because you did it yourself!

[Eric & Rufus]

Thanks Cynthia. Those are some of the videos I watched, in fact, I think it was those videos that had me thinking about where to hold the ear and trim. I think I need to watch them again though!

You've probably already seen them, but I also watched the YouTube videos of AnnandSully here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnandSully/videos

Thanks again!

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Love these videos! She explains really well and I think I'll be able to groom my pup myself following these. Thank you for posting, Cynthia!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I think you did a good job with Rufus and I don't think that his face looks bad at all though I can see what you mean about his ears being a lot shorter.  When I do Cubbie's and Ollie's ears, I try to give them that layered look.  I am not sure what type of hair style you have, but I have some layers in mine and I try to cut their ears in a similar manner to how my stylist trims my hair.  I try to get the hair at the top of their ears to be a length close to what is at the top of their heads and then increase in length from there as I go down the ear.  When the overall length of the ear gets too long, I will trim some off the bottom (a little bit at a time) and then blend the rest of the ear layers until I get the desired look.  I like a bit of a rounded look to their heads, but each person tends to like a different look on their dogs.  Practice makes perfect so just stick with it.  You learned what you don't like so it is only a matter of time into you find a system that works for you.

Here is a picture of how the ears look on my two:

[Eric & Rufus]

Very cute doodles! Their ears are the look I was going for. I see a lot of reference to cutting "layers", but I am not sure how that is done. Watching my own hair stylist won't help since I'm clippered all over!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Those are the kind of ears I love!  Unfortunately, Gracie Doodle doesn't have enough wave or curl in her ears to get those results.  It sort of has to come down to whatever works for your particular Doodle like I said in my long-winded reply to your other post!!

[Sue & Lily Grace]

I think you did a wonderful job and only hope I can be as brave when the time comes. The feet and sanitary areas scare me just thinking about it. Keep up the good work. You have a beautiful Doodle.

[Eric & Rufus]

Thanks Sue. The feet were easier than I thought, I used my beard trimmer for in between the pads! I also didn't do the sanitary trim as close as was done at the groomers - I'm still too nervous to use a short bare blade. Plus, last time, the short stubble left on his rear end seemed to irritate him and I had to put a lamp shade on him until he stopped chewing at it.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Eric, personally, I will shave Gracie's sanitary using an attachment to the blade and not use the little trimming clippers.  I did that once and it totally goes right to the skin.  IMO there is no reason to have to shave them bald and yes, they get the stubble and razor burn.  I also will use scissors because right under the tail there are mats.  For the belly, I use an attachment on the blade as well.  That is another tender area.  Basically, I never use the trimming clippers on her at all.  Occasionally between the toes if I am not having luck with the scissors.

[Eric & Rufus]

That is going to be my plan as well, I'll just a short attachment. The other day I used my Wahl beard trimmer (which looks identical to the Wahl pet trimmer - even down to the attachments included) for his paws and I nicked the skin behind the large front pad.

I wasn't thinking about it being a big deal and we went on a hike yesterday. He started limping and I ended up carrying him on my shoulders for about a mile - all 75-80 pounds of him! I think the "little" nick keeps splitting when he walks. I might be in for a vet trip :(

Point to that story being, I don't think I'll use ANY clipper anywhere on Rufus without a guard. Lesson learned...

[Jennifer Tramell]

Wow, I've been clipping my dogs for a couple years now, and you've already surpassed me in your grooming discipline.  I'm afraid I "make it up as I go along" :-)  I think Rufus looks great for a first time, in fact, he looks great for a 3rd or 4th time!

I trim up my dogs face and head several times between groomings.  When I am doing an all over grooming, I end up with the face/head being the last thing.  By that time, I am tired and ready to be done!  By doing the head/face at another time, I can do it with a clear head and take my time. 

Truthfully, it comes down to trial and error and personal preference.  Here are some of the many faces of Webster and Charlotte, someday I may get it figured out - lol!