Grooming a puppy

[Katie]

My Luna is 16 weeks old.  I took her today for her second grooming.  To make it easy on everyone, I just have the bath, brush, flush and clean her up.  The problem is the first time they did her face they practically shaved the entire thing, so today, I said leave her mustache and dont shave between her nose.

When picked her up the cleared shaved betwenn and down her nose. Is this the proper was to groom a doodle face??  

I'm attaching a picture but it's not the best quality.  First picture is today after her grooming.  The second picture is a few days ago.............

[J Love]

Same thing happened to us! Charlie is also 16 weeks and I really don't like the shaved nose at all!

[Nicole and Teddy]

I used to bring Teddy to Petsmart for grooming and they really didn't get the 'doodle cut' and, no matter how many times I said it, would continue to shave his nose and cut his 'bangs' straight across like a poodle. I finally started bringing him to an independent groomer and she totally gets it! Maybe a picture would help your groomer too?

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I don't care for the shaved area between the nose either. I just scissor cut it away from their eyes.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I think its all a matter of personal preference, really. I think Luna is adorable either way! For me, I shave between the eyes and about halfway down the nose with a short comb attached, and I prefer it that way. My doodles' hair is very curly and its one way to keep the hair out of their eyes as the hair grows, otherwise I'm constantly trying to keep on top of it with scissors. I agree, the groomer should listen and respect your wishes, but from my experience that rarely happens. I don't know if they go on auto-pilot or what, but most tend to do whatever they know and are familiar with, regardless of what you've asked from them specifically. Number 1 reason I started grooming the doodles myself! 

[J Love]

Debb,

About how long did it take you to get the hang of grooming your doodles yourself? I am leaning towards making the investment and taking the DIY approach.My Charlie is on the curly side too (though, I realize his coat might change as he ages). He was almost unrecognizable after his first grooming. I felt the same sinking feeling as I do when I have my own hair appointment and come out looking NOTHING like I asked. ugh

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I remember that sinking, sickly feeling after picking up Lucy after a poor groom (Oscar only had a year of professional grooms and I was never displeased with his results). I've found that with doing their grooming myself, I'm always happy... well mostly, anyway. If not, I just take them back to the grooming table and give them a tweak. I'd say it took a few months of reading as much as possible about grooming curly coats and watching doodle grooming videos before I gathered the courage to do the first one. Then it took a few more months of practice to get comfortable with it. Now, 2 yrs later I could do it in my sleep :)

[Wanda Klomp]

I don't think Any pup should be shaved anywhere. Its a sure way to make them anxious about grooming. Especially on the face, because that's their most sensitive body part. I am a specialized Doodle groomer who teaches owners to groom their Doodle themselves professionally in a natural fluffy way and I only let them use special thinning scissors on the face to keep it natural looking in stead of poodle faced. But a lot of groomers use clippers to work faster. I would not recomnend such groomers.

[Deeann Roesser]

I think she looks adorable both ways.  I have one groomer at Pet Smart I use.  I brought in a picture of what I wanted and she did it perfectly.  I bring it in every time....:)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Not norm for a doodle. My groomer shaved Ned between the eyes the first time because she hadn't groomed a doodle. If your groomer has done this twice, I would consider changing groomers because she/he is clearly NOT listening to you.

[Alli]

Hi Katie,

If you continue reading in the Doodle Grooming discussion group you will quickly find that this is an all too common problem! I myself started a discussion about the same thing.  My Charlie (who, by the way, looks just like Luna!) was scalped too!  Right between the eyes.  It was awful.  I seriously would not have known he was my dog if they hadn't told me. Needless to say we switched groomers, it happened again, and to make a long story short I started grooming his face myself.  I bought thinning shears, and 5" curved scissors and watched a dvd (I found it on the website smagdog.com). While I'm not a huge fan of the way they groom the dog's face in the video, she gives very clear directions that anyone can follow.  I've attached a picture of how bad he looked after he was groomed (and yes, those are huge snowballs stuck in his fur!).  You can see the light colored hair between his eyes.  What you can't tell is that it is almost to the skin.  And then there is a picture of how we groom him at home. You can do it--and you'll be much happier!  

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I agree with Wanda, there is no reason to ever shave down a doodle unless the coat is in such a state from not being tended to that, that is the only option. It is of course a matter of personal choice.  One of the most endearing things about doodles for me is their shaggy dog look so I was adamant I would do my own grooming. I watched every video I could and bought all the tools recommended here. I did take each of the boys to a groomer for a wash and brush out when they were five months old just so they would have the experience. The great thing about DIY is you can do it over a period of a few days or a few hours. All the mistakes are yours alone and not ones you hate and have paid an arm and a leg for and you get the look you like. It does take about three-four hours if you do it properly in one go and I can see why professionals go for the clippers to save time.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I so totally agree with you, Nicky, when it comes to doing your own grooming vs. paying a professional. I've found I'm much less critical of my own work, and in fact, find I do many of the same things that use to tick me off with professionals' work. Why? Because it saves me time and buys an extra week or 2 between grooms. For instance, I asked for a longer leg hair length each and every time I took the doodles for a groom. That was my 1 pet peeve with the one groomer I liked. I'd take pictures of doodles with the leg length I was looking for, asked she use a longer comb on her clippers and reiterate leg length preference before each groom. Upon picking the doodles up I always left feeling frustrated that my request wasn't met. Today, it's a whole other story. A longer leg length means less time before I have to do the next clipper cut (with my two's very curly/wooly hair there is no way I could do scissor cuts on them without it adding hours to a groom. I wouldn't be happy with a scissor cut, anyway). My time is more important to me than my personal preferences. It all comes down to priorities and when you do your own grooming you learn what works best for you, your doodle(s) hair type and your schedule.