Grooming Essentials- List?

Hello! We are in process of waiting for our goldendoodle puppy to come home. While I have grown up with dogs, this will be my first dog in my own family. Hubby and two daughters first dog ever. Most our dogs growing up were short coat breeds so I don't remember much grooming of them outside just a regular dog brush. Ours is an F1 standard, should be cream in color. So far it don't look like it will have a whole lot of the adorable curls. Breeder says long wavy coat. It is an English Golden Retriever so I don't know how that will effect the fur/hair thing. Either way, I can't wait for our pup and want to start it out right with the grooming. We have an 11 year old Persian kitty so I know it's VERY important.

I didn't know if there was a compiled list of recommended grooming tools, or if any doodle pro's on here have suggestions for what I should purchase before the puppy comes home. I'd like to be as prepared for all the grooming necessities as I can.

Thanks so much in advance! I am looking forward to really reading through these topics and the puppy group.

Jenny

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Camilla and Darwin on February 23, 2011 at 7:09am

For sure join the grooming group. Lots of great instructions on grooming and informative discussions!

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/doodlegrooming

Permalink Reply by Camilla and Darwin on February 23, 2011 at 2:11pm

LOL, sorry. I can see that you are already in the grooming group. :-)

Permalink Reply by Jackie on February 23, 2011 at 7:13am

Congrats! I have an English mini goldendoodle. His fur seems to be about the same as other doodles I know that aren't English. I think the only difference is the color. English are lighter. I don't really groom Beckett though. He hates to be brushed, etc. So we take him to the groomers. I do try to brush him alittle in between visits.I have a Chris Christensen brush I use. It seems to work pretty well for the amount of time I use it... lol Sorry I can't help out more with tools. Enjoy your new puppy.

Permalink Reply by Jenny & Henry on February 23, 2011 at 7:38am

Just looked at your pics of Beckett, he is simply adorable!

Permalink Reply by Jackie on February 23, 2011 at 1:38pm

Thank you. They are the best dogs. We love him so much. They are so smart and have their own personalities. Can't wait to see pics.

Permalink Reply by Jenny & Henry on February 23, 2011 at 7:39am

Thank you SO much for the links and products. I need to get reading now! :D

Permalink Reply by Jodi and Stella on February 23, 2011 at 7:47am

My favorite new tool is the Chris Christensen coarse/fine buttercomb. It glides right through her fur and is great for working out tangles. The CC pin t-brush is great too. They say brush first, the follow with a comb. As soon as your puppy gets home get her used to being brushed and handle her feet and ears a lot.

Permalink Reply by Nancie & Gracie Doodle on February 23, 2011 at 10:31am

Hi Jenny...you are going to love your new baby!!!! I have a Standard F1 GD who is a very tall lady and will be 4 in May! Gracie Doodle is 75 lbs. and has what we call wavy fleece. Her coat is very soft and not thick or dense at all. Nor is it wooly or wirey feeling. I think you find that more in the ALD (Australian Labradoodles) and F1B Doodles. I took Gracie to the groomers for the first year and a half for grooming which was a good thing since I knew zero about anything!! Gracie learned the "groomer's table" discipline which was an excellent thing. She hated going though because it was very noisy and hectic there will tons of dogs yapping all the time. She hates noise! It became so stressful for her that I decided to learn to groom her myself. I learned right here on the DK Groomers Group!!! I enjoy grooming Gracie and it is a wonderful bonding experience and time. I have since bought all my equipment and I know what works for me and Gracie's coat. Every Doodle is different so until your baby's coat blows out her puppy coat at around 10 months (sometimes earlier), it will be hard to guess exactly what equipment will work best for you. My suggestions are to from day one play with her feet, spread her toes, play with her ears, look and touch inside, same with her mouth (if you dare with the little puppy bites and sharp teeth...lol). You need to touch her all over and get her used to being examined so when you start brushing and when you, the groomer or the vet ever need to work on her feet, ears, etc. she is comfortable with it. I think lots of Doodles don't like to be brushed because the wrong brush was used or the owners were not persistent in using it. All puppies hate the brushing and combing but you can't let them "win" and never brush them. Combing is much more important than brushing IMO. I have a comb with rotating teeth which is very forgiving and much more gentle. It doesn't yank the hair as much. Remember, your Doodle will most likely have hair and not fur as we know it on dogs. Therefore, I treat Gracie's as I would a human. I use human shampoo and have found her hair to be extremely soft and manageable. I have found the few times my husband uses dog shampoo her hair is dry, rough and hard to comb. The one thing I am a real stickler on is the brush. Since my Gracie's hair is not dense or thick it is easy for the brush to make contact with her skin. Their skin is very sensitive and as much as I wanted to have the "in" brush, it just wouldn't work for us. It is the Les Pooches brush! There are members here who will swear by it but you then need to go to their profile page and look to see what kind of Doodle they have and what kind of hair! I had two different types at $75ish a pop and ended up giving them away to a Doodle friend who swears by them...she has an ALD! These brushes are very sharp on the ends and will actually scratch the Doodle's skin. I even drew blood on myself by hitting my hand while brushing. I test all the brushes out on myself to see if it will hurt me and if it does, I don't use them on Gracie. I use the CChristensen T Brush but the new one that I am liking a lot is from PetEdge.com and it is the MGT Rake with rotating pins .75 for $9.99. I use that to get through the mats and then I use the comb. I also have an MGT Ergonomic Dematting Tool Rake 10 Blade which I will use in if I come across a really bad mat. Gracie does not mat that much any more and it is only in the groin, arm pit, neck and under ear areas that do. They get lots of mats in the ear/neck area from playing. All dogs love to grab and chew on each other there. Also, the webbed collars can really cause tangles and matting around the neck if the hair becomes too thick or long. Then a rolled leather collar or even a leather collar is better. Be sure to join "Ring Around The Collar" group. Also, introduce your Doodle to the sounds of clippers, Dremel nail grinders, scissors and hair blowers. It helps to desensitize them to the sounds for future grooming! There is tons and tons of stuff in the "Grooming" group. Spend some time in the archives looking around because I can guarantee you that any question you are going to come up with has been addressed. Though, don't hesitate to ask if you need help or have a question. Bottom line...I would not invest in a ton of brushes and combs until you have determined what kind of coat your baby is going to have. But, very important...always keep them combed/brushed and make sure you get the comb down to the skin because that is where the mats hide. So many think they have all the mat out of their Doodle and then the groomer has to shave them down because there were mats. (Wait until you read the horror stories of the first grooming or a groomer that doesn't know how to do a Doodle!) Surface brushing and combing does not work. You must get all the way down through the hair! All of what I have said is just my personal experience. All Doodles and their hair are not the same so you will have to adjust your thinking and approach as she/he grows. We are here for you!!! Enjoy the new baby!

Permalink Reply by Bonnie and Kona on February 23, 2011 at 2:27pm

There is a link somewhere on this site about grooming a doodle. In the video it shows how to "line brush". I read about it and thought I was doing it right until I saw the video. Now I know how to line brush. I'm sorry I don't know the link because my computer died and I lost the book mark but it was sometime since January.

Permalink Reply by Jenny & Henry on February 23, 2011 at 5:31pm

I'd love to see that, I never even heard of line brushing.

Permalink Reply by Bonnie and Kona on February 23, 2011 at 5:34pm

found it! It's in Grooming Sully part 1

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Goldendoodle+Grooming&a...

Permalink Reply by Jenny & Henry on February 23, 2011 at 5:41pm

Thank you so much. I just watched it and am wondering if that is recommended to be done weekly? Then just a quicker brush daily?