Grooming Questions

[Samantha Linder]

Hi! I'm currently in the doodle research process. My boyfriend and I are planning on getting a doodle next spring and grooming is definitely something I'm considering, especially when choosing which generation is best for us.  My family has a golden retriever and I've gotten very skilled at grooming him, but I'm a little fearful about the curly coat because I've never had to groom a poodle before! If anyone can answer any of the following questions for me I would really appreciate it!

For either F1, F1b, or F2 generation doodles (these are the 3 we're considering)...

1) How often do you brush your doodle and for how long?
2) How often do you bath your doodle?
3) How often do you have to bath your doodle? Do you dry their coat or let it air dry?

Thanks for your help!
-Sam

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Samantha these are smart questions. You might try looking at the grooming group for answers to them. It is a very
helpful group.
My Golden Doodle ( F 1) is a poodle type, curly coat which truly needs a lot of attention. Right now her coat is only about one inch long, having been growing for the past month when I was unhappy with all the matts her coat had and took it down to 1/2 inch. We are fortunate as she does not have a lot of hair in her ears which a lot of poodles have. It needs extra careful attention as it tends to hold moisture in the ears which may cause ear problems. I have always had standard poodles and this was one of the problems we had with them.

Most doodle owners prefer to keep the coats longer than I do. Being in S. Florida she swims a lot so a short coat helps.

Again, I strongly suggest you read as much as you can on the grooming site to get the answers you need. Good Luck with the pup you choose, I know you will love it.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

The interesting thing about doodles is the generation has little to do with coat type. For early generations like you mentioned, the coats are completely varied from ultra thick and curly wool to thin shedding hair. It is not uncommon to have a litter with all coat types in it.
The breeder should be able to advise you about the coat types in the litter.
I have posted below the 3 main coat types. Hair, wool and fleece. There could be coats that are anywhere inbetween too. Each type has it's own individual needs for grooming.
Here is an example of an F1 puppy and her as an adult. She has a thin mildly shedding coat that doesn't need a haircut. Just an occasional trim around the eyes and a sani clip.

Here is an Australian Labradoodle puppy with a wool coat. This coat is not very curly, so even though thick, it is manageable.

Here is a picture of the puppy all grown up

Here is a fleece coated puppy

I can't show you her all grown up until next year so here is a picture of the fleece coated puppy's mom who is wavy fleece

[BG and Gavin]

I have an F1 goldendoodle. He has a mixed coat of fleece and hair and is more wavy than curly. I have (so far) found his coat to be pretty low maintance. He only sheds in the brush and I have not had any matting problems (yet!).
1) I comb him with a metal comb 2-3 times a week, just while watching tv
2) I bath him about once a month, only if he is muddy or covered in dog spit (from playing with other dogs)
3) I blow him out with the hair dryer for a bit and then let him air dry from there
I think there is such a variety of coats that you can get with an F1, even in the same litter. Here is what Gavin looked like when we first got him (10 wks) vs how he looked at 7 mons. Good luck!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin is an f1 He has a curly/wavy fleece coat.

1) I brush Darwin for 30 minutes to an hour every day, or at least every other day. He hasn't started matting a whole lot yet, but I go through his coat very meticulously to make sure I can stay on top of keeping it tangle free.

2) I bathe Darwin every other week. This is more often than you need to, I think. But with the wet weather, he gets muddy often. During the summer, I'll probably do it less.

3) I think you "have" to bathe your doodle less than every three months. I think the rule of thumb is that bathe them when they are dirty, but the less, the better.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

All of my reply did not save, so I will try again.
Those are 3 loaded questions and do not have one answer.
1) 9 weeks to 5 months...all coat types do not require much brushing, but they will in the future so it is better to brush often. It is more important to comb with a steel comb than to brush, because brushing alone does not work.
5 months to 8 months...coats are longer, so should be fully brushed out fully weekly.
8 months to 18 months. Advise to cut coat to no more than 2 inches and comb daily to avoid having to shave the dog because of matting. Dampen thoroughly after brushing.
18 months up. Matting is greatly reduced and you can chose a coat length you like and works for both you and your doodle.
2) I bath my doodles 2 or 3 times a year. They get 2 haircuts [spring and fall] and usually one other bath in the summer. They do not have a lot of natural oils in their coats and this is why they don't smell bad. The natural oils protect the coat from the environment...water, dirt etc. If you bathe too often, the natural oils come out and your doodle becomes a dirt magnet. I high velocity blower will blow dirt out of the coat and will cut brushing time to less than half.
3) I let my coats air dry as a blown dry one usually looks too frizzy and mats up more quickly.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Barb,
I wish I had read # 3 a long time ago. I have always blown dry Mitzi, never realizing that her coat might be
matting up more quickly because of it!

P.S. You might consider putting this info on the list of grooming items on your main page, it would probably be helpful to everyone.

[Bronwen Watts]

Like mentioned before, the generation does not not affect the coat type. In my case, our F1 doodle has a fleece coat with some areas of hair. I try to brush him about once a week to help keep mats away.

The best part about Tyson's coat is that I don't have to bathe him often. Unless he has gotten into something smelly or has gotten really dirty, he stays pretty clean (and smell-free!) for quite a while. I usually bathe about once every 1-3 months.

Tyson also dries pretty quickly, so I usually give him a quick dry with a towel, and then let him finish air drying. This comes in handy as we go to the beach fairly often, so I love having a dog that dries quickly before getting in the car!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have an F1 mini - 1 year old next week. She sheds minimally (1-2 hairs will get on me every now and then) and honestly, I still don't really know her hair type - wavy fleece? Photo below.
1) Until recently, I brushed her daily. She was really going through some coat changs and probably still is a little. We got her cut 2 months ago to about 1". It has been MUCH easier to maintain. It is probably 2-3" long now and she is due for a cut soon. The photo below is of her before her cut, but she looks like this again now (slightly curlier though!). I am now brushing her 2x/week and find a matt or two, but I can get them out with a steel comb usually. If not, cut 'em out.
2) I hardly ever bath Peri. We have had her 10 months and I have probably given her 2-3 baths...plus she has been groomed 2x professionally. So 5 times in a year. If we keep her brushed, she smells pretty good all the time.
3) When I have bathed her, I cuddle with her while she is wrapped in a towel...then air dry.

Good luck choosing. And I have added a second photo showing her hair closer up (this is about 2 months ago, right before her cut):

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

I have a 2 yr old FI goldendoodle. He has a fleece coat - wavy and soft curls. I comb him every other day while I watch TV, talk on the phone, etc. He sheds into the brush, but I never find red tumbleweeds around the house. I bath him about once a month, sometimes a little more ofter because he is a therapy dog and has to stay CLEAN. I blow his head semi-dry first, then scrunch the coat on his body when I dry him like you would a human with curly hair. After he dries, I comb him again and mist him.
I also have a 10-month old multigen Australian Labaradoodle. His coat is spiral fleece. I comb him every day or every other day because he is going through a coat change from baby hair to adult hair and I do not want to have to shave him because he is matted. He does not shed except into the brush. I wash him about once every 3 months. I blow him semi-dry, then let him air dry. I comb him after he's dried completely. Then I mist him again.
I use non-detergent shampoo on them and spray leave-in conditioner. Both boys have long hair, although I keep my goldendoodle's body scissored shorter because he looks like he has a red 'fro on his hindquarters when he wears his therapy dog vest. :-) I love the look of the longer coats and actually do enjoy grooming them.