HOW I GROOM YARRA, THE QUEEN OF ALL THINGS...WITH A LOOSE FLEECE LONG COAT

[Kate C Pappas]

Yarra (QOAT) is 6 years old and is a big standard girl with a perfect, loose wavy coat. Her color is very unusual too; I call it a latte/lavender. She began life as a chocolate girl but started silvering at about 14 months old.
She has been professionally groomed a few times but it was always my goal to groom her myself.
Before she arrived I started collecting grooming tools, made mistakes, changed to other tools & products until I finally felt I had everything I needed. I'm always open to change and suggestion too and like trying new things. I buy as much as I can from Kemp at Doodle Country Store and he is the guy with the answers as he has FOUR Doodle boys and does all his own grooming! He is a friend of mine and I've seen him work when we were in Texas, and I'm impressed!
Yarra's coat is currently 4" long and not a single mat in it. She never really matted or had a significant coat change but does get snarls from playing and I get them out right away.
My preferred tools and products are:
Chris Christensen pin brushes
Les Pooches (green, both a wide and a narrow one) with bent bristles on both sides....LOVE those brushes. Thanks Kemp for guiding me to the right one!
Rotating tooth combs!
CC Butter Comb...my 'final test' comb. When that comb goes through Yarra's coat with no 'clicks', meaning I hit a snarl, that area of the coat is pronounced 'done'! Whoo hoo!
Mars Coat King mat strippers (size 6)
CC Scissors: 1. 8" shears; 2. 5.5" shears with filistered tips; 3. Thinning shears
Geib 26 blade blending shears
Dubl Duck Curved Shears
Dubl Duck 4" blunt tip scissors
Hopefully I will be adding a pair of hand made Geib curved scissors soon.
*I DON"T RECOMMEND the following, unless you are very skilled with scissors. My background is textile art so I'm both skilled and confident with these scissors. I have a tiny pair of 2" German scissors by Dovo (NOT meant for dogs) that I use to cut around each nail.

Shears are Andis AGCL Ultra Speed. The "L" means it has a light and if you've never used clippers with a light, you don't know what you're missing! I have an older pair of Andis but rarely use them unless I groom outdoors.
Blades I have are sizes: 7FC; 10; 15; 5/8" wide for paws and have two of each. I prefer Ceramic blades. After use, I use canned air and or my vacuum cleaner to get the hair out, then emerge the blade, while attached and running, in liquid "Extend A Life" clipper blade cleaner. Each blade used, is then wiped with small pieces of Sham Wows...LOL! I have a special case for clippers and blades.
I also have a small pair of And is lighted clippers with a 1" wide blade that I use for ears and Yindi's paws as she is smaller than Yarra.
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EAR PRODUCTS: Neither of the girls has ever had an ear infection but I keep some prescription ointment on hand *justincase*. Neither of them have any hair inside their ears either so I'm very lucky.
While I keep Zymox on hand, I clean the ears with a solution of 40% white vinegar/60% water every week. I use the same solution in a different container with a couple drops of shampoo added, to clean the muzzles after they eat their raw meals. Vinegar is a natural solution, harmless and does a good job in getting rid of germs.

1. Soak a cotton ball in solution and stick it far down the ear canal.
2. Use your hand at the base of the ear bulb; massage for about 45 seconds; you'll can hear a squish squish sound. The girls will shake out the cotton ball and then continue to use dampened make-up pads around the finger; use a fresh one each time until it comes out clean. If there are any little nooks and crannies with wax, use long medical grade Q-Tips (CAREFULLY). You must KNOW that your dog will be very still for this procedure. NEVER PUT A Q-TIP DOWN INTO THE EAR CANAL.

3. Finally, a Stridex medicated pad (alcohol free) pad is used to clean out the ear area one more time. You can pin the ear up to let it dry out, or give a blast of R7 Powder in the ear.

4. Shave the inner ear flap and around the ear opening and only about 1" below the ear opening.

Neither of my girls need a channel shaved from ear to ear under the chin for air flow; they do not have hairy ears, so I don't need to pluck. Each person has to do what works for them in the case of plucking. Some believe in it, some don't.
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FEET: As mentioned before, I shave the girls' feet close, with a #10 blade and in between their toes and a couple inches up behind their hocks.

For their nails, I admit, I'm terrible about keeping them done. I have quicked Yarra many times so I try and take both girls in to a groomer for nails and need to do it more often. As the quick grows, if you keep shortening the nail, the quick will recede etc. A short, rounded, smooth nail is ideal.
I like the Peticure (Dremel type tool). I also use an assortment of nail files to finish off the nails smoothly. Finally, I coat the nails with Nail and Hoof Lacquer.

Since Yarra has had torn or irritated paw pads in the past, I rub Shaw's Paw Wax on both girls' feet regularly. It protects the pads and helps with traction on smooth floors.

SHAMPOOS AND COAT PRODUCTS:
Currently I'm using DERMagics shampoo and conditioner. http://www.dermagic.com/DERMagic-Shampoo-and-Conditioner-Combinatio...

Silk Spirits by CC *
Biogroom Mink Oil
These all have protectants for fly away, sun fading etc.

BATHING: Yarra gets bathed rarely because she doesn't need it. Her coat is such, that dirt and sand fall right out and a brushing is all she needs. When I do bathe her, I sometimes take her to the local self doggy wash place.

Yindi gets bathed more often because her coat is curly, very light in color and does not repel dirt very well. She gets extra conditioning on her coat and skin because of that.

After bathing, I use a dryer briefly. I have a ChallengeAire Air Max, dual motor with variable speed controls. It's very powerful and I use it to blow out some of the water, then let them air dry. I don't care for the fluffy look they get when professionally groomed. When I get them home, I spritz them with the hose to bring back the natural curl.

THE ACTUAL GROOMING: Hopefully you've conditioned your Doodle from puppyhood to enjoy being brushed. Always make it pleasant by providing treats as you work. I often groom the girls while sitting on the floor watching TV. The entire job is rarely done at one time because I work slowly and a thorough grooming takes me about 2 to 3 hours, but that's me. A nice brushing from skin outward is done every few days.
Note: I've seen many long coated Doodles who look gorgeous and the coat flows when they run, however, it's whats underneath that is important. Long top coat hides mats.

1. Work in sections and hold the coat up and use whatever tool you prefer to brush/comb downwards until that section is clear of snags and mats. If you encounter a mat, use blunt tipped scissors, gently pinch the skin and cutfrom the skin, outward through the mat. Test that area with a comb and gently work out the chunks of mats. When you see the little snarly things left over, use the Les Pooches brush over them and they'll disappear like magic. Run your fingers through the area from the skin outwards. I don't like using talcum powder as it can get into their lungs (and yours) and I feel it's dangerous. Cowboy Magic makes a 'Detangler Spray" that you can spray on a difficult mat and it really does work!
2. Continue with the sections, until the entire body is done. With the tail, I hold the bone of the tail and work carefully since this area is sensitive, and more so to some dogs.
3. I work on each leg down to the foot area. Behind each front leg, between the elbow and paw is a pad that is often not noticed and is VERY sensitive. Put your finger or thumb on it while you brush over it.
4. For the feet, this is where the scissors and clippers come out. It's more comfortable by this time to ask your dog to lie on her side. I use a knee high stocking with the foot cut out, to hold back Yarra's coat while I work on her feet. I shave them carefully and between the paw pads and around each nail. Then I sand her nails, coat them with Nail and Hoof Lacquer.

5. I do the face, last. I prefer a very planned shaggy look...LOL. I like the muzzle and beard to be the same length and often I let it grow longer than it currently is. I used to chop the muzzle very even and one length. Now, I comb the side of the muzzle forward toward the nose, and carefully cut it in a rounded shape from the nose backwards. Then I bring a further back portion of the muzzle hair forward and do the same. Anything that looks choppy, I even up with blending shears. Across the bridge of the nose, I bring the coat straight up, and use the blending shears and let it fall.

Her head is done in sections depending on the way the coat falls naturally. I bring up thin sections between my two fingers and trim with blending shears. Around the eyes, I work with my 5.5" scissors at a diagonal angle AWAY from her eyes. I need good eye contact for training but I personally don't care for the 'umbrella' or 'verandah' look, with the area above the eyes trimmed in a concave curve.
Ears: I shave the inner ear flap and outward toward the edges of the ear leather to thin out some coat. This allows for more airflow underneath the ears, helping to prevent moisture buildup and ear infections. As I said earlier, Yarra has an ideal loose coat with a lot of movement as she walks and runs so keeping that type of coat full length is easy.
Once I feel everything looks good, I let her go and have a good shake, rub against the couch (which she loves to do) and during the day, might notice areas that need a touch up.

Instructions to give to a professional groomer: Long before I got Yarra, I read horror stories about people dropping off their Doodles and picking up unrecognizable Doodles! There is no standard cut for Labradoodles since there are so many coat types.

Collect pictures of cuts you like. Ask questions of friends who have Doodles cuts that you like. Even so, bring along a side view photo of YOUR Doodle, face shot, feet, etc and use a black Sharpie pen to outline the 'shape' you want to maintain. Explain in writing and discuss, face to face with the groomer.
Ask if they have a lot of Doodle clients. Remind them verbally and in writing what you expect and provide them with a phone number and to call you BEFORE they start chopping or shaving.
I always have Yarra scissor cut, more expensive but it suits her coat and what I want.

[Dos Doodles--Sam & Luke]

That is just an absolutely gorgeous dog.  Thanks for all the great information and tips.  My dog's coat is similar, but wow.  Yarra is amazing!  :-)

[Lynda Kamrath]

Fantastic instructions and so thorough.  I was interested that you said that Yindi still had her puppy coat at 17 months.  That was six months ago, so I would love to see what you are doing with her now.  How long did she have her puppy coat?  My dog is 17 months old now and I have been attempting to cord him.  He is actually pretty cooperative, but maybe I am asking too much of him.

[Dos Doodles--Sam & Luke]

Cutie!

[Kate C Pappas]

He is adorable. Here I am better late than never. Yindi's coat is still a soft (buttery soft) fleece curly coat. She does not mat so I'm lucky to have two Doodles who don't mat! I've just written a basic blog on how I groom Yindi since her coat is totally different and will get it posted her in the next couple days. :) I also have updated my blog on Yarra's grooming and will make that change too.

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

WOW great info...thanks!

Bailey's coat is similar to your Yarra's.  I have a question about the Shaw's Paw Wax.    We live in Florida so I think it will help Bailey's pads this summer and we also have hardwood floors.  But my concern is the stickieness.  Does sand and dirt stick to it?

[Kate C Pappas]

I have not found that things stick to their paws after using the wax. I rub the wax in pretty thoroughly too. And I use it usually only when I do their feet/nails or if I notice their pads are dry.

[Monica and Ginger]

Hi Kate

Ginger & I are new to the group.  She is a Mini F1B and her coat is soft and flowing at this point, but she is still young.  She came back from the groomer this week looking like a poodle!  So I am determined to try to groom her myself - your blog was really informative, thanks.  I now have to buy some tools...

Monica

[Kelly & Bentley Beau]

Thank you so much for taking the time to pass on your experience. It has been very helpful in getting all my grooming supplies purchased and how to use them. Yarra is beautiful.

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

Thank you!  You give me hope!  My little Kona is only 4.5 months old, but his hair looks so much like Yarra's.  After only one single grooming experience where they didn't listen to me to not cut ANY of his hair, and instead shaved his entire bridge and nose to look like a poodle/schnauzer mix, I'm determined to groom him myself as much as possible. 

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

Hi Kate.  Kona got his first mat this week!  (Actually about 5 of them ...around his collar, one on his chest, and one near his back leg "armpit" area.  He obviously hit that magic 8 month age where I've heard it can happen.  I was hoping he'd be the exception like Yarra.  While I was in France, Paul played hard with him with many play dates with other big dogs, so I'm hoping that it was also caused a bit by more roughousing than usual.

 

In the meantime, I think I'm going to shop for a de-matting sparay and "mat zapper" type of tool.  Do you still like the "Mars Coat King" mat stripper you mentioned?  Since you know Kona personally, I was curious what you thought for him.

[Alex & Mattie]

I know this was written a while ago but I just wanted to say thank you!  The amount of detail is fantastic and makes me think maybe I'll go ahead and try self grooming with Mattie. 

[Adrienne]

She is gorgeous!!!  Great job on the grooming.