Need input on scissor cutting...

Winnie is seriously starting to look like a Wooly Mammoth. Or a buffalo. Or a combination of the two! :-) I love the long "rag taggy" look, but it is time to get rid of some of the length.

To date, I have gotten by with bathing and blowing her out monthly, and doing some trimming with a thinning shears on her face and feet. I realize it is going to be time intensive, but I want to do a scissor cut on her this weekend. I have done a ton of reading on this site and the net, and think that I have a pretty good grasp on how to go about doing it. But, I need some extra guidance.

Right now her coat ranges from 4-5 inches long, and I want to take about half of it off. Her coat is a combination of loose soft curls on her head/chest/shoulders, "crimping" on her front legs, frizzy "bad perm hair" looking on her rump, and fairly straight and flowing retriever-looking back legs. I want it all to look as natural as possible, and plan to do a "rough in" cut like Barb talks about. Brush her out, cut, then shampoo and blow-dry partially and air dry the rest to retain the curls. After that I'll go over any blunt edges with a thinning shears to soften.

Do I cut all of those different areas and textures the same way- i.e. pull the hair straight out from the body and cut across (perpendicular) on the top of the body and down on the sides and legs? Does someone have a picture guideline that shows which way to hold the hair up on all parts of the body so that I don't get a lot of choppy blunt cuts? Thanks much!

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Permalink Reply by Joan Bollaert on January 9, 2015 at 8:34am

This site has videos of how to groom labradoodles. Very good

http://royaldiamondlabradoodles.com/grooming_videos

Permalink Reply by Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie on January 9, 2015 at 8:39am

Actually, I have watched all of those videos and thought they were good, too.

BUT, then I read the reviews and saw that a lot of people said she was doing things the wrong way. So, now I don't know what to believe...

Thanks, though!

Permalink Reply by Joan Bollaert on January 9, 2015 at 8:50am

If you like the way the dog looks after she was finished, that should be your guide. I've had experience wtih "groomer's" who I'm sure do things the "right" way and doodles walk out looking like poodles. Not many groomers scissor cut. They buzz them with clippers and you don't get a natural look that way .

Good luck

Permalink Reply by Lynda Kamrath on January 9, 2015 at 9:13am

You've got it! Now just go for it. My doodles have never been to a groomer, or even boarded for a night, but that will change next month. We are leaving them with friends for four days when we go to Arizona. About grooming. About 25 years ago my husband got his standard poodle and I got him a grooming kit to start his own trimming on the poodle. We have always groomed our dogs since then. Start small and maybe do the face and feet first. You don't have to do it all in one day. We usually take a few days for a full trim and there are two of us. My husband does the face and feet and then I do the rough cut with scissors. After that, they have a bath and blow dry and then my husband does the final cut (also scissors). We use the clippers with a 5 cm blade on the face and tummy and 1 cm blade between the toes. Get yourself a good scissors and maybe play around with a few kinds while you are practicing. My husband prefers one type of scissors and I prefer another. A good pair is expensive, but well worth it in savings. And remember there is no right look for a doodle. It is what you prefer. We prefer the rounded face look with shorter ears and basically the puppy cut on the rest of the body. Take a look at my photos to meet my dogs.

Permalink Reply by Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles on January 9, 2015 at 11:32am

When my dogs get this long first I blow out their coats with my high velocity blower. Then I cut half the length off, brush and comb then bath and blow dry to make all the areas straight as possible, then do a finish cut. After if I want them to get their curls back, I spray with a watered down finishing spray.

As far as knowing the direction of hair growth, you can get the idea by watching a video of a clipper cut as the blade is run in the direction of hair growth.

Permalink Reply by Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie on January 9, 2015 at 4:26pm

I know NOTHING at all about grooming, but I would think that the curlier parts would need to be longer than the straighter parts simply so that it all 'looks' the same length, so I would be cautious on my rough cut so that the curly part doesn't end up too short.

Permalink Reply by Lynda Kamrath on January 9, 2015 at 4:36pm

The "rough cut" is just that, a rough cut. Don't worry about the length on the rough cut. I wouldn't use the clippers except on the face, belly and feet. A scissors will give a much more balanced look. I just trimmed Harpo's face this afternoon and he is looking great. Maybe I will work on his legs this weekend. I think it is great to take your time when clipping a dog. Otherwise just take them to the groomer and have a puppycut with short ears, a long tail, and rounded head. That is the doodle cut as far as I am concerned.

Permalink Reply by Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie on January 9, 2015 at 7:01pm

Thanks for the input- much appreciated! Tonight after work I got her head, face, neck and part of her back done. Tomorrow I will finish the rough cut, shampoo her and tidy things up. So far, so good! It took her a little while to get used to hearing and feeling the scissoring- she would twirl around and then I would lose my place. And, she wants to eat the fallen hair! I had her on a card table in the kitchen, so I just kept shoving the hair onto the linoleum.

I'll try to post some "before" and "after" pictures tomorrow.

Permalink Reply by Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear on January 10, 2015 at 7:04am

I scissor cut both my doodles. I think their coat is very forgiving. I just start cutting until I like the look. I think
It is very easy to do. Probably not show dog quality, but we are happy with it, it's cheap, and they don't have to
Go to a groomer. :-)

Permalink Reply by Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie on January 10, 2015 at 4:28pm

"Before".......