Oscar's 1st Professional Groom

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Oscar, (5 months old) just had his 1st professional groom yesterday. The groomer didn't know how much she'd be able to do because it was his first time, but she said she got through more than she expected (she said he was such a "nice" dog!). I had asked that a couple inches be taken off and he be given a puppy cut. The difference between the before and after pics aren't substantial, but he does look well 'fluffed'! Somehow, his head actually looks larger than before. Maybe because it is so fluffy and the curls aren't so compacted as before.

Here's before:

 

And here's after:

[Camilla and Darwin]

Aw, he looks so adorable!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Cute! All the puppies are getting their first haircuts this week, it's funny. I just posted a few pic of Auggie's before and after. Since his coat is not that curly, I managed to wait until he was 9 months old for his first haircut. Monty, though, had his first haircut at 5 months, just like your Oscar.

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

He's so cute! Looks great in both pictures :)

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

What does "puppy cut" mean?

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

My definition of a 'puppy cut', which I also explained to my groomer, is to cut the entire coat the same length. In Oscar's case, I asked that his coat be left 1" long all over.

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

His hair looks more like 2 inches all over if you pull the curl out.  And it looks very good and not too short.  Kona's hair is about 4 inches long at 6 months.  He hasn't had a cut yet (beyond his bad nose shaving), and I'm not sure when/if I'll do it.  Maybe when his adult coat comes in (whatever that means).  With his floppy thin scruffy hair, I'm thinking he would need a scissor cut if I don't want it less than 3 inches.  What do you think?  Oscar's hair is much curlier. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

You're probably right about that. Oscar's 1st cut was about 2" with it blown out all fluffy like. His head hair was definitely longer, too. I ended up doing quite a bit of scissor work on his head, it was just too long. As to Kona's coat, you might be surprised how curly it is after the first cut. If you separate the hair and look down to the skin, does the hair closest to the skin look curlier? Oscar's did, and sure enough he had quite the curl after that 1st cut. Here's a link to a pic before his cut.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/quizical-oscar-15-wks?context=user

His coat looks much like Kona's. I need to download new pictures of Oscar, but he's really quite curly now (but not woolly, like my other doodle, Lucy). I'm not sure how long groomers can go with a clipper cut. I know there's various attachment combs to extend the cut length. My groomer has never done a body scissor cut on my doodles. I do request their sanitary areas be scissored now, though. Lucy's received razor burns on her bum too many times from the #10 clipper blade. You might get more expert advice if you post a separate discussion in this group (Doodle Grooming) regarding your question.

[Donna K & Quincy]

He looks wonderful! 

[Jeanne Rose]

Hi!
Beautiful cut! I love that look and all over fluff! I hope Olive first visit will be a happy outcome. Is this a scissor cut?

Nice job! I dread the day I will have to take Olive in. :)

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Jeanne, no, this was a clipper cut, at least on Oscar's body. I really think Oscar had had his fill of grooming by the time the groomer got to his face, as it didn't look much different from before. I've since done a lot of scissor work on his face myself. To prepare Olive for her 1st groom, I suggest you comb and brush her regularly, and get her use to baths. I even used a high velocity blow dryer on Oscar to get him accustomed to the sound and feel of it. Olive's 1st professional grooming visit may be no more than a bath and blow dry. Groomers advise that to get the puppy use to the facility, people and tools, before an extensive groom, including a full body cut. Good luck!

[Judith and Griffin]

So gorgeous!  We bring ours home on Saturday and reading this forum is very helpful for my confidence! Thank you for sharing :-)