Taking the Plunge! Need Grooming Table Size Recommendations...

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

With 2 doodles I've finally decided its time to start doing my own grooming. For years I've given baths and dried with a high velocity dryer, as well as trimmed up the face, bottoms and paws, so  it seems only natural that I take it to the next level. The biggest reason is cost. With 2 doodles we spend over $130 every 6 weeks. The 2nd reason is I'd get the groom I want rather than being disappointed, or at the very least, I'd have only myself to blame if I were unhappy. I found an online doodle clipping video that I'm comfortable with trying to duplicate and I've researched the necessary grooming tools/equipment and feel fairly confident with my choices. My only questionable choice is a grooming table size. My doods are both 50+lbs. (they're both sleeping now so I can't take a total length measurement on them, but I know they both have a 24" neck-to-tail measurement). So, my question is, would a 36" long table be adequate? That's the size I'm considering, but I'd hate to order it only to find it too small for the doodles. Does that size sound right?

 

[Kary, Sparty & Stella]

Kona is a cutie! My doodles are under 30 lbs too. What size is this table? It will be perfect for us. Does it fold up to store?

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

This table is 36" and should be good for your little dood.  If you look at the links I included, you'll see that it folds back up into the box just fine.  I'd like to find a big zippered container for it since I know I'll destroy the box soon enough!  

[Kary, Sparty & Stella]

Thanks for your help. I got a similar table from Petedge and the same size as yours. I appreciate seeing the picture and knowing this table will be the perfect size. Thank you for your time!

[Kary, Sparty & Stella]

Do you clip your doodles legs and body? Or do you clip body and scissor legs? You are doing a great job, tell me your secrets. :)

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

The shot of him on the table in the above photo is actually after a groomer had used a clipper on him all over.  I normally scissor cut him to be about 3 inches long, but after I adopted Maggie and they played really hard, he got lots of mats in just 4 days, so I cleaned him up and cut and combed all of the mats and took him in for this shorter cut than I normally so that he could play hard with Maggie and deal with the hot weather.  I'm pretty good with his body and head and face (When I cut his face, I leave his mustache and beard longer than that earlier photo on the table...the groomer didn't listen to me or look at the photo I gave him), but must admit that his legs look much more even after the clippers than when I did them (see below).  Now that i have the table, I think he'll let me do his legs better.  He is much better (more still) on the table when I comb him out than when he is on the floor in my living room!  His face hair is finally growing out to look more doodlish again since that  photo so maybe in a few weeks he'll be ready for a trim again and I'll do it this time.

This (below) is how he looks when I trim him with a scissor all over.   I make his mustache and beard more round looking from the front, and he is more scraggly....like me. :-)

The secret is to have him on a table and I hold the hair with three fingers against his body then clamp it with my index finger on that hand, then scissor across.  I just keep grabbing the hair all over like that and use the previous chunk as my height guide.  It actually was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I also googled some You Tube videos to watch and saw a few from Royal Diamond Labradoodles.  I don't agree with all of the clipping and shaving for my little guy, so I just got a few tips on how to hold the hair while doing the main body, and then used my own judgment and opinion for the face and feet.  I don't own a clipper yet.  Maybe some day, but I do everything with the scissor.  You can tell by this photo that I like the scruffy look, so it's pretty forgiving and I don't have to be even close to perfect.  The short clipper cut in the first photo was due to the matting and hot weather only. 

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

And to not make Maggie jealous, here she is with Kona last week....When I rescued her in late July, she had thin hair from the grooming that the rescue place did to clean her up.  She was horribly matted and neglected and a mess, so they saved as much hair as possible.  They did a really good job saving as much as they did!  But I could see her pink skin all over for a few weeks.  I'm loving the soft new hair coming in now.  She is a sweetie!

[Kary, Sparty & Stella]

They are both soooooo cute. You rescued Maggie? How old is she? How is the transition going?

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

She is about one month older than Kona and they are inseparable.  They were INSTANT best friends and run around cheek to cheek sharing toys, food, bully sticks, and they curl up together and have since the first day. It was amazing!  She is very sweet and even more obedient than Kona with all things except bolting out the door and running like the wind.  So there will be some more obedience training n the near future!  She is great in the house, but when she is out the front door, she can not be off-leash at all.  I suspect that is why she was a stray rather than abused.  

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

Hi Kary!  How is your grooming coming along?  Maggie's hair started coming in soooo thick on the undercoat and long on her torso and neck, and not as long on her paws and face, so I started suspected she is not a goldendoodle as the rescue people presented her to be when I picked her up.  So I had her DNA tested.....Ha!  There is no poodle in that doodle!  She is mostly Briard sheepdog and American Eskimo dog which totally explains her hair and herding actions. And her bigger, wider head and chest and smaller ears come from Rottweiler. I think I love her even more now...if that's possible.  She was so misundersood!  I love watching the changes and her true self coming through.  I'm laughing at the rescue groomers, because they assumed that her fully covered long hair over the eyes and face was from sheer neglect, when it's much more likely that the previous owners kept her groomed like a Briard. 

I'm loving my grooming table and am able to have much longer combing and brushing sessions with them now.