Yarra (QOAT) is an almost 7 year old 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 4 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 5 - 6" long and not a single mat in it. (at the moment...hehehe). She never really matted or had a significant coat change but does get snarls from playing and I get them out right away.
Grooming Tools and Products, Pictured Above: Clippers, shears, combs, mat strippers, brushes and
coat products.
Regarding the coat strippers, if your Doodle doesn't mat, you still need to take out coat as they don't shed it.
On the far left are my clippers, both Andis (pronounced An-dis); they each have lights which makes it easier to see what you're doing, regardless of the color of the coat.
Next are my shears; 3 pairs of Chris Christensen shears; thinning, long, lightweight shears, 5.5" shears with filistered tips; Dubl Duck 4" blunt tipped shears and finally the tiny sewing scissors* that I use to trip around the nails.
* I do not recommend using scissors like this unless you are especially skilled with these AND you Doodle will be perfectly still.
At the right are my brushes: Christensen pin brush; Les Pooch (pronounced Lay Pooch) I have the small and large Green which I use on both girls and the small purple which I use on Yindi.
New Kid on the Block (pictured above): The Challengair Double K, two motors, variable speed
Clippers, shears, brushes and combs (pictured above):
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
Dubl Duck 4" blunt tip scissors
I also use a pair of hand made Geib curved scissors and some very expensive Geib Blending Shears..
*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.....type "A" personality here....LOL. Yarra is very patient and Yindi is learning to be :)
Clippers 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 Andis 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 (pictured above): 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.
I went back to simple white vinegar and water for an ear cleaner! I clean both girls ears once a week or as needed. Learn to know the healthy smell of your Doodle's ears and smell them every day. An ear infection can come on before you know it.
1. I soak a cotton ball in the vinegar/water mix and stick it far down the ear canal.
2. Using my hand at the base of the ear bulb, I massage for about 45 seconds and can hear a squish squish sound. The girls will shake out the cotton ball and then I continue to use dampened (ZAP), make-up pads around my finger and use a fresh one each time until it comes out clean. If there are any little nooks and crannies with wax, I use long medical grade Q-Tips (CAREFULLY). You must train and KNOW that your dog will be very still for this procedure. NEVER PUT A Q-TIP DOWN INTO THE EAR CANAL. I personally have had a perforated ear drum and it's worse than childbirth!
3. Finally, a Stridex medicated pad (alcohol free) pad is used to clean out the ear area one more time. Sometimes I pin the ear up on Yarra's head to let it dry out, or give her a blast of R7 Powder in the ear.
4. I 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.
Neither of my girls 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 (pictured above): As I 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 too 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 up at shortening the nail, the quick will recede etc. A short, rounded, smooth nail is ideal.
I do like the Peticure and have found that similar copy cat devices are not as good, IMHO. I read that using nail files intended for acrylic nails are better for a dog's nails so I got a couple and they do work well (Yindi ate one yesterday). I did Yarra's front paws yesterday and then coated the nails with Nail and Hoof Lacquer and I have to say, she looks very well polished....pun intended.
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.
TEETH (pictured above):
Toothbrush, finger brush, scaler, PetZLife Gel. Since puppy-hood, both girls were trained to allow me access to their mouths so I don't have any trouble with that.
I brush their teeth every night and found a tiny bit of plaque on Yarra's upper canines, so I scraped it off, using the scaler.
SHAMPOOS AND COAT PRODUCTS: I use DERMagic Shampoos and conditioners as well as Happytails shampoos and Coat Butter. Another shampoo I like is Duoxo, both "Calm" and with chlorahexadine.
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 take her to the local self doggy wash place.
Yindi does get bathed more often because her coat is curly and very light in color, so it does show dirt. She gets extra conditioning on her coat and skin because of that.
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 other day.
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 thinning shears. Across the bridge of the nose, I bring the coat straight up, and use the thinning 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 thinning 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 one standard cut for Labradoodles since there are so many coat types.
Collect pictures of cuts that 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.
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