Which brush is best for your Labradoodle or Golden Doodle?

[Wanda Klomp]

It's not rare for me to receive emails from dog owners whose Labradoodle of 7 to 12 months old has felted.

Some will then claim that the fur was tangle-free to start with, until the moment they left their Doodle with someone else for a few days where suddenly the fur coat ended up felted.

Now, that's impossible.

A coat will never just go fully felted within a day, so when I inquire as to what kind of brush and grooming materials the dog owner uses, the answer is more often than not that they use the wrong materials.

A rudimentary ‘surface’ brush or the green ActiVet brush are OK, as long as the shedding has not fully set in yet.

A puppy coat, after all, does not require as much grooming yet (although it does help for them to get used to it)

But as soon as the puppy coat begins to come off and the mature coat pervades, you'll really need a brush that gets right down to the skin. So if you then still use a brush that only really skims the surface, you'll indeed be left with the effect of thinking that your dog has completely felted within a day.

The truth, however, is that all this time you've been brushing your dog too superficially.

Making it seem as if you've done optimal brushing, whereas in the meantime a felt layer has formed because you never touch the skin during brushing.

Investing in the right brush is a must if you own a Labradoodle, Water dog or Poodle cross breed and you want to avoid these problems.

They come with a hefty price tag, but you'll be ever so grateful after having purchased one.

It transforms the entire brushing experience. And your Doodle will be grateful to you, too.

So too will be the dog groomer, who will no longer have to waste precious time defelting the coat or having to shave it all off.

Gratefulness all around, in short.

There you have it: using the right brush makes everyone happy!

Now, choosing the right brush is still far from easy.

For a very thick fleece coat or a curly coat with or without fluff, you'd need the red ActiVet brush.

For a more wavy (smoother, thinner, sleek) coat, the purple ActiVet will aid you well.

But what if your Labradoodle coat is something special and falls in between these categories, or it simply has properties of both? What's the right brush to get?

The new duo brush by ActiVet will take all of your purchasing doubts away.

Because you'll have both the purple and red brush in one, you can never go wrong.

The red side is used for the outside of the body, the purple side for the inside of the body, meaning the inside of the legs, the belly and perhaps the head if you find that easier.

This is by far the safest choice of product.

And if you then keep adhering to the other guidelines for Labradoodle grooming (You can find these in my FREE ebook), tangles and felting will become a thing of the past.

If you really want to handle your Doodle's coat care optimally, and never want to be dependent on a dog groomer ever again, and when you want to decide for yourself when, for how long and in what style you groom and shape your Labradoodle...start by downloading my Free ebook on my DoodleKisses page.

Believe me, doing the grooming and shaping yourself makes life with your Labradoodle even more fun and rewarding!

But if you want to get off to a right start, use the right brush.

Happy grooming!

 

Lots of Doodle love,

Wanda & Joy

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I agree with Ginny- I have found the "line brushing" technique she is describing as the most effective way to brush out my doodle. If you are aware and careful while brushing, there is no risk of damaging the skin.

[Wanda Klomp]

Thanks Ginny, but I would advise strongly against holding up the hair and brushing underneath. This will surely damage the skin. The ActiVet brushes are made to reach the skin without having to hold up the hair :-)

The difference in price is in everything about the brush: the longer needles, the flexible bed and the curve of the needles: all made to reach the skin and thus handle the most high maintenance, tangle sensitive Doodle coats :-)

[Ginny Nightingale]

I agree with Wanda--but would add that you need to hold up the hair and brush below the portion you are holding up so that you are not digging into the skin--there are youtube videos that show this since it is hard to explain...in addition, the Activet is the only brush of this type that i know of that has rounded ends on the bristles and they are much less harsh--I think that is where the difference in price comes in--the cheaper ones are sharp on the ends...

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

I love the Les Pooches brush and have 3 of them - double red, double purple and single yellow which I got for Charlie when a puppy.  I still use it for his legs and feet.  If you try it out on yourself first, so you "really" understand the pressure you are using!! 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for posting.

[Wanda Klomp]

Then you are probably giving too much pressure on the brush while brushing Joanne. This is often the case and then you do hurt your Doodle who will try to make you stop. You should stroke with the brush, no more, no less :-)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Sorry, not a brush person. I own one of these brushes and it is a rather mean tool. My dog hates it too. I know others love it for their dog. It worked on my fleecy coat, but not on my wooley doodle.    We love our 80 tooth comb though   :)