Summer Coifs

[susan toalson]

I just had Alfie's hair cut in his traditional summer "do," and I wondered what the rest of you do when the warm weather rolls around. I keep him really short (except for his face and his tail) all summer. I'll try to post a photo later to show you.

What's your doodle's "do" in the summer??

[Christine & Shelby]

This is Shelby's first summer and yes, I am sure she will need to trim down her fluffy puppy do. Which makes me so sad, but I know she will be HOT if I don't get her trimmed. Dixie - what's your recommendation for puppies and trimming for summer?

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

On this topic I have some questions. Dixie says that the adult coat will start coming in around 8-10 mos. Did your puppy coats require much maintenance?

I am guessing I won't have to shave the puppy this summer, but did anyone have a puppy this young over the summer and need to shave them?

My Lhasa already goes to a great groomer, so no worries there!

[Dixie Moore]

I think it's a good idea to trim them to about 1 1/2" long. It needs to be long enough that their skin is protected from the sun. Here is a link to some good grooming videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szIij_zknNs

The only thing that I prefer is for the hair on the ears to be clipped short, to where it is even with the ear leather. When I went to Australia I learned this, and their dogs looked so cute over there! I came home and trimmed all my dogs' ears immediately. I was told, "They are supposed to look like teddy bears, and teddy bears do not have long ears." I mean, think about it! Have you ever seen a teddy bear with long ears?

Also, while I was there I was told that you should groom them one length all over. Then the hair grows back, all at the same time, the same length all over. "It's supposed to look like an ungroomed dog."

I've been doing that ever since, and I truly love the look. You have to trim around the eyes a little shorter, so they can see. I prefer their beards a little shorter too.

My favorite tool is the mini detangler rake: http://www.amazon.com/Untangler-Mini-Rake-Pet-Comb/dp/B0002Y1QOS. It's very narrow. If you've ever tried to drag a wide rake through your dog's coat, it gets hung up, and I think that's because of the width. So, a narrow, arrow-shaped rake makes a lot of sense. I find I can get most mats out with this, and I don't need to use anything else.

If a mat gives me a little trouble, I use Cowboy Magic on it: http://www.amazon.com/Tgh-Coat-Care-Cowboy-Detangler/dp/B0000BUUXB/.... It's a little miracle in a bottle!

[Christine & Shelby]

Thanks for the reminders on your grooming supplies. While Shelby is only about 5 and 1/2 months - it appears she may be in the beginning stages of her coat change. She has some tiny mats forming in the joint by her hind legs. I ordered the Untangler Mini Rake and Bamboo Comb last week - can't wait for them to arrive. I also found some Cowboy Magic at our local feed store. I thought I would have a bit longer before the coat change began, but no such luck.

I've been meaning to ask - you suggest not shampooing more than 4 times a year... what do you do with the muddy dirty doodle puppies? Just rinse and condition? While I don't let her play in the mud intentionally - with Texas rains and grass/dirt, she gets muddy and full of g***! Any suggestions...?

[Carol McCasland]

Thanks for the info on the grooming supplies, Dixie. I struggle with keeping Cody mat-free. He doesn't always like to be combed/brushed so I try to do a little each day. Will try the rake you suggest. btw, my groomer is using your suggestions and Cody looks just great! As for the mud, here in Colorado, it is a struggle especially in the spring. At the dog park yesterday, I caught him splashing thru a ditch that I didn't even know was there. I find that if only his feet and legs are muddy, putting him in the bathtub filled with just a little water will do the trick.

[Dixie Moore]

I want to add some photos to show how I groom my dogs. I visited breeders in Australia several years ago, and the first thing I noticed about their dogs was how they were groomed. They explained to me that Angela Cunningham, who owned Tegan Park and was one of the developers of the breed, said to trim them one single length all over, from head to tail. Trim the hair on the ears even in length with the ear leather. Then, when you let it grow out, it looks like an ungroomed dog. Now, I know that sounds like a lot of grooming to get to an ungroomed look, but I loved the look of their dogs. So the first thing I did when I got home was trim my dogs' ears. Honestly it was sort of hard to make myself get their tails trimmed; I loved their tails. But I made myself do it, loved the outcome, and I have never looked back.

They said the reason you want to trim the ears short is so that the dog will look like a teddy bear. If you think about it, teddy bears have short, high-set ears. I think that trimming the ears this way sort of makes them look like puppies rather than grown dogs. It's a very cute look!

The first photo below is of Scout with her summer do. It's easy to keep looking nice, and as she grows out, we will trim around her eyes and keep her ears trimmed short.

The next photo is Calista right before I had her trimmed last week. If you will notice her head, it is sort of rounded. There is no indentation around the ears. An indentation at the ears looks like a top knot, which is a Poodly look that we don't really want.

The 3rd photo is both dogs, but you can't see that much of Scout. Scout has a fleece coat; Calista's is wool. You can clearly see the difference in the two coat types here. Scout and Calista are full sisters.

I also want to post some photos of Calista after she was trimmed. We took her shorter than Scout. Just need to get them uploaded to my computer, so look for those in a few days.

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

To shave or not to shave? I am debating on whether to get Malu's hair cut for the summer since the heat indexes are already above 100. But he will never have his puppy hair again! Cannot decide....he does not seem too horribly bothered by the heat, but then again I may notice a huge difference after he is cut....

[Charles & Buttercup]

This is a before and after of Buttercup's summer cut last year. After the initial shock wore off, it was very obvious to us that she was much more comfortable in the heat. Besides, her hair grows so fast that within two weeks she was looking like her old self again!

Here she is about a month after her haircut. Although its tough to tell from the picture, her hair has grown out quite a bit by then:

[Beth Lord]

Adorable pictures, especially the last one!! The texture of her coat is beautiful.

[Beth Lord]

...Speaking of which...I'll try & add some pictures of Alfie before...

...and after his haircut.

For work-related reasons, I clipped him a bit shorter than I would if he were my pet...but he looks cute in any length coat I think, and it sure does grow fast!! ;-)

[Dixie Moore]

Oh, I love his head. Your groomer did a great job on his ears, and his muzzle has what the breeders call "potty brush", for lack of a better term. So cute!

[Michelle Michel]

Alfie looks so much like Fozzy, I can't get over it! Especially in the face, but I think Alfie is going to be taller than Fozzy.