What order to start grooming in?

[Sandy]

I am gathering and printing all the information you guys have given me re. tools to buy, etc.  I am going out shopping for equipment this week-end.  Now, my next question is - how do I start?  Legs, then body, then head?  The other way around?  I know that whatever I start with, it will likely take a couple of days to finish.  I am thinking legs first, and work my way up.

 

Also - I am thinking that I will groom him "dry" and bath him afterwards.  Does that sound right?

[Shawn,Dana, Guinness and Barney]

I found with Sprocket. Trying to groom the matting fur is the most difficult process. The easiest way for us to get them out is to brush through conditioner while he is wet . Then moving on to the trimming after he is dry.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

You absolutely have to have every single mat and tangle out before taking a clipper through them.  Otherwise, the clipper will hang up, possibly dip and take a divot out of the hair and also your Doodle will cry, wince or yip and pull away.  Been there done that and it makes you feel horrible!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Sandy...the head/face can be done all in one sitting any time you want.  I am always "cleaning up" Gracie's face in between full groomings.  I always start at the shoulders and work across the back to the tail attachment, down the sides, down the chest and under the belly for the basic cut.  I fine tune the tummy later with Gracie on her back and with different blades/scissors.  Then I work on her legs and I usually keep them a little longer than her body.  It is personal preference with the legs.  I like big fluffy legs and feet and don't want to see skinny bony legs or "toe cleavage" ha ha!  I absolutely never cut or trim her tail.  She has a beautiful Golden Retriever plume which we love.  I do clean up the "Doodle hair" that grows from the attachment into the tail.  I just blend it in so everything looks natural and uniform.  I used to bathe Gracie and get all the tangles, etc. combed out and then groomed her...always dry!  But then I found that the tiny little clipping hairs were caught up in her hair and fell out everywhere for days.  Didn't matter how much I brushed/combed her.  Now, I just really give her a good brush and combing to get every last tangle or mat out.  That is the trick!!!   And then I groom her before a bath unless she is extremely gritty and dirty.  Then she gets a before and after bath.  The problem I have with Gracie is that her hair is very soft and silky and not thick or dense or wooly.  When I take the clipper down her back with the growth it just lays down.  I have to back brush it and by the time I have finished, I have basically groomed her 3 times because of all the back brushing.  I just spoke with my hairdresser the other day and asked why you could not go against the growth...other than it will take the hair shorter so you would have to adjust by using a longer comb attachment.  She said that hairdressers always have to go against the growth for the same reason...hair lays down.  So, nothing is wrong with it as long as you adjust your clippers/attachments because it is going to give you a closer cut.  Also, the sanitary area is something you keep up in between groomings.  I never use a clipper blade for fear of razor burn or nicking.  There are some posts on DK from the past showing graphically what a groomer did to a Doodle's "area" with a razor.  Poor baby was in such distress for a few days and actually crying in pain.  I am extremely careful when getting in and near the tender areas.  I know groomers would laugh at me because I am slow and careful when I groom.  I want it to be a pleasant experience for Gracie and I don't want to inflict pain.  I think the Professionals probably just sort of yank through their hair and move so fast it is easy to nick the Doodles.  Just my opinion.  Oh...the feet...personally, I love the rounded feet where it looks like they are standing on posts!  I have Gracie stand and I take the curved scissors and trim the hair so it is just off the ground.  You basically don't see the toes or nails.  If you see the nails then they are too long!!!  Keep those nails short and the quick retracted!!!  Hope things go well for you...don't be in a hurry and give him lots of breaks during the grooming so the experience is fun!  It is absolutely the best for bonding time as long as you keep it calm and fun.  Good Luck...please report back how it goes!

[Jodi and Stella]

Nancie what  thorough instructions! We are also embarking on our first grooming session with Stella, that was quite helpful.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Nancie and Gracie - That is excellent information, but I think that I would stay away from the clippers at first.  Of course, they are great for the facial area, feet, and belly, but using clippers on the body takes a lot of practice.  I would suggest doing the basics first and then scissors cut the rest of the body.  If you have clippers with various blades, try using the 1 mm blade for between the toes, then the 2 mm blade for the face from the nose to underneath the ears, and a larger (maybe 5 mm) blade for the tummy and the sanitary area.  If you want your dog to have a mustache, don't trim that area with a clippers.    The other big prep things are the toenails and the ears.  When all of those things are taken care of, you can start on the blunt cut with a scissors.  I would suggest another fresh day to start on this.  You will feel more relaxed and so will your dog.  After a day with the blunt cut, you can give her/him a bath and blow dry and then do the final cut.  It sounds like a lot of stuff to think about,but believe me it is worth it.

[Sandy]

Uh-oh, now I'm confused.  I thought that the clippers would be the easier way to go, because I can't possibly go too short when I have a fixed length on the end of them.  It seems like scissoring has a way bigger margin of error, kind of like trimming your bangs and evening them up until there is nothing left.  :)  How could I be sure of doing him properly with scissors, or is it just "eyeballing" it?

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Oh wow Lynda...I would think scissor cutting the body would be really hard to do.  I really need to watch someone actually do it.  Let's say you want to keep your Doodle at 1" in length.  How do you use scissors on wavy hair that dips and turns and still keep all the body hair consistent in length?  I know hair dressers use combs, pull the hair out or up, cut, comb, section another hunk of hair with some of the just cut hair in it to use as a guide to how much to cut off.  They usually do this all around your head.  Is that how you have to do a Doodle?  Wouldn't it take hours and hours and days and days to do?  I know you and Charlie had been grooming Poodles/Doodles for over 25 years so I would love to know how it is done.  Is there any way some time in the future you can do a video and post it?  None of us seem to get the full picture of scissor cutting.  I just groomed Gracie Doodle today and she is 1" all over.  I used the clippers #10 blade with 1" comb attachment.  I used the clippers under her ears, neck, chin and then used the scissors and blending shears on the eyes and face.  I also use the clippers on her main body.  I used the little mini clippers (don't know the blade size) that takes the hair right down to bald in between her feet.  The only other time I use the scissors (other than on her face)  is on her poofer, length of her ears and I will open them part way and drag them down her legs or ears...any where where I need to sort of shape the area. 

 

WE ALL WOULD LOVE TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO SCISSOR CUT THE BODY.  I JUST CAN'T WRAP MY HEAD AROUND HOW IT IS DONE!!!!!

[Elizabeth & *Kosci*.]

My local community centre had a 18 hour dog grooming course, look around for one as this was very useful, otherwise a local groomer may let you watch them groom your dog or give you a lesson.

I've been practicing on my maltese and giving her a teddy bear look similar to what I'll like my groodle to have.

We were advised to -

Brush your dog, if you do this regularly you may not need to as all knots will be out.

Wash,( good to wash your dog with shampoo and conditioner twice, you feel the fur change to a clean 'squeak' ,use a sponge as it lathers the fur well.) if it's a change of coat,warmer water should release the coat and allow easier brushing.

Dry really well - especially behind the ears,and face.

Brush, well no knots or matts.

Sanitary areas.

Between the pads of feet,with clippers,

Then its up to you which order you wish to trim.

 

There are a lot of good books to give you a guide.I actually had mine sent out from the States as they were cheeper than what I could purchase in Australia.

Look out for 'theory of 5' by Melissa Verplank. This has 5 different styles for the Body,Ears,Head,Feet and Tail.

Remember I am just learning too but have found the information I've learnt so useful, especially brushing and my dogs now love the cuddle time as I comb them out regularly.

 

Also it only take a few weeks for a hair cut to start growing out and tell your dog their beautiful at all times - don't let anyone laugh at them as it may give them a complex.

 

[Sandy]

Thank you!  Looking for a grooming course is a great idea.  I'm thinking grooming could take three days....bath one day, and brush out, start the next day, finish the third day.  And likely follow him around clipping stray hairs from then till his next hair cut.  :)

[Susan and Sasha]

Really Great information everyone...

Nancie...you are a Genius when it comes to explaining the process of grooming...in a clear and concise manner.

Thank You...

Lyndia...I really do like your suggestion to do the basics with clippers...and the rest of the body with scissors. 

Personally...I would prefer to do the head with scissors instead of the clipper...but...both would work well.

Now for Nancie's question...how to scissor cut properly...and is there anything available that shows how to scissor cut Doodles?

That is something that I think many of us would like to see...

Elizabeth...thank you for sharing what you've learned from the grooming course that you took.  That was a lot of good information that will be helpful to many.

I think it's amazing and quite wonderful...that so many of us are now grooming our Doodles!

It gives us wonderful bonding time with them...and...will eventually...after some practice... give us the kind of cut that we want for them.

 

 

 

 

[Stella]

I'm very lazy and don't bath Chase before clipping him.  He hates the hairdryer (actually starts to cry) so, I just brush and comb him really well and get down to it with the clippers!!  I do his back, sides, belly, and the top of his legs first with the clippers.  As he is getting better with things, I am now able to use the clippers around his neck and under his ears.  I use scissors to do his face, shape his ears, lower 2/3 of his legs, feet and tail.

The beauty of doing it yourself is that you can experiment and get the exact look that you like!  I personally do a "puppy cut", so he is pretty much the same length all over, including his ears and tail.  There is no right or wring way to clip a doodle, so you can do whatever you want!  It will probably take a few tries to get comfortable with what you are doing and get him to look exactly as you want.  I often spend a couple of days after clipping him tidying up bits, particularly as his curls settle back into place!!