Beard To cut or not?

[karen & Tobey]

Our Labradoodle Tobey... is blonde and the bottom part of His beard is allways dark/wet/and dirty looking my DH wants to cut it off..Do you cut it or not? Any opinions???

[Yvonne (and Maggie)]

thanks for posting this. I think Im gonna cut her beard short too. Darwin doesnt look 1/2 bad with a short beard, still very cute!

Maggie's beard is now getting rather stinky with water and food bits. I try to give it a wash with a running hose but she hates it. She smells great all over her body 1 week after bathing but my oh my, her beard stinks like a washcloth not hung out to dry!

[Chelsea and Bailey]

This post is perfect timing! I was brushing bailey last night and thought that I should just do some trimming between the feet and clear her eyes so she can see. Then I got this brilliant idea that I should cut away the wet, discolored, stinky beard..... welll.... now I am sad.  She doesnt look like my puppy anymore and her snout looks really skinny and weird.  It was a bad choice for me, and I will prob never do it again. Maybe just try trimming it to the length Camilla suggested?

[Jodi and Stella]

We started trimming Stella's beard a while back. Just last night we trimmed her 'stache. It was getting sucked into her mouth all the time. It looks neater  stays cleaner and accentuates her "elegant poodle nose". I think she still looks doodley.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I like them both ways, For now, Jack is growing his beard out. I will cut it down. I do think they look like a doodle either way, short of long beard.  Jack is so tiny though he does look more like a poodle without the beard underneath, but for me, if it was a germ factor he would be bald, I wipe his face, or rather he wipes his face on my carpet when it is wet...

 

[Gail+Kathleen,(Sydney+Olivia:)]

Yep, our girls tend to clean their faces on our "beautiful" rugs when we are not looking.  We catch them every once in awhile.  They know it's not a good thing!!!!!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Wiping wet faces...  Isn't that what the couch is for?  Apparently that's what Sedona thinks!

[Sue Z. + Finley]

LOL - Especially when Finley wipes his face on the "good" furniture in our living room instead of the furniture in the family room.  Why is he attracted to the nice stuff? I am seriously considering trimming his goatee.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I keep Gracie Doodle's beard to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch at the most.  She is always wet but still the upper lip/snout hair I keep puffy and longer gets wet.  She is a dunker.  The entire head and front paws like to go in the water!!!  Also, Gracie is a girl and I want her to look like a girl.  Bindi across the street is a girl and has a beard that looks like a pointed goatee and I do not like it nor do I think she looks like a girl.  Even boy dogs look cute with shorter beards...IMO!

[Gail+Kathleen,(Sydney+Olivia:)]

Olivia also used to be a dunker.  She would drop her food, her pieces of felt toys and cookies in her bowl of water.  Then she would bob for them like bobbing for apples on Halloween!  We don't know why she stopped, maybe because we originally had two bowls of water and then decided to only put down one bowl of water for both Doodles since they were drinking out of each others' bowls.  We miss watching Olivia dunk for treasure!

[Jennifer Tramell]

My dogs are way too affectionate for beards - I know it's time for a trim when my leg/arm/shirt/etc gets what we call "schnozzed" and there is a trail left behind.  I also prefer the cleaner line of the head on my guys.  I think other people's doodles look really cute with the beard so I think it's all personal opinion.

[Tina, Dylan & Lucy]

I love Dylan's beard, especially when it's all dry and fluffy. BUT, hate the way it collects the dirt and food..eurgh!

He's due for his springtime grooming soon so we might try a little trim. Maybe just a bit at a time...

[Ann ~Oliver & Rosie]

I vote trim the beard and keep a mustache! I don't like the nose cut too short or they look too poodley, the problem with Oliver's mustache is it gets very curley if it gets too long. Rosies hasn't grown either a beard or a mustache yet, she must be to young for facial hair!!!  But the hair on top of her head is starting to get longer!