And wghat about swimming??

[Gayle Miller]

I've been learning a lot from this site!!  I've read A LOT about grooming, brushing, matting, etc.  In anticipation of my new pup this summer I have a question!  One trait I love about the Doodle is it's love for the water.  We own a townhouse in Cape May,NJ and there is a beach (that I've never been on) for owners and their dogs.  I'm like a lilttle kid...simply cannot wait to have my dog and romp the beach with him/her.  I also power walk daily in a state park nearby.  Before getting on the hilly pathy, there is a foot bridge over a beautiful creek and in the warm, summer months, many folks have their dogs wading in the water.  My question is this!  What on earth do you do with a Doddle that has just gone swimming....let alone in salt water!  Do you take them home, immediately hose them down and begin brushing?? I can't imagine the matting that will take place.  Answers please!

 

[Cynthia and Magic]

Well we live by the beach (not salt water though)....and yes they do love the water! Magic goes in almost every day..then digs in the sand and gets all 'crusty'. Right now it's still cold - so by the time we get him home it's frozen sandy ice, so we just pop him in the tub and hose down the sandy parts. In the summer, we stay outside until the sand falls off...it really doesn't take too long. I give him a good brushing once a week - and I guess we have been lucky, but matting after being in the water has never been a problem for us. Make sure he isn't matted before swimming....but after you hose him down, you don't need to brush him...just towel off a little and let him run!

[Gayle Miller]

Oh I'm glad to hear this Cynthia!  And your dog has a beautiful coat!  Thanks!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Every Doodle is different.  Be prepared...some do NOT like the water which is beyond my imagination.  My Gracie Doodle loves the water and hangs out in big water bowls.  She actually stands in them when she is drinking or washing off her toys.  In the summer we use a Toys R Us wading pool for her to hang out in.  I keep her cut quite short in the summer because she gets so darn hot and it is also easier to keep the mats out...though at 3 yrs. she stopped getting many.  We take her to the beach maybe once a week and then we take her to the Dog Wash and completely bath her.  Even bathing her, later when I am combing her there is sand that falls out.  It mainly gets caught in her paws between her toes.  She has webbed feet and also gets mats in between her toes!  I have to cut them out and so I try to keep her toe hair trimmed.  The mats get filled with sand.  As far as just hosing off after the beach, I think it really depends on the type of coat your Doodle has.  Gracie has a loose wavy coat and it isn't really thick or dense.  It is very soft and silky.  With this type of coat it is easy to hose her off...the feet are the big problem!  You will figure out what works for you.  Plus the puppy coat will change considerably as the adult coat comes in and things can change.  You are going to have sooooo much fun.  Gracie Doodle Loooooves the water!!!!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack is one doodle that does not like the water. He is a small 12 pound dood though. I used to be from NJ, I just moved to SC three years ago. I love Cape May a lot. Even if they don't go in the water they will love running up and down on the beach

 

Down here in Charleston dogs are allowed on the beach at certain times. I never could let Jack off leash when I was there because he was too little and well he would not come back to me, even now at two, I think if he saw a bird he would chase it and not listen to me at all. Some people still let there dogs off leash even when they didn't listen, I was too chicken Jack would get hurt.

Anyway, my friend that I took Jack to the beach with has three doodles and they loved the water and were in it all the time. They were pretty much covered in salt and sand every Sunday. She didn't care that her car got messy and they got hosed off when they got home, or a bath. The salt and the sand is not so bad if you rinse it off of them, as far as mats, She just took he dogs to get groomed a lot so if they matted they got shaved. It was more about them having fun then letting them have long hair.

 

Good luck

[Ann Kurtzman]

Dudley LOVES the water! He has a woolly coat...so when we take him to the beach we rinse him off before we get him in the car. Then we bathe him when we get home. His fur is like velcro...hiding bits of seaweed and tons of sand. I comb a conditioner through is fur while we are in the shower and work out any hidden mats.

 

You are going to have such a wonderful time! Take pictures!

[Gayle Miller]

Thank you all!  I can see how much you're all enjoying your dogs!  It will be a fun summr to look forward to!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Have I got my hands full now!  Yesterday on our walk, the boys were wading in the creek and having a great time.  Then we came to a pond and they went swimming in the pond.  We came home and had baths which were finished at 8:30 at night and we just damp dried them with a hairdryer.  This morning, Harpo has mats all over his neck and behind his ears.  I have started pulling them down as I wanted to cord him, but it is quite a task.  I will work some more on it tonight.  But he doesn't particularly like being corded.  His hair is perfect for it however and I just don't know if I can make it through the summer swimming weather.  Oh, well, live and learn.

[Kate C Pappas]

My girls love the water and if I had a pool, I would have to fence it because they wouldn't stay out. One of my sons has a salt water pool so I don't rinse the girls after they swim there. When they're in chlorinated pools or at the beach, I rinse them really well, scrunch their coats and let them air dry.

Labradoodles have the type of coat that repels sand etc, and anything left in their coats should fall out. I never have residual sand in my bed either. LOL.