I have to do what??? Grooming dilema

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

 

I'm a little embarassed to post this but I'm feeling very naive.  I had NO idea how much is involved in grooming a doodle.  Not that it's a problem per say but my 1st grooming experience with a groomer was a bit of a disaster and my doodle was mad at me for 2 full days.  I cried A LOT those 2 days!  So I am very apprehensive to dive back in.  And the idea of using scissors myself...yikes!  So here are my questions and if anyone could share their wisdom...I would be very appreciative.  I'm new to this community and I have never seen such a caring and supportive bunch, so thanks in advance for your insight.

 

Matting - when does this start to happen?  My doodle will be 4 months this Sat.  Does it happen to all doodles?  Do you have to shave them to avoid the problem? ...I so love a shaggy doodle.

 

Bathing - How often are you supossed to do this I've heard everything from 4-6 weeks but to be careful cuz their skin gets dry..What do you recommend?  what shampoo do you use?

 

Cleaning the eyes - is there a product or process that makes this easier?  The eye gunk is very hard to remove.

 

I have no idea what kind of coat my doodle has wool or fleece??? Can someone explain the difference?  I just know he is shaggy and has a wavy very soft coat.  And this changes right?  When does that happen?  I hear about all kinds of tools and have NO IDEA what to buy.  All I have is a pin brush which my doodlw would rather eat then have me use it...ugh!

 

Thanks again everyone!  This group is amazing!

 

[Adina P]

Matting - when does this start to happen?  It depends on the doodle but the ones who do NOT shed tend to mat as they lose their puppy fur and their adult fur grows in anywhere from 6 months to a year.  Some will continue to mat after that unless you are very diligent with brushing and combing...and some will mat forever when they grow out beyond a certain length.  So get puppy used to brushing and combing and lots of body handling to make it easier on you.  Doodles do not necessarily have to be shaved down, but sometimes it is necessary because there are too many mats and it hurts them to try to simply brush/comb them out.  In any case you CAN have a shaggy doodle, but your doodle's coat will determine HOW shaggy and how much work is involved in keeping in that way.

 

Bathing - How often are you supossed to do this I've heard everything from 4-6 weeks but to be careful cuz their skin gets dry..What do you recommend?  what shampoo do you use?

I'm not as strict.  If you had a therapy dog that you made visits with weekly that dog would have to be bathed weekly or at least every two weeks.  Show dogs are bathed frequently too.  So it's up to you.  I would bathe weekly if I had the time and energy or if I could afford dropping them off at the groomer that often.  I use random brands from the pet store that are supposed to be gentle or have oatmeal, I've heard lots like Buddy Wash and there are others out there too.

 

Cleaning the eyes - is there a product or process that makes this easier?  The eye gunk is very hard to remove.

This has been a favorite conversation in the past.  We just use our fingers and pull it off.  My hubby tends to feed the dogs their eye gunk.  GROSS...but they lick dirtier things on their body and it makes them enjoy the eye cleaning =)  You can also just use a warm wet washcloth and wipe.  If you do a search in the forum for "eye gunk" or "eye boogers" you'll find some hilarious stuff!

 

Join our Grooming Group and read up...lots of great info there!

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

Thanks Adina!  You cracked me up about the eye gunk!  Again I'm feeling silly not knowing this I thought I read that doodles were easy to low maintenance!  LOL!  I can hear my husband now....

[Carol Brand]

Get a grooming table.  Teach your dog to sit, stand and lie quietly on it for brushing. The coat change that starts around age 10 months (and which can last for almost a year) may turn your Doodle into a matting machine.  Unless you are committed to almost daily brushing to the level that you can get a greyhound comb through the coat, it is better to just go short.  

 

Bathing?  I wash my show dogs every week and sometimes twice a week if they have been to a show.  I don't have a problem with dry skin.  I don't think there is any reason to buy expensive dog shampoos.  I've had perfectly good luck using Suave Clarifying shampoo that I can get on sale for $.75 a bottle.

 

A side question would be...  why are these issues not being addressed by the breeders before these puppies go home?    I'm very frustrated that people are bringing home a coated breed with absolutely no guidance about teaching good grooming manners or insight into the rather extensive maintenance required to keep that "shaggy" Doodle look.  I feel like it borders on disingenuous when so many Doodle breeder web sites only show pictures of puppies and juvenile Doodles who have not gone through the coat change.

 

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

Thanks Carol,  I probably won't be showing Dempsey.  And at this point he's not rolled in anything, my Dh and I are pretty vigilent picking up after him because we have a daughter that plays outside as well.  I'm pretty sure I asked the grooming question but may have gone off on a tangent (as I tend too) and didn't feel any pressing concern.  Regardless of the coat requirements, I have no problem taking that on and doing what is necessary.  I did do a ton of research but maybe 'blocked out'  ; ) the grooming requirements.... Thank you for your input and I'm not sure I can go the table route (not a whole lot a room for it) but I know that I'll get this doodle tamed soon enough.

[Carol Brand]

Grooming tables fold up and can be stored in a closet.

[April Cliber]

This IS addressed extensively by lots of doodle breeders.  There are both good and bad doodle breeders, the same way there are good and bad purebred breeders.  Like Jayd said, there are lots of times when things are explained but are forgotten. Most of the breeders I know and work with send home a binder with articles on important things such as grooming. I'm not insinuating that Jayd's breeder wasn't good....I have no idea, just that it's quite a leap to make a statement like that.

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

They were really nice and I looked at 5 breeders in the PA area and finally went with one in NJ.  They have a lot of links on their website too but I think a binder would have been very helpful.  I didn't know or didn't hear them say anything about the matting.  I had a yorky when I was a kid and remember him matting a few times, so maybe when I heard about the matting I just chalked it up to that.  There is also so much competing information out there it is really hard to discern whats what and as some have said you just don't know what kind of doodle you are going to get.  This has been a wonderful forum to discuss these differences in opinions.  I think I'll end up taking a little bit from everyone.  Not sure I'm brave enough to groom him myself but the concensus seems to be that if you wanr it done right, you have to do it yourself.  I'm kinda typa A so ...I can see where this is going. 

[April Cliber]

You can do it!  It will take practice and poor Dempsey will look silly for a little while but I have no doubt you'll learn!  You should join the grooming group.  They have good threads on clippers, and you'll want to get good ones. :o)

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

Thank you April!!! I love you vote of optimism.  I did join the grooming group and have started reading threads.  It's definitely more than I thought it would be but nothing that I can't handle in the end.  There are lots of great people on this website that will talk me off the cliff if I get to that point lol!  Thank you for your input and I checked out you website!  It's great and your doodles are beautiful.

[Carol Brand]

I'm sorry, but from reading this board for a number of years, I can tell that many, many Doodle owners did not understand how difficult it was going to be to correctly care for Doodle coats.  

 

I think breeders need to do a much better job of stressing that Doodles (especially F1Bs) often have hard to care for coats that need extensive brushing to keep them matt free.  If someone were to go out and buy a Bearded Collie or a Maltese, breeders would be very upfront about the fact that the majority of pet owners would not be up to the task of growing and maintaining a long coat.  These breeders would tell the owners to just put the dog into a short pet trim and be done with it.

 

As far as the pictures on breeder web sites of young dogs that are pre-coat change, this happens all the time.  It almost seems like standard practice.   I feel like these pictures of young dogs don't give buyers an accurate idea of what adult coat looks like and it gives buyers an unrealistic expectation about being able to keep that shaggy look.

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

Carol, I can tell you have heard these stories all too often.  These pups are so darn cute and the purchasers are expecting that same look to last with little or no effort.  I bet all kinds of puppies are purchased on whims only to suffer from buyers remorse.  I can tell you I was NOT one of those.  I waited 3 years to buy a puppy and did lots of research as to what kind of temperment, size, exercise requirements would fit my lifestyle.  I was happy that it was a low shedding dog and admittedly didn't dig as deeply as maybe I should have on how extensive the grooming requirements were.  But by no means does that mean I'm not up for the challenge.  I can tell you, I lean heavily towards a type A personality and wouldn't be surprised if I ended up grooming my pup myself.  Thanks you for the grooming table suggestion.  I will be looking into that soon enough.  I'm just new to the process as I'm sure there are quite a few of us out there so it's nice to know there is someplace we can chat about our questions, concerns and fears as to what do I do next.  Thank goodness for all you DKer's out there.  If I only had something like this when I brought home my daughter!!! Now that would have been priceless!

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

Oh and I agree it would be great if doodle breeders gave more information upfront.  To be fair, I'm assuming that my breeder (whom I asked a gazillion questions) probably thought I had researched the heck out of the grooming topic as well as everything else.  I am also free to call her whenever I have had or have questions of anykind.  They have been very responsive.