I messed up my doodle's do!

[Amy, Kokomo & Killian]

I am a new doodle owner (Kokomo is 7 mo. old goldendoodle).  She has only had a puppy trim and never a full groom.  She was supposed to be groomed last week, but I was under the impression that (1) they would brush her, wash her then trim her and (2) they were not going to shave her.  So, when I arrived and they said she was full of mats on her hind legs...they were going to use a #9 clipper I panicked!  I told them that if I brushed her I could get the mats out.  They said they had no time to do that (I walked out) and they would have to shave her.  Her coat is nice and long with tight curls.  So, over the weekend, I pushed Kokomo's hair back from her face to see that she had strands of fur stuck to her eyeball.  I felt so bad for her and imagined how uncomfortable that must be, so I got the scissors and began cutting...I got carried away and chopped the top of her doodle 'do super short!  Now what do I do????  She looks ridiculous and still needs an all-over bath/trim.  I have no idea who to call or what to ask for! Thanks for the help.  Here is a before picture.  I have not taken any "after" pics.  She is going to be spayed on Thursday and I really wanted her clean before she went in for surgery.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Just brush her out as best you can. Cut out any mats as necessary. Then you can bathe her. I cut my doodles with scissors and the coats grow back very fast. So cut everything else as short as you'd like it, always being careful to keep a comb or your hand between the doodle skin and the scissors. Then leave the too short part alone, it will catch up before you know it. There are tons of discussion on grooming in this group. Your Kokomo has a beautiful coat and you'd be surprised at how many "errors" a doodle coat can hide. I always try to trim the hair so you can see the doodle's eyes.

[Amy, Kokomo & Killian]

I am not attempting to groom her myself.  She was so fidgety I was terribly afraid of cutting her eyes.  It is like someone put a headband on her...the front and top are sooo short, then she has a long fringe along the back of her head down to her body.

Here's the after pic (really hard to get a side view where you can see just how short it is!)

[Laurie Young]

It's not that bad, If you are afraid to do it yourself, just get the matts you can out, and if nothing else take her to a groomer who will brush her out and take the matts out without shaving her down.

Like everyone else has stated, just be careful when cutting out the matts you do not want to cut her skin. The rounded edged scissors will become your best friend!

[Amy, Kokomo & Killian]

Do groomers normally do a brushing beforehand....or does the owner do that?

[Laurie Young]

That's what they are getting paid for! They should be doing it!

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Groomers do not expect to demat. When I was at grooming school we were told to allow 10 to 15 min for bath prep and dematting. If dematting went over that time we were to call the owner and say how much time it would take to brush out the coat based on $40. That was a school price, so half price. The owner had to give the ok for us to go ahead or it was a total shave down.

This is another reason I started the group because groomers and owners often do not have the same expectations or know how to communicate with each other.

[Laurie Young]

Barb, my apologies to you!

I've always assumed that was part of the job. I'm glad that you clarified this for all of us.

I know for the dogs sake it is always better to keep them from matting to begin with and that responsibility should always fall to the owner.

Thanks again for letting us know.

[Lauria Orr]

I wasn't aware that the Groomers didn't usually expect to demat. Our groomer does and has never said otherwise.  I tried to cut out a couple of matts on Morgan and she asked me not to do that, as she can usually get them out herself. Interesting. She has never suggested shaving our dogs.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

My groomer is like yours Lauri.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Amy that's not bad at all. You need to be very explicit with your instructions to the groomer and really stress it if you do not want her shaved. The first time I took Quincy to be groomed I was a wreck, I gave the instructions and when I got back home I called them again to stress that I didn't want him shaved. They probably thought I was some kind of nut, $125 later he looked great.

 

[Laurie Young]

Don't feel too bad, you know we all have done it, I continue to mess up my guys hair every now and then. 

It grows back so fast. 

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Yes, F is correct but do be very, very careful cutting with scissors near the skin.  If the mats are really bad or tight they can draw the skin right into it and when you think you are cutting a big thick mat you could be cutting skin too.  I always pinch the mat and sort of dig through it with my finger nails until I know the skin is not in the mat and is behind the mat I am pinching.  You also might want to use scissors that have blunt ends of them if your Doodle doesn't hold still very well.  Good Luck!