Transition Coat or Doodle Fur the cause of Matting?

[Lacey Mc. & Cooper]

Hi! We've been having major problems with out Goldendoodle who is 1 and a half with getting matted hair frequently.  I know this is common and I've done my research online and this is about the 3rd time we've had to shave him down pretty much all the way. And yes we do brush him with slicker brush all the time.  What I want to know is this him transitioning into adult fur or is this just the Goldendoodle fur that easily matts?  Those of you with older doodles do yall have to groom and shave down that frequently? We are thinking of getting a 2nd doodle but this does play a huge factor in our decision.  Thanks!!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This is a major area for me also.There are many doodles with wonderful not-too difficult , non-sheddng coats, just not at my house. My question to you is are you getting all the way to the skin when you brush/comb? Are you brushing often enough?  When Ned was going through the matting stage, we brushed/combed every other day. Ned has a high maintenance coat.  He began matting at about 6 months and it just went on and on and on until he was about 2.  Ned still has a high maintenance coat, but it is not nearly as difficult as it was.  Ned's coat is soft but as thick as a poodle.  We brush him with a LesPouchs slicker and then comb with a graduated toothed comb.  We never shaved him but we get him groomed between 4 and 8 weeks and we brush and comb him about once a week now.  Not all doodles have this difficult coat type.  Ned doesn't shed.  Our other doodle sheds up a storm but only gets an occasional mat behind his ears.  Next to temperament and health, an easy to maintain non-shedding coat will be of utmost importance when I look to get another doodle - not color, not size, not anything.

[Lacey Mc. & Cooper]

I do brush every other day but I guess I am just not getting all the way down to the skin.  He really doesn't like to sit still for brushing so it is quite a difficult task.  Cooper doesn't shed at all either so that is the biggest blessing if we could just get the matting under control now! But at least we have a fresh start I guess and I will look into getting these new brushes and brush daily.  Thanks!

[Willow and J]

My thought, too, was whether you comb all the way to the skin. 

1.5 years sounds a bit old for coat change, but I may be wrong. Willow had coat change around 10 months. I never had to shave her thanks to our wonderful and patient groomer, but we keep her hair short, about 1/2 long every 6 weeks. When her hair grows a bit longer closer to the grooming time, I use rakes for breaking mats too. 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My goldendoodles Sasha is VERY poodley and 2 1/2 yrs old.  Her hair is a very tight curl and she is more poodle than doodle.  Her hair matts in certain areas like her hind legs and tummy.  I try to give her a quick bursh every day but Sasha's hair is very difficult to maintain.  It does not matt but the curlys get tight and difficult to brush thru. 

 

The key is to get the bristles down to the skin to make sure you are gettgin the whole length of the hair and brushing daily is key.  There are great brushes out there and you may want to try different kinds.  I do find the more expensive brushes do a much better job than the $10 dollar kind.

 

I also discovered that "some" groomers do not want to spend the time to comb out a dog with lots of matts so they just shave them.   You may want to put your doodles up at a comfortable level or invest in a grooming table where you can get a good at the whole dog and be comfortable while brushing/combing.  Plus its great bonding time when grooming.  Also you may want to get a matt buster type comb which has very sharp prongs that cut thru the matts and some type of de-matting spray which I find is a must.  Sasha does not shed so she matts so much more than my Labradoodle does, Ollie sheds and he hardly ever matts - go figure.

[Lacey Mc. & Cooper]

Ya I have taken him to 3 different groomers in town and it seems all they want to do is shave every time it makes me mad.  This will hopefully be our last shave I will be investing in a good brush and much more time into making sure the matting doesn't happen.  I was just hoping once he got older the matting subsides. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Went to look for pics on your page, but there weren't any, so can't really tell much about his coat.  I would be really surprised that at 1/5 y/o he would still be going through the coat change, but it isn't unheard of.  Doodles are so different.  I would guess that if you are having to have him shaved that there is one of two things happening.  We see on here all the time that people say they are brushing regularly, but what is happening is they aren't getting all the way to the skin.  Then when they go to the groomers they find mats.  Here is a video link to a wonderful doodle owner that did I believe a 4 part series on grooming your doodle.   I'm also a huge fan of the Les Poochs brush.  You can get these from Kemp at the Doodle Country Store.  They aren't cheap, but worth every penny.  You can send him an e-mail (he is a member here) and a picture of your doodle and he will tell you which brush you need to get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szIij_zknNs

In this particular one she talks about line grooming.  This video has helped many of us learn to properly brush our doodles so as to prevent the dreaded shave down by getting through the entire coat down to the skin.  If you are getting all the way to the skin, then the only other thing I can think of is you aren't brushing frequently enough.  As suggested in the other post, if you don't have a grooming table or some sort of surface to get him up on to brush, this would really help you.  The way I look at it, is the more frequently we brush, the less time it takes when we do.  So we normally run a brush through ours every day or at least every other day and it takes about 5 -10 mins per doodle. 

[Lacey Mc. & Cooper]

I just joined this site yesterday so I will have to add pics of Coop!  But thanks so much for the video it is very helpful!  And I am buying one of those brushes asap.  Appreciate the tips. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Lacy, I also think that dogs with 'difficult' coats, don't like being brushed - why should they because you are pulling and yanking to get that comb through as the final stage.  We have been brush/combing Ned so long that he usually doesn't fight it.  Our technique is that my husband holds and cuddles while I brush and comb.  It has not trained him to hold still for a thorough grooming, but it has kept him from needing a shave down.  I am envious of people with difficult-coated dogs who hold still and cooperate.  Our shedding dogs enjoy being brushed so I feel sad for Ned, but it is what it is.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

We brush Daisy EVERY day....not the entire body but we break into 4 quarters, otherwise it is too much. In the cool weather we keep her at about 2" but mostly we keep her short in the summer...like 1/2".

We do have small areas that get matted but can usually catch them in time with this routine.

Also, we noticed that the old groomer did not "thin" her coat, new groomer does, she is so much cooler with this being done and less apt to be matted.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I'd have the same problem with sophie if I was only brushing and not combing. This is the comb that was recommended to me and I use it religiously (and still have trouble with matts, especially when she gets wet). http://www.amazon.com/Safari-Grooming-4-Inch-Stainless-Steel/dp/B00...

 

 The doodle kisses grooming group is a great resource. Hang in there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Some doodles coats can be very high maintenance and some just take the weekly good brushing. There is so much in this I the grooming group. When my two get into a length that makes them mat more, and I am spending a lot of time de-matting, that is when I cut them down to at least 1/2 inch and keep them there for about 6 months. They swim in the pool all summer so there are several reasons for me to do so. I love the long look but when matting so time consuming and uncomfortable for them I just shave them down and spend more time playing with them. Treats help brushing go easier, that's for sure. Good luck.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Sherry, I too use a similar comb along with a rake and also a slicker brush on Daisy - I just checked your comb out on Amazon, I wish I had seen this first - I paid 9 x that for mine - ugh!

The comb is for her feet mostly as the other things seems to hurt.

Also I spray her with the homemade lemon rinse DK Groomers recommended.