What to do??

[Amy]

Hi All.

 

I was looking for some help/advice.  Our goldendoodle, Maggie, is 1.5yrs old now.  She is a light shedding, straight/slight wavy doodle with failrly skinny legs.

Lately her coat has been rather snarly and doesn't appear to feel as soft as it use to. 

My huaband really likes he "shaggy", but she has been not enjoying our combing time lately, and he isn't the one combing her daily!

I am looking to see what other would recommend?  Does she need a cut?  What would it look like shorter?  Are her legs to skinny for less hair?  For the past 10 month that we have had her, I have only had her bathed, face trim, and sani trim.  She doen't really have that much hair:  it is rather fine.  Not sure what to do?!?

I have attached a few photos of her to see what she looks like. 

Any recommendations or pictures are appreciated.

 

THANK YOU!!

AMY

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think she looks absolutely darling just the way she is.  I think you might get the ends (like we might on our hair) just trimmed a bit to freshen it up.  I would also spray a conditioning spray on her.  We recently went to the beach, and while I could rinse the dogs off, I couldn't bathe them, so after rinsing them I sprayed The Original Horse Mane 'n Tail Detangler on them.  I usually only spray this on a mat or lightly, but I sprayed it 'good' and when the dogs dried they were so soft and tangle free.  The spray has silicon in it so beware where you spray it because you will be making that area very slippery!  My Clancy has a different body but his leg hair grows like Maggie's.  Here is a picture of him with how we usually cut him.  Perhaps it will give you an example of a  'trimmed' dood with a shedding coat. It can still be scruffy.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

When you say that she is 1.5 and she doesn't feel as soft as she used to, what has happened is she has gone through the coat change.  It is really tough to know exactly without being able to touch and feel how thick her coat is.   People like so many different types of looks in doodles that it is really a personal thing.  I think if she were mine and I was having trouble with brushing her, that I would probably trim her down a little bit.  I would start with the longest guard that I have for my clippers and take a few passes and see what it looked like and then decide if I needed to go any shorter.  You don't have to use the same length guard on the legs as the rest of them.  You can leave them a little longer.  I know with my Sophie I didn't cut her for 2 years.  I dreaded cutting her because I loved her long wavey fur.  However, after she went through the coat change some of it just really looked dried out and fuzzy.  So, I took the clippers to her and I loved it.  If you are doing it yourself you can sort of play with it and see what you like.  otherwise, if you take her too the groomers you could maybe ask them to just take off like a 1/2 inch or maybe an inch.  You might have to go a couple times to get what you want, but then at least you will know.  As everyone here says, it will always grow back.  Regardless, she is adorable and I'm sure she would be adorable with a haircut as well.  Let us know what you decide and post pics.  If you haven't tried it yet, when you are brushing her get her up on a table or counter or somewhere.  Sometimes that makes it easier and they tolerate being brushed better.  Good Luck

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I agree that her coat may be drying out from exposure to the elements and from bathing/grooming especially since it is thin and fine to begin with.  If you want to keep her coat on the longer side then just have the groomer "trim the ends" and see if you see some improvement. You can also condition it after bathing her but I find that it tends to attract dirt.

Tara has thin, fine hair and isn't a big fan of being groomed either. She is 3 years old now and even though I love her shaggy doodley look I normally keep her coat fairly short and  have come to realized a couple of things. One is that I would much rather be spending time having fun with her than dealing with the extended daily brushing/grooming, etc. Another is that her quality of life is better without having to endure the daily brushing ritual too because it does stress her out regardless of everything I have done to make it tolerable for her.  So maybe question if "the look" is the top priority for you. From your post it sounds like it is more your DH's priority than yours and Maggies! :) Maybe you can find a midway point where he can be happy with the length but you and Maggie can reduce your grooming time.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

If I didn't know better, I would say you stole my Trine who is an F1 LD. I trim by girl's coat about twice a year. It really gives her a nice fresh look. Eventually the dogs get split ends just like people so they need that part trimmed off. I use a 1 1/4 extention and scissor her legs lightly.

[Amy]

WOW you are all so quick to respond:  THANK YOU!!

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I think I will start off with getting an trim of the split ends, etc and see how she does.  She just started fussing during our combing sessions so hopefully that will do the trick. 

I am not as brave as all you at home groomers (I am jealous).  Fingers crossed that a trim will be all my groomer gives her.

 

Barb:  do you have any photos of your Trine?  I would love to see the cut.  Pictures are always helpful for groomers too!

 

THANKS AGAIN!!

AMY

 

[Deborah DeRose]

Hi Amy,

 I just wanted to back up what Nancy said.  I bath and groom my own dogs.  Zeke is a rescue but we believe he is a F2 Labradoodle.  He is very curly and his hair grows extremely quickly.  After a bath, I slather on the conditioner!  I let him sit for 10 minutes just covered in it.  After he dries, he isn't matted, and won't mat up at all unless he gets wet, which will require a new layer of conditioner.  It has made such a difference!  I can keep his coat longer, and it doesn't hurt him to brush him, because there are no mats.

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

Maggie is so cute!  I had my groomer scissor cut my dogs hair down several inches and same time EVEN it all out. It looked really good. I did not let them cut hair on bridge of nose or use a shaver. She also hand trimmed the fur on his legs and evened it out-and I really liked how she made his front paws look rounded.. They looked very neat and cute. I also recently switched to a pin brush. I saw another person on DD recommend it-and it made a big difference with him fighting me during daily brushing and it went thru his adult coarser hair much easier. That is probably why he quit fighting :)

Lastly, I use WEN replenishing mist on him-it really makes hair softer and more manageable-yikes, that sounds like a commercial.

[Bob Johnston]

what kind of shampoo do you use on her and how often does she get a bath. It looks like she has a more hair like coat then dog fur so you may want to look at organic or natural human shampoo's with a built in conditioner. I mix a few different shampoo's togather depending on the time of year, how dry or oily their skin and coat are.