First attempt at DIY doodle grooming - ?'s about trimming the face

[Eric & Rufus]

Hi everyone,

This is a wonderful site with lots of good information! I've been reading through these forums for months now and have several pages bookmarked - along with dozens of pages from other sites. I have been trying to gather the knowledge (and nerve!) to try and groom Rufus, my giant schnoodle. Rufus is almost 15 months old and has been to the professional groomers on three occasions. At $100 a pop, I can't afford to take him as often as necessary. (I'll admit that when I chose a new dog, I was one of the people that didn't think far enough ahead to realize that "no shedding" equals "lots of grooming" - of course now that I have Rufus, I wouldn't ever change my decision!)

Anyways, as much as I would like to have Rufus professionally groomed, finances have dictated I invest the money up front in some decent equipment in order to save money in the long run, At bbird's suggestion, I purchased the CC 16mm pin brush and a wooden handled poodle comb. I was using inferior products before that and these made a huge difference in the day to day brushing. I also finally purchased a pair of Andis AGC2 clippers and some Andis clipper combs, as well as a pair of blunt-end curved shears and a pair of thinning shears. I cannot afford the table and arm just yet, so I had to make do with a plastic table I already had.

After bathing, drying, and combing, I used the "B" comb (13/16") on his body and the "D" comb (15/16") on his legs. I also used the "F" (1.25") on his tail (Rufus' tail is a long dock so it is done differently than the  typical doodle). The hardest part about clippering the body was actually working up the courage to turn the clippers on and start buzzing him. Considering it was my first attempt, I was fairly satisfied with the outcome of his body and legs.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same about his face. I was very lost as to what to do and searched through this forum quite a bit before starting Rufus' face and head. I also watched several YouTube videos (for the umpteenth time) until I thought I had the idea. I started with his ears, and somehow I got it in my head that I should hold his ear flap with my fingers below the actual "flap" of skin and then trim just below my fingers using the curved shears. As soon as I did it I knew I had cut the hair waaaaay to short. Of course, in the name of symmetry I had to do his other ear the same way. I tried using the thinning shears to make the bottom edge look a little more natural, but wasn't too successful. I was really discouraged afterwards and didn't do too well on the rest of his face either. I mostly just used the thinning shears to shorten the top of his head and his mustache and beard. I also used the curved shears to clip between his eyes.

I am looking for any other resources, instructions, guidance, etc. on how to groom Rufus' face/head/ears in the future (once it grows back out!). Of course now I know not to cut the ears so short, but I am still baffled in particular about the sides of his face - not his snout but the area in front of the ears (his cheeks?).

Here are the before and after photos. Thanks in advance for any help given! - Eric

[Eric & Rufus]

Very cute! Rufus' ears currently are about the length of your white one's ears in the middle photo, but I think think they are cuter on yours. Is that Charlotte? I think the shorter ears might give a little more feminine look... (No offense to Webster if that is him!)

I actually did do Rufus' head/face last, and actually did it the next day. Mostly because I wanted to look at videos and search this website again. I'll probably stick to that plan next time also.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Yes, Charlotte is the white one - and such a girl!  I've learned that each dog has a different shape head and different haircuts and ear lengths look different.  It looks like Rufus' head may be shaped more like Webster, and Webster looks goofy with his ears too short.  If I could only remember what I'm doing from time to time....I always have such good intentions.....oh well....it all grows back....

You may want to check out my sister's page on DK.  Her name is Amanda Rodriguez and her dog, Charlie, looks a lot like Rufus.  She keeps him shorter, but here is what he looks like with his summer cut:

 

If Rufus' ears still bother you, you could trim the rest of his face a little shorter to balance the ears. Trimming his beard may make his face look shorter, thus his ears would look longer, that would be my only suggestion. 

[Connie & Kramer]

cutie pie!

[Connie & Kramer]

I just did a full groom on Kramer using the Robo Cut for his body and scissors to trim up face, legs, feet, etc.  Not bad for my first time :)   I felt awful with him wearing that heavy wool coat when it's hot and humid outside.  After I cut him down, I noticed he has a caramel colored racing stripe down the center of his back.  I wonder if that's his adult coat coming in?  Anyone else notice color changes when grooming down to the skin or when the adult coat is coming in?  Kramer is almost 11 months now.

Before and after attached - the before doesn't show up that well.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

some dogs just have different marking and colors in their coats and aren't just one color all over.  Ollie has a reddish brown strip down his back with the same color appearing on his ears, face, and legs.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Kramer is gorgeous! 

[Carolyn Shusterman]

Eric, You get a blue ribbon for first doodle grooming!  Suggestions..... other then you ones you would change, is to not cut the hair on the end of Rufus's tail.

[Camilla and Darwin]

He looks so good!

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I like his ears like that. I do my doodes' ears short. If you think they look too short, just follow the suggestion made about making his muzzle shorter ie less volume. I also like the suggestion of leaving a flowing end to the tail but that would be a personal preference. One thing about doodes is that they are individuals, not cookie cutter dogs so can have a lot of great looks.

[Stephanie]

I think he looks great considering it's your first time and you are not a professional groomer.  I would suggest after you get the head/face the length you want, then around the edges use some thinning shears, especially on the "bulk" areas around his mouth.  Unless you like it like that of course, he looks fine but if I were grooming that dog that's one thing I noticed right away that I would do.

As far as the ears you can use the same comb length on the body on the ear..just make sure the ear is laying flag and the clipper blade/comb is going in the same direction as the ear.  Never, ever ever use a blade or comb facing the edge of an ear, always flat.

If you are not wanting to take much hair off the ears next time then I would just suggest using thinning shears.  

I groom dogs professionally and i'm at the point where I pretty much only use thinning shears on dogs face/ears.  I do my clipper work up to just behind the ears, and sometimes further up on the head for dogs going short all over..and do the rest with thinners.  They are your best friend!

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Eric, I love the idea of a beard trimmer for their pads. All the pictures on this post just show the cutest Doodles. The waiting for mine is harder and harder.

[Donna K & Quincy]

It looks like you did a great job, the only suggestion I have is to cut his muzzle shorter. Now for confession time, I do what I am apparently not supposed to do and that is use the clippers on Quincy's face, but I find it is the only way I can get things even. I just take the thinning shears and clip the ends a tiny little bit when I'm done. You really can't tell that I used the clippers on his face. I used the same guard on his face that I used on his legs, I think it was the 1in.