How Often Do You Brush Your Doodle?

[Rae]

We were talking to some friends that have doodles and I asked how often they brush their furkids and they replied "never". That really surprised me and I told them we brush our girls about every other day or at least every three days and they were surprised. So I'm wondering what other doodle owners do. Our girls get a bath about every 4-6 weeks, depending on how dirty/smelly they get (rain & mud can be a problem in Oregon) and/or if they have rolled in something really special to them. We groom the Rozee, with a wonderful fleese coat, 3-4 times a year depending on weather, matting, etc. Bella, with a not-so-wonderful curly wool coat, gets groomed more often because she mats likes crazy - even with the brushing. Are we "over fussing" with our girls?

[Sue & Willy Babe]

I brush Willy about 3 times a week especially if he has been out in the snow which is alot lately, he gets a bath about every 6weeks or special occasion He has been to a groomer to get clipped just around eyes, ears and under tail, and nails trimmed.
I like to brush him when he is tired

[Tamara & Giada]

We comb/brush them once a week and bath about every 6-8 weeks in the winter, but much more in the summer.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

We brush our doodles pretty often but I should clarify that as I am trying to involve my children more and more I can not really say that this counts. If my kiddos want to watch my loathed 'opponent' the television they have to have a doodle to love on or brush while doing so. We have many doodles so my kids are then giving them a bit of one on one love. Often they just skim the surface hair while brushing and I come behind them a couple times a week with a more thorough one. The exception to this for us is when we have adult coats coming in. I am very diligent at that time due to the very high tendency to matt. It only took once with our first doodle to learn this lesson after he had to be completely sheared down - he when from zero to total matt ball in about a blink! Brushing can be a wonderful bonding time and honestly I look at the time spent doing so more from this stand than from grooming - on that level can you ever really 'over fuss'? Blessings ~

[April Cliber]

It really depends on the doodle. Our F1 labradoodle never needs to be brushed, I just do it once in a while because she likes it. :o) Our F1B goldendoodle must be brushed at least once a week, but preferably every few days.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think there's anything wrong with brushing your dog every day, if you want to; it certainly doesn't hurt them, is a good bonding activity, and helps keep oils distributed, matts away, and removes shedding hair if any.
Jackdoodle hates to be brushed, so I only do it once a week because it's such a chore, but he would certainly benefit from it more often- he doesn't matt at all, but it removes the shedding hairs & makes him look less like an unmade bed, lol!
He gets a bath every 7-8 weeks, but could really go longer. It's just a habit I got into from always having had poodles, who definitely need more frequent brushing & grooming.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

I brush Blake every other day.....but recently I've been brushing every day because his coat is now much longer for the winter and he tends to have all kinds of things "attached" to him by the end of the day...Especially if he's outside....As you know, the wool coat is like velcro!......lol...Blake has a mixed coat...part of it is loose fleece, part of it ( his neck, head and top line is a soft wool) but I happpen to not like the way he looks brushed out when he's long.....He's a little guy..only 42 lbs and brushing him out makes him look like a cotton ball!...lol.....I prefer the loose curl look but if I leave it for any extended amount of time ( more than 3 days..lol) he tends to mat at the skin....: )

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

This is how Blake looks without a good brushing.....I love it!...He looks like a sheepdog...

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I love his 'just rolled off the sofa' look!!!

[Adina P]

Rosco's thighs look like blake's before they are brushed. Blake is lovely.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

And a pretty puppy he is too!

[Leslie and Halas]

Halas goes to the groomer about every 5 weeks. I brush him completely once a week. But I check him every day for tangles and mats and brush them out as I find them. Like Blake, he tends to look like a cotton ball (a red one) right after brushing, but he mats too easily if I don't do it. It only takes a couple of hours for the cotton ball effect to subside.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think it really depends upon coat type. Ned hates it, but I brush as much of him as he will tolerate almost every day. He started matting at 6 months and that is when I started the frequent brushing. He seems to be matting less now at 8 months but I am so paranoid that I will have to shave him that I brush, brush, brush. I don't like the cotton ball look after brushing, but he looks scruffy again almost immediately - I have a hard time figuring out what part I just brushed. I found a leave-in, spray-on horse mane and tail conditioner by Straight Arrow that I can use on wet or dry fur. This stuff leaves Ned's fur silky, but scruffy looking and helps loosen up and prevent mats.