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?

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

I brush Dex (F1B) about 3-4x a week (except for right after a haircut when his hair is very short). Kirby only gets brushed after a bath. He really hates it and he barely will ever matt.

Both doodles get 1 bath a month.

[Cassies_Mom]

We brush Cassie at least a couple of times a week and have been bathing her a couple times a month, although I try to hold off as long as I can. She still has her puppy coat and although it's fleece, it's very fine and soft and tends to mat. I've been using a wide-bristled brush which seems to do well to prevent mats although it probably does very little to redistribute oils. She's been to the groomer twice, but just to do a partial (around the eyes, feet, etc).

[Adina P]

Thule rarely gets brushed because her coat is not very doodley.

Rosco gets brushed 1 to 3 times a week---it was a pain to do it when he was young but now he really enjoys it and completely relaxes and practically falls asleep. So it's a nice little bonding time. He doesn't really need it much and I don't like how poofy he gets at the end... But it's still a nice activity. He's almost three years old, and I have been saying forever that my dog doesn't mat. However in the past two months I discovered mats on his ear flaps as his ear hair is longer than they have ever been. Also he is matting along his lower lip...gunky dirty beard matting. Impossible to brush that out...only trimming works.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Samantha is a F1 Chocolate LD. I brush her everyday before we go out so she look s like someone cares about her. She has that 'just got outta bed' look - and I love it. We have a ritual -before I pour my to-go mug of coffee, I open the drawer where I keep her brush. She stands there for a once over so she doesn't look like a street Doodle. I think she knows that if I pour my to-go mug and don't open the drawer to get her brush, she knows that she is not going with me

Samantha's coat has numerous peronalities. I am not sure what it will end up looking like - she looks like a long funky-haired Lab. Her adult coat seems to be coming in full and just a little wavy but that is only on her neck and top of her tail; her ends on her sides look like the driest human hair you would ever see. I am hoping that that hair is just her puppy coat with her adult coat at the skin. Her legs are a different story - that hair is just thin.

The only part that ever becomes the tinest bit of an issue is her front elbows. And that is if I am too lazy to really brush through them at least once a week. I like to do a 'full' brushing when it is just the 2 of us and we can spend the time quietly. That she likes and will lay still until we are done. She is such a Momma's girl.

I bathe Samantha myself about every 6 weeks depending on how dirty she feels, smells or if we gone to the beach (obviously that was a couple of months back). Next summer will be her first summer with an adult coat. I guess if or how much we cut will depend on how it grows in. Chapter Two -due out in April 2009.

I don't know what is 'too much' but we both like the time we spend together. I don't think there ever could be 'too much'.

Has anyone purchased a dog bath sink? My back cannot handle the leaning over the tub and Samantha HATES the outside cold hose.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A lot of people who bathe their dogs themselves do it in a shower stall with a hand-held shower spray. Is that an option for you?
Also, if you have a laundry room with a door or window to the outside you can buy an attachment that will allow you to hook up your garden hose to the inside sink, so you can wash or rinse her off outdoors using warm water. I have a neighbor who bathes their lab that way, when the weather permits.

[Rae]

Is there a "self-service" dog wash near you? That's what we use all winter/spring. Rozee is pretty big and my back also can't deal with it. It's fairly cheap - and once you establish a relationship there you just might get a discount too- and so easy. They furnish everything (soap, rinse, towels, dryer, etc) and it's easy on the back! Anyway, check it out. We NEVER use the cold water outside hose on our dogs - even when it's warm/hot outside. We do as Karen & Jack suggested - we hook up a hose via the laundry room window -- works like a charm! We sometimes just have the dogs on the deck and hook the hose up at the kitchen sink - go out the window or sliding doors to the deck. Good Luck!

[Cam & Oski]

Oski gets brushed depending on the length of his coat. When it's over 4-5 inches in length, he gets brushed everyday because he's a mud & debris sponge (he loves to wrestle & roll around on the ground so gets pretty dirty in the fall/winter--see pix below!) & because it starts to mat. When it's warmer, we have the groomer cut his hair to around 2 inches which means that he only needs to be brushed every 2-3 days--I suspect he's going to be getting haircuts every 4-6 months. Mostly the brushing is to get the dirt out & prevent mats altho his hair isn't really prone to that either unless it gets long. On the bright side, he loves getting brushed & will fall asleep so that I have to flip him over to the over side! Since he wrestles so much, he gets hosed off almost daily in the muddy/rainy season & shampooed every other week. I just put him in the shower. We use the Master Tools ergonomic slicker brush on him & it does the job :)

[Scott Chalkley]

Great pics! I love it and hate it when they get this dirty. I love it because they love it but I am usuaully the one giving them baths afterward. To answer this question, which I believe we are the friends that Rae is talking about, we never brush our dogs. We don't even own a brush for ourselves or our dogs. We give them baths and dry them with towels or a blow dryer depending on how fast they need to be dried. They like to dry themselves off so we tend to stick with a towel and let them finish the work. And that's about it. This does have some consequences though because they do begin to get matted after their hair grows really long but we don't mind them getting shaved and starting their hair growth all over again. We like seeing the poodle look every once and a while.

[Kay and Tanner.]

We give Tanner a good brushing two or three times a week, but he still gets matted...We have to take him to the groomers to get his fur cut very short in order to get the mats out, every four months...I like him long, and he also is very cute looking like a poodle, which he looks like now..but he mats very easily..We try to comb them out but it seems like in a couple of days the mats are back again.

[julie farris]

our new i year old labradoodle looks so cute, all shaggy, but she gets matted "dread-locks" type fur appendages!!! our vet says these have to be removed... but our doggie does not like to be brushed, and we are reluctant to take her to the groomer to be shaved down to the skin again...(she looked like a hairless piglet!) (altho, i am partial to pigs!!) is the conventional wisdom with these dogs, that you just begin right away as soon as you get them, to start brushing right away on a regular basis so that they become used to it??

thanks!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Hey Julie. I would try slowly building up to the brushing by holding a super tasty treat in your hand (cheese or warm chicken or something) and letting her lick it as you gently rub the brush against her. Over time she may be comfortable enough for you to regularly brush her without struggle. Also, you may want to check out this discussion. It's about a member who is actually doing cording, or the "dread lock" type look on her doodle!

 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/doodlegrooming/forum/topics/cordi...

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

 

Mine get a quick brush every morning before their walk. If I left it later they would have sand & salt water in their coat so I wouldn't be able to quickly whiz through their coats.

 

Welly has a coat that needs daily attention when it is a couple of inches. Bingley has a really fine coat that doesn't grow quickly and has never been trimmed (he's 10 months).

 

I give mine baths in the tub every 4-6 weeks. Welly gets groomed every 2-4 months, depending on how short I ask the groomer to go.