How young is too young for the Groomer?

[Doodle Grooming]

Hello everybody!

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!

A couple questions for the forums today for my fellow doodle owners! :D

Indi is 14 weeks old today! She is extremely high energy and very playful, and loves to roll around in the grass...which is becoming part of her coat... haha. In any case, she is becoming more and more shaggy as the weeks go by, and I was wondering if anyone had any grooming advice.

She has had sanitary clips on both of her vet (shot) visits to keep things clean, but her hairs on her nose are arc-ing into her eyes so far I have no idea how she can even see out of that curtain, and I would like to see her little brown eyes! She also needs her nails trimmed (which we've so far done ourselves), and likely needs to be brushed. All in all, it smacks of a trip to the groomers.

Is just over 3 months old too early? Can she go without her last set of shots?

I don't want to wait too long to take her to the groomer (ie, I don't want to wait until she's already matted) but I'm also not sure how young is too young. I'd also really like to get her used to the groomer before she's an older puppy so there are no issues with mental/physical comfort in the future.

In addition, I read somewhere on here a couple of months ago about a specific type of brush for goldendoodles that seems to work better than most. I cannot find the thread now, and I was wondering what everyone is using to brush their doodles, and, perhaps I read incorrectly....I am supposed to brush her backwards to prevent mats?!

Any thoughts you could send my way would be awesome!

Cheers!

[Bill Burkhart]

I took Lucy to the groomer when she was 15 weeks old for her first haircut. I had her there two times before for sanitary trims and to keep her eyes clear. I wasn't sure if she was too young for a haircut, but she looked amazing when she was done. My wife and I were really happy. I'll upload a pic of her with the groomer when they were done. Good luck.

[Susan and Pippi]

I think a lot of people use the Les Poochs brushes. They are very expensive, and different ones vary in stiffness. You select one on the basis of your dog's coat type. I imagine someone here can advise you on where to get one, because I can't remember. I do have one for Pippi, but, honestly, she doesn't like it. Our groomer suggested an undercoat rake, even though Pippi doesn't have an undercoat, and she's been much more agreeable to brushing since I started using that. She is losing her puppy coat, and the rake really gets rid of a lot of dead fur. It also gets rid of small mats. I have brushed my own hands and arms with the rake, and it doesn't hurt, but if I brush too hard with the Les Poochs, it really does hurt, so I can understand Pippi not enjoying that experience. I waited till she had all her immunizations before I took her to the groomer, and I did trim the fur around her eyes myself before that, but it wasn't a happy experience at all. She still hates the clipping sound of scissors. She had her first real grooming about a six weeks ago. There have been lots of eye trimmings, sanitary trimmings, nail trimmings, paw fur trimmings, and baths since her first trip to the groomer.

[Jessica & Zoey]

She is SO adorable!! I love her wavy coat!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We got Ned at about 14 weeks and took him to the groomer immediately.  He did well.

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

At the Doodle romp this past Saturday, a few people commented that Kona reminded them of Ned.  Seeing this photo of Ned, I completely agree.  Very similar coloring.  Ned looks a little curlier, but when I saw this photo, I thought it was one of Kona!

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

Your photo made me smile.  the proper "sit" combined with the beads and white hair  made me think "What if Barbara Bush went to Mardi Gras?