When did you all give you pup his/her first cut?

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

I wasn't planning on any real shaving or cutting of fur until Holmes gets his adult coat in, at least that's what I was thinking. But with Spring arriving and we've already hit 90 degrees, I'm rethinking my plan. Holmes is 11 weeks old and is panting in his black fur coat :) His coat is pretty short already so I wonder if a trim would even help? Is it too soon? When did you give your pup their first cut? 

Here's a pic of him:

IMG_2308.jpg

[Bill Burkhart]

Well, That picture was when Lucy was 15 weeks old. She's only 18 weeks old now. But my daughter has a two year old doodle and these two dogs play all the time. Which means lots of slobber! I was very pleased with how nice she looked after the haircut. But the fluffy look disappeared within a few days. We live in NE Indiana, and it's still cold here, so I'll delay the next haircut until it warms up a bit. By the way, I spent $45 on the dog's haircut and $7 on my own haircut. Go figure.

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

Adorable!!! Love her shaggy look! Haven't looked at the 'after' pic yet.

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Bill, your pup looks amazingly similar to my dood, Derby take a look...where did you get her from? If you don't want to post the name...the location good enough!!
Just curious.

[Bill Burkhart]

Hi Rodney. They do look a lot alike. We got her from a family who breeds doodles and mini doodles in Alexandria, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis. Their name is Vosburgh. How about Derby? (By the way, I see you're wearing a Michigan shirt. We are originally from Ohio. Looks like Michigan and Ohio State are the only big ten teams still alive in the basketball tournament!)

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I think Cubbie may have been 7 or 8 months when he got his first real grooming at the groomers.  Before that he would just go in for a bath and sanitary trim and clean up around the eyes.  It doesn't matter what length I keep his coat, he will still pant.  He will even sit on my couch panting in the middle of winter while i'm shivering under a blanket.  I think they just get warm sometimes.  With that being said, I do try to keep him out of the hot hot summer sun but I don't think that it is good for any dog to be outside in the hottest part of the summer day.

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

OK, which one is Cubbie and which one is Ollie? Just curious-- they are both very cute!

I like that idea of a 'sanitary trim.' I haven't priced groomers in my area yet- because I was planning on doing it myself-- but I'm very hesitant to trim or file his nails right now since he's so wiggly. I figure if he need his nails trimmed then the groomer can also give him a bath and a trim too... :) save me from doing it! I'll have to look into that sooner than I thought.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Cubbie is the black one and Ollie is the cream one

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We got Ned at 3 1/2 months old and immediately had him groomed.  We felt it was important for him to establish rapport and learn what was expected behavior-wise when he was there.  We have had him groomed every 4 - 8 weeks ever since. We have the groomer scissor cut him and at first she did very little.

[Bill Burkhart]

That's great. We also wanted to make sure our doodle was used to a groomer. We took her there when she was ten weeks old just for a sanitary clean up. She's been there three times total and she loves the groomer. It makes me feel better knowing I don't have to drag her in there.

[Shellie Brune]

Got my doodle cut down to 1" around 8 months old, his puppy coat really needed cut by then.  It's been two months since his cut, fur coming in a bit different then his puppy coat.  I'd try to keep cutting at a minimal, let his puppy coat come in more.  I'd highly suggest getting him use to grooming visits.  My doodle was a nightmare on his first visit, took 3 groomers to lightly trim him (not anything like a full grooming).  He's now been about 3 times and much better but still hates to be groomed.   If he likes water, try a baby pool to keep him cool.  Enjoy your new puppy!

[Janice Sutherland]

Ahh, Holmes is absolutely adorable! He looks like my Rose, a real happy-go-lucky sweetheart! I had the same question, but I think it depends on the coat type. Some seem to grow long and thick at 6 months and others are more sparse. I trimmed my Billy 2 weeks ago because he was going for his neuter. I wanted him to be clean and trimmed for the big event. I trimmed him to a long inch to inch and a quarter, because we are still having cold snaps up here. Billy has a thick heavy coat. I did discover that if I brush him out so he is all fluffy he is much, much hotter than if I leave it a little scraggly. I guess the fluff insulates better. My girls are not as heavy coated so I am waiting for a while yet before clipping them.