Quinn's first grooming questions?

[Heather, Rocky & Quinn]

Our black muppit is in need of his first grooming. He is almost 11 months old. I have been bathing him but his coat is so thick I can't get down to the skin with the brush, comb, or any of the tools I have purchased. There is another goldendoodle that attends his agility class and she took Mango in for a grooming. "Summer cut" and they shaved her down to the skin. They said you have to do that to get the puppy coat off? Is this true? I used to have my Australian shepherd shaved for summer and I had to be very careful about sun burn. I'm getting a lot of mixed messages about the groomer. You guys are always so terrific about advise.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yo don't have to do that not should you. Sunburn can be a real problem. You coul get your dog's coat cut down a reasonable amount to help you to be able to brush him. That will eventually get rid of the puppy coat. The Dog Grooming Group has tons of information.

[Ghazal A]

The picture made me smile :)

[Ginny Nightingale]

Oh boy--that is a thick curly coat --what a cute doodle--as someone who grooms only doodles, I can tell you that most groomers will want to shave him just because he probably has mats of puppy coat under the top layer of curls (that is the "thickness" you are feeling--matted clumps of hair). This situation will improve after the first 14 months when that transition to adult coat is further along, but to wait until 11 months for his first groom put you behind the 8-ball.

My suggestion would be to spend more money on this first groom in order to get someone to take the time needed (it would have to be a GOOD groomer, not a Petco person) to pick at the mats, cut them out and keep the hair on the dog! It is not easy and it takes a while--clippers can not be used (unless shaving) until all the mats are out, so a LOT has t be done with scissors. I have done it before and just shaved some really difficult parts--like elbows, chest between the front legs, behind and under the ears and the hind end--and then blended it with the longer hair. But it is to your benefit to get him short now and get thru the transition easier--it will grow back!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

We were able to do that with our dood- who looks just like this one.  He had a scissor cut with de-matting in those areas you mention Ginny.  They wanted to shave him, but I was not ready for that!  It is getting on time for another cut soon, so I will probably have a summer cut.  the matting is endless.  

[Pat and Traveler]

He is gorgeous!  I think the groomer will want to shave him.  :(    Like Ginny mentioned, you may be able to find a groomer who will cut out the mats and just trim the rest, but I, for one, wasn't able to find anyone who would do that.  One of the considerations is how painful a process it is for the dog.  He will still be your gorgeous and loveable boy no matter what you decide!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

He is darling.  It looks to me very much like my Ned's coat.  Ned matted badly from about 8 months until almost 2 years.  We had to brush/comb him every other day gradually decreasing to every 3 days and now we can go a week or two (he is 5) but when we brush, comb and de-mat, it takes a couple of hours or a couple of days - and he is a small guy.   We prevented shaving by devoting sooooo much time to grooming and made sure that we had good tools and got to the skin.  We also had a wonderful groomer who didn't want to shave Ned either and really worked with us.  We get him groomed between 4 and 6 weeks.  Our tools are the LesPouchs slicker brush and a steel comb with graduating teeth. We also have a mat breaker that we recently began using.  We  use Cowboy Magic, Horse Mane 'N Tail spray in sections and we use BedHead to help us get mats.  I would try to find a groomer who will try to get the mats out without shaving and I would pay the big bucks.  If you do need a shave down, I would pay big bucks for the groomer to take the time to leave as much coat as possible. However if you do shave, it will grow and the world won't end.

Ned at 11 months:Ned on Saturday after an encounter with a faucet - after an encounter with a mud puddle:

[Kelly]

Skeet gets really Woolley. Love the muppet look but shaving is a necessity for him. It is less stressful for him and grows back really fast. He feels so much better without all that hair and acts silly too. We jut try to make sure they leave the head , tail, and enough hair to protect against sunburn. Your boy will be adorable either way.
He is such a cutie.

[Rebecca]

You do not need to shave him down. My 2 year old Max is like this and I self groom him.  All you need to do is use your fingers as a guide and scissor cut him down.  After you scissor cut him down the mats should be easier to get out.  Use a Safari Rake Brush for long hair.  It looks a little intimidating at first but it is super gentle and will cut the mats out instead of ripping through them.  The rake has blades on the inside that cut the hair evenly to get the mats out.  Your dog will thank you.  Also when you bath him make sure you use a good conditioner and always make sure you brush him out completely after he is dry.  After you brush him out with the rake then use a slicker brush to get all the extra hair and this will help you tons!  Grooming has become a bonding experience for me and Max now.  He is so big I have to take his grooming in shifts so I will do half one day half the next. :) You can do it!