About $120 month...?

[Pat and Traveler]

Here are some pictures of Traveler, just back from the groomer.  The pictures aren't good and don't do justice to his appearance--he looks gorgeous!   

Here's the thing.  His fur has reached a threshold--just a tad shorter and he pretty much stays mat and tangle free.  This time, he had to be hand scissored, and had many small tangles.  His coat has gotten much thicker as he's gotten older. 

The groomer wants to keep working with him once a month, but it takes time and effort and real skill to keep up with his coat.

Is $120 a month a reasonable price for maintaining a doodle coat?  I know it's an individual decision, but I never had him groomed on a regular basis and really have no idea what people pay.

I sort of like a scruffy appearance for doodles, but for Trav that means mats.  Bummer.  Any thoughts or ideas you may have would be most welcome!

 

[Pat and Traveler]

Trudy, your guy really is a curly fella, isn't he?  What a cutie!  You do a most excellent job on that sweet face. :)

[Trudy Harlow]

Thanks! I started training him to my scissoring him when he was just a pup. He holds still for anything now, although he may protest a little. He does hang his head! And yes -- he is very curly. Way more so than most GDs.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We pay a LOT less for each dog but together  it is $115 plus $25 to $30 dollar tip.  We take our dogs (all three) every 4 - 8 weeks.  Our groomer charges $40 each for the bigger dogs and $35 for Ned. She hand scissors the doodles and parts of our Springer.  We know we are seriously lucky with the fees we pay.  Ned still mats - we try to comb him out before we take him simply so she has more time to do the important stuff. 

I think if you take him on a regular 4 - 6 week basis, she should charge you less for each session because she is just keeping up with the last grooming.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You are getting a bargain! I think Clancy has a coat kind of like JD's; my groomer charges $42 to groom him, and he weighs 85 lbs. But he doesn't ever get a haircut at all, just scissor trimmed around his mouth, his feet, and a sanitary trim, and I also bring my own shampoo. And she would be charging me at least $50 for Ned, if not more.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

It cracks me up that she charges LESS for Ned than either Clancy or Gordie.  She used to charge the same amount for any dog, but raised her prices a bit.  Even though he sheds quite a bit - well a LOT - Clancy does need his body trimmed also, but not nearly like his whole face area and lower leg.  I think JD's groomer should pay you!  Think of the prestige her shop gains by having a famous lawyer as a client!

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

Wow! Maybe it would be worth the gas for me to drive to your groomer, Nancy! Does she do a long scissor cut on Clancy?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Scissors all the way around.  Gordie (Springer) is the only one who gets the clippers.

[Pat and Traveler]

Nancy, your trips to the groomer must be seriously fun.  lol    Three dogs!  Do you take them at the same time?  I'm not sure what Trav's coat will be like 4 weeks from now.  I guess it depends on how well I keep up with grooming from now until then.  The sad truth is, we both hate our home grooming sessions.  Our 'hearts fall down,' as my daughter used to say when she was little.  I agree that Trav should be easier to groom if he's going in for professional care once a month.  I'm baffled by this newest coat thing--the little pesky tangles all over the place.  Not mats--maybe proto-mats? 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

The groomer is in an old office and she has crates for some dogs, but our guys have their own office cubicle!  Going to the groomer isn't their favorite thing, but as far as I am concerned, it is one of those necessities of life for them. 

Both Clancy and Gordie stay still and let me brush them.  I just flop Clancy from one side to the other.  Ned hates being brushed ( if your hair was like cotton and brushes and combs 'pulled') so my husband cuddles him and I brush/comb. 

For the recent matting, I would consider the products you have been using on Traveler's coat and whether you have been rinsing well enough.  The doodles feel so nice just after a professional groom and don't get dirty for a couple of weeks because the groomer really gets them clean - way cleaner than I can do at home in my bathtub.

[Pat and Traveler]

Nancy, so cool that you have your own cubicle!

Trav has only been bathed at the groomer's for the last few months, and his coat really does stay clean for a couple of weeks!  I'm sure I wasn't getting all the shampoo and/or conditioner out of his coat when I was giving him a bath.  I'd try---rinse, rinse, rinse--but I still don't think he was really 'finished.'  Like Ned, Trav has a super soft, cottony coat, and brushing or combing always pulls, which is especially hard in tender places like his belly or ears. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I'll bet that dogs with their coats never like being brushed or groomed and they are the ones who need it the most.  Poor guys.