Grooming

[Kylee]

I have a question for all of you out there who have gotten there doodles groomed. I had taken Willow to get her first haircut yesterday, she is 6 months old and has a shaggy coat. I love her coat and thinks it makes her look so cute. Well yesterday I took her to get groomed and I told the woman to cut only 1/2 and inch off, instead she buzzed her whole body and only left 1/2 and inch of fur! I was in shock and now I am worried her hair is going to grow back totally different. I also felt so bad considering it also felt like -8 degrees in PA yesterday. Anyway, did anyone have an experience like this? If so what did you do to make sure it didn't happen again? By the way I also showed her a picture of what I wanted. Thanks!

[Kylee]

Yes post pictures!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Unfortunately, I don't have a good before pic of her,...the first is the closest I have of her coat.
Second pic: Here she is today after she came in from chasing a remote truck around..,so her feet are dirty. Her back hair is actually longer than it looks here...but...I didn't want her to look like she got a haircut.




LOL....you can still see the hair on her left leg, hasn't grown in from her intravenous when she was spayed. I DIDN'T screw up....honest!

[Kylee]

She is so cute!!!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Many thanks!

[Kylee]

How did she do with getting spayed? Willow just got spayed yesterday and today she is going nuts...running around like nothing is wrong!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Enzo was the same! Keeping her " calm" was our biggest challenge! She never messed with her stitches,but because she was so rambunctious, she ripped out her top layer of stitches. Thankfully, the inner stitches held.

[Kelly & Zoe]

Zoe was the same way after the meds wore off.  2 weeks in the cone was a joke :-), we took it off after 3 days.  And no exercising - bah.  By day 3 we were going on light walks - we had to, she was just full of energy.

[Mindy Rapp]

Do you blow dry her?  When Doodle was groomed, she came home so fluffy she looked like a giant black Bichon.  I also love her bed head muppet look and she looked so crazy.  I kept trying to mess her back up.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Sorry this happened to Willow (and you!), but it seems it happens to all of us with puppies. Good groomers who listen to what you want are few and far between. They all say they'll do what you ask, and even if you show them pictures and take written instructions, they end up doing what they want to do. It took me about 1-1/2 yrs of trying new groomers before I stumbled on to one that listened. Rather than try to get a particular groomer to do what I wanted next time, I simply switched to a new groomer. I think everyone with a doodle has their own idea of what is right for their dog, and one size does not fit all. Its an arduous task, but keep looking until you're happy with the results.

I do think Willow looks very cute, btw, but she clearly was cut shorter than you asked. The groomer probably didn't want to scissor cut her, and used the longest clipper attachment comb she had (probably 1" long). You can specify you want a scissor cut, but it may cost more as its more time consuming. As far as if her hair will grow in differently, it will eventually anyway, and no amount of cutting (or not cutting) will change that. Once she goes through the coat change its very likely the texture, color and amount of curl will be different. 

Most groomers will cut the eyelashes unless you tell them otherwise (and they may still do it!). I like my doodles' eyelashes cut and now that I'm doing my own grooming I cut them every time. With professional groomers, one of my pet peeves was that they always used a clipper on their hineys and often gave them razor burn in the worst possible spot. So I came to ask that they always scissor cut that area. It made life a lot easier on the doods.

The good news is, hair grows and Willow will be needing a cut again before you know it. Good luck for next time!

[Kylee]

I am totally going to try a new groomer that will scissor cut her. If not then I'll try it myself. When will her last cost change be? Is it close to a year of age?

[Kathryn digregorio]

Hi,  I am sorry, know how you feel, Breezy was poorly groomed and shaved twice.  Now I have a great groomer that I trust.  However, her coat is really really soft and easily mats. I left her long several inches over Christmas because wanted the family to see her cute.  Well, she matted so badly had to be shaved.  It was explained to me and also in the post from a groomer in the group never shave my Doodle, how badly the matting is for the dog.  They are unable to move properly and it is painful.  The groomer and I are now increasing her grooming brush and fluff every three weeks and groom every 5.  If she mats inbetween she will be brushed out again.  I will never let this happen again, she is 15 months and coat is unlikely to change.  Hopefully your pup has a different coat, this one is fluffy and beautiful, but awful to prevent mats.  Hope this helps and good luck with your baby.

Kate and Breezy

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think Willow still looks darling - truly.  This cut won't affect her future coat at all.  Everything will grow back -PS she isn't buzzed, just short.  Some doodles have been really buzzed - you can see skin.