I don't want to shave my 11 mo Goldendoodle! :(

[Nicole & Dexter]

Hello ya'll!

I was curious, have any of you been told you have to shave your Goldendoodle when you took him/her to the groomers? Did you let them? My husband and I took our 11 month old Goldendoodle, Dexter to the Groomers today, for the first time, and they said they will have to shave all of him to about half an inch. He has some matts on his chest and his front legs. The matts aren't to the skin yet and they aren't that tight either. Does anyone know any tricks for getting these out? We scheduled an appointment with the groomers for next Wed and I would LOVE to be able to find a way to get these out before I take him back so we don't have to have him shaved. I know it's probably impossible but I thought I'd ask.  I think my husband is more upset than I am about it!

Thanks, ya'll! 

[Julie and Max]

I am so sorry Nicole, have you tried using a comb or dematting tool already?

[Nicole & Dexter]

Hi Julie,

We actually did last night for the first time and it worked great! We spent about 3 hours and then decided to give Dexter a break. We will be continuing it tonight. I'm so relieved. Dexter is such a good boy when it comes to us brushing him too! Phew! :)

[Willow and J]

Hi! What a teddy bear Dexter is!

We regularly cut Willow's hair to half an inch length, but it's winter and not everybody likes short coat (we do because Willow's coat mats really bad and quickly.) I would find another groomer who is willing to keep Dexter's coat as long as you want. We met groomers who would only do what they want to do for whatever reasons, then there are ones who would try what dog parents want even if it means 5 hours of careful brushing and more. For same kind of mats, one groomer would say Willow needs to be shaved because mats are too close to the skin, but another groomer would say she would have to cut off some mats close to skin but would brush over and make them seem even. At least from our experience, those who readily say "shave" were not good ones who were willing to cut corners to save time and effort that could translate into razor burns, cage-type dryer (Willow dreads those), and long kenneling in between. I don't want to scare you - I just want you to find a groomer who is willing to work with you!

[Nicole & Dexter]

Hi Willow! Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it when I get good responses from people. :) We took Dexter to Petco last night looking for some tools and Mat spray. We ended up talking to one of the groomers there who took a look at Dexter for us and she was awesome! She said he didn't need to be shaven completely. She said she would work with us and do whatever she has to do to make it so he isn't shaven all the way. We told her we are going to work out the mats ourselves as much as possible, and take him back to see her. She said there are some areas he will need to be shaven, such as under his legs and on his belly, but she said she will even his hair out. We were so happy to talk to her! She said he didn't have to be completely shaven like the other groomer said. We wont be taking Dexter back to that one :) So thank you for your advice! I completely agree with you after meeting two very completely groomers yesterday! 

[Willow and J]

I am glad you could find someone else.

I know many would say no to Petsmart / Petco grooming. I will caution you that often at those places, it's not always upto an individual groomer to make decisions  - they sometimes have too many dogs which result in kenneling, razor burns, etc. more often that individual groomers.

After several visits to fancy and expensive pet salons, we found a groomer we really liked at Petsmart, and we used her for a year. Then one day, Willow came back with severe razor burns on her belly and underarm which didn't heal for weeks. I think what had happened is that a different person worked on Willow's shaving part and didn't give enough time for razor to cool down between cuts. Also, Willow grew more and more scared of Petsmart grooming place to the point that she'd pee and shiver when we dropped her off. I think the noise and traffic and how some other groomers dealt with Willow terrified her. So, we had to find another place. I also cut Willow's hair at home sometimes. It's not as nice and even, and Willow hates brushing, grooming, bathing, and anything that'd make her prettier. But she's cute no matter what. :)

Hope Dexter will have a smooth grooming session.

[Bonnie and Kona]

You three are as cute as can be! ;o)

Please join the grooming group and research line-brushing. It is the only way you can get the mats out all the way to the skin without shaving your doodle. If he is too matted then it won't work either because it will be too painful for him to endure. There are videos on Youtube, too. You need a steel comb and a brush as well as a pair of scissors for the bad spots. Good luck. 

I didn't find out about line brushing until Kona was shaved down during the "dreaded coat change". It made things much easer and after the coat change his "do" was easier to manage. 

[Nicole & Dexter]

Thanks so much, Bonnie! :) We bought a steel comb last night and looked up how to do line brushing. Everyone's advice on here helped my husband and I a lot!  We did line brushing on dexter last night, and we actually made a lot of progress! Tonight we will be going at it again! 

[Leslie J]

I suggest you clear up the mats yourself before taking him to a groomer. Cocoa mats easily, and I comb out most of the mats myself, because most groomers don't want to take the time. When Cocoa's hair is long, it takes about 2 hours to comb her out if she has a few mats, longer if there are quite a few. First I brush her out with a Les Poochs brush, then I comb every inch of her with a metal comb. The trick is to go section by section so you are combing all the way to the skin. I like to do it myself, because I can take my time and be very gentle.

If there's a bad mat, I slide the comb between her skin and the mat (so I don't accidentally cut her) and simply cut the mat out. I also cut any matted hair on her belly, because it's very sensitive. It won't show where you've cut because all of the surrounding long hair will cover it. I notice Cocoa tends to mat under her ears, around her collar, and on her legs and belly.

When Cocoa was younger, I had several occasions where she had quite a few mats. Now I comb her out head to tail every week- it takes over an hour. Before I got Cocoa, I had no idea how much work it was to groom a doodle!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

If you would spend 10 - 15 mins each day or every other day he would be a lot easier to maintain.  If you never let them get mats it is much quicker to run the brush through them.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Interestingly, Sheri, with Ned's coat, it takes about the same amount of time - mats or not.  He has such a thick poodle-like coat though.  Fifteen minutes would get both ears and his mustache - on a good day!

[Nicole & Dexter]

Dexter is the same! His hair takes a long time to brush out. It's very dense but it's very fine. If that makes sense. Once he's brushed out he turned into such a puff ball! lol. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

And then you can spritz and scrunch! :-}     My next doodle is gonna have one of those perfect coats - whatever that is!