11 Months-Barely matting

[Breanna]

Crush is 11 months old now and I was expecting a dreadful coat change that everyone talks about by now. There has only been one time that I turned her over to brush her and she had about 30 minutes worth of mats around her belly and hind legs. I gently removed them with her electric shaver and ordered a matting brush that removes them nicely. Since that one incident, I've only found a handful of little mats that I brushed right out. I brush her every few days and it is fairly easy to do. She is a non-shedder so I expected that there would be a mat-filled coat change. Has anyone else had a non-shedding labradoodle that didn't go through much of a coat change? I'm not complaining by any means :)

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

As we move forward with developing the breed, coats improve. The trick is to maintain health and temperament while working on coats and conformation and not lose genetic diversity.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Enzo has just turned 10 months..GoldenDoodle and non- shedding. Like others have mentioned....she has a very fluffy fine line on her back, which it think is still her puppy coat. The rest looks very adult like.....soft and wavey. I brush/ comb her everyday and so far no mats. Once in awhile I find a small loose knot...just the very tips of the hair. Still waiting for Les Pooche to restart production. No complaints!

[Janice Sutherland]

Well, here is my story on coat changes and matting.

I have four doodles that are now 18 months old now. Each has a different coat type; Billy has black glossy, very curly hair with no fine fuzz, Rose has black/brownish tinge, softer curls with more wave but still lots of body, Libby has light creamy tan, very soft wavy, lots of fine fuzzy parts, but still full coat, and Jasmine has a darker tan, loose wavy, scruffy, bed head kind of hair coat. From what I have read they probably represent the full range of coats for doodles! Over the year they range from 4 inches in the winter to 3/4 inch in the summer. I groom them all myself and have always considered them low maintenance between cuts. They spend about 1/2 their time outdoors playing, rough housing, swimming lots, bath only when muddy (not often) and brush maybe once a month. Mats have been few and I either brush/comb or snip them out. Change from puppy coat to adult coat was uneventful, not a lot of matting or shedding.

All fine UNTIL 2 WEEKS AGO!!!

First I noticed Libby had a few mats. I brushed her out. A few days later there were more. Brushed again. Then the mats came faster than I could keep up. I was bewildered! For the first time in her life she has mats that took forever to work out and I simply could not maintain. Then Jasmine started. She has less hair and is easier to brush out. The mats never got so bad. Then Bill and Rose started. I quickly realized that I could not keep working on Libby as intensely as required and maintain all the training and love for grooming we had cultivated. So even though it was still cold out I decided to give her the spring groom. Wow, had to go right down to a number 4 blade and even then it took forever. Slowly working through her coat. Many areas I had to scissor cut and then the next day work out the matting with a comb, even in short hair! Then go over again with the clippers. Bill and Rose have followed suit -- though not nearly as bad. I was able to keep their hair 3/4 inch long. However, maybe I was more proactive and they may have ended up as bad as Libby had I waited. Jasmine is the only one with her long coat still. She is losing hair but has a coat that either does not hold onto the spring shed as tightly, or is just easier to brush out the fine hairs that would mat. I have always found more hair in the brush from her than the others.

I think what has happened is that here in Alberta Canada we have had a long cold winter. It is not normally so cold, nor do we get such long spells of cold. The dogs grew long thick coats, spent lots of time outdoors, and then, rather than shed off slowly and consistently they did it all of a sudden when we had an extended warm spell (my horses also shed all of a sudden and too early, and it was at the same time as Libby started). I guess this goes to show that doodles are shedding dogs, regardless of the coat types.

So this is a post to tell everyone that I now understand all the mat talk, and I can now empathize! I humbly apologize for my less than experienced previous posts : ]

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Janice, thanks so much for your wonderful detailed info. I guess part of the moral of the story is to keep a close eye on your doodles coat because it can change rapidly and just change from non matting to matting. I appreciate you letting us know about the four coat types and how they faired through the last month or so.
I'm thinking Yogi sounds more like jasmine, so I'm still hopeful it won't be too bad.
And you groom and care for four doodles, impressive! I'm just torn on whether to get a second one :-)

Again thanks for taking the time!