Taking the plunge...first home groom

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Ragley is about 6 1/2 months old and has the most beautiful, flowing, gorgeous, richly colored coat (ok- I'm a little biased). I LOVE her hair. It is safe to say I am obsessed with it. I hate even having to trim between her eyes and bringing myself to clip her bangs back a little so she can see was a difficult venture to take on. 

HOWEVER- I am sane enough to realize that for her own comfort, trimming her back a bit is a must. Summer in middle Tennessee is extremely hot and almost unbearably humid. I think she would be miserable with her long coat. It would also probably help cut back on coat maintenance required on my part. Ok, it definitely would. 

I have planned from the start to do this chore myself and so I am approaching the plate with scissors, brush, and comb in hand. I know she needs to be cleaned, dried, brushed, and combed. I have watched and rewatched youtube videos to try to help myself learn even a little bit of technique. 

I guess what I am mainly seeking is encouragement, advice, and maybe even a few pictures to help guide me on what I might like my end result to look like. For those of you who home-groom: is there anything you wish you would have known or a method you have come to like? I'll probably be spreading this chore out over a few days to ease the amount that it will test both my and Ragley's patience.

Please share your experiences! Each time I read someone's grooming story, it gives me a confidence boost and I think, "see- I CAN do this!" 

And of course it wouldn't be a complete post without a picture!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I have to agree, Ragley is simply a gorgeous doodle! The first time I clipped Kona it was pretty awful. The next day I snipped a bit her and there to clean up the worst of it. I've been clipping him for five years now and his brother for 2 1/2. Truly it is worth it. Expense: 2 doodle @ $120 each every six weeks.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Thanks, Bonnie! I'm sure I will be the same way. I'll clip and then I'm sure I'll be adjusting and trimming here and there for the next couple of days after! I am willing to splurge on the important things like nutrition, but I know I need to be thrifty in other areas like grooming! Thanks for the encouragement!

[Bonnie and Kona]

It's a fun project. Especially if you just have one! ;o)

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

The thing I learned from my first doodles was to stop delaying that first big haircut to avoid more of the coat change matting. I do have some nice coats now that have little to no apparent coat change. I hope your dood is one of those.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Thanks, Barb! I am very fortunate (knock on wood) that Ragley's coat has had zero matting so far. She is definitely going through her coat change right now, but it has not caused us issues so far. I do think I will get through this first groom and realize it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect and she will be beautiful no matter what and I will wonder what all my hesitation was for.

[Rose Coward]

She's adorable.  One tip that might help is to remember that the coat grows back so quickly any BIG mistakes you make won't be around for long, and any little mistakes know one will even know about, because it's really hard to mess up a shaggy coat.  : )
About the eyes, my daughter just commented tonight on how odd it is that Molly holds her head up so high when she runs, and then she answered her own question by saying, I wonder if she's doing that to let the air flow (from running) to hold her bangs out of her way so she can see where she's going.   lol   I trimmed her bangs right away.  That is VERY likely what Molly was doing. 

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Very true, Rose. I will most likely be the only one who will notice any mistakes made! 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Ragley is very cute! I've only been doing my own grooming for about 6 months, but I remember how intimidating that first clipper cut was. Seemed I put it off for weeks after I had all the tools for the job. It gets easier each time and you learn with trial and error what works best for your doodle's coat. You'll do just fine. One thing that I will never do is wait more than 3 weeks to do a trim. After a certain point, especially with my doodles' curly coats, the mats seem to form overnight and it's no fun for anyone, trying to get them out. Good luck and be sure to post pictures once you take the plunge!

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Debb- I remember when you posted pics of your first home grooming! You were actually one of the DKers that first made me think- hey, I could do that too! 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Oh, Ragley looks so cute in the flowers!

One thing I realized after the first cut was how quickly her coat grows! I soon wished I had cut it shorter because she needed groomed  again  soon after.  So it depends on your goals with coat length and amount of time you want to spend grooming her. Tara really hates being groomed so I cut her fairly short and try to spread the grooming sessions out as far as I can. Some doodles just fall asleep while being groomed...don't I wish! LOL  Plus she doesn't enjoy being brushed either so the shorter coat reduces that as well.  I love her coat longer but it turned out to be stressful for both of us to keep it that way.

I also found that the doodle coat, by nature, tends to be very forgiving when it comes to grooming errors so don't be afraid to give it a try.  So just relax and have fun and that will help her stay calm too.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ragley is truly gorgeous.  I don't wash, dry cut etc my doods so I have no advice.

[Shanen Sadowski]

I hear ya!   This weekend I took the plunge and gave Maslow her first cut with clippers.  …..Sadness.  I too love this muppet look and miss her long hair, but I'm sure she'll be happier as it gets warmer out.  Even though I used the longest guide possible on the clippers, she still looks pretty dang choppy with some spots much longer than others.  I went back and touched up a bit with a thinning shears, but any advice on how to get it more even next time?