What kind of coat does my F1b mini golden doodle have, and what kind of clippers/comb do you recommend?

[Christina and Timber]

Hi, I am ready to give my little 14 week doodle, Timber, a clip, as she is getting quite fluffy, and it is getting warmer out. I have a good (but long, heavy) set of professional "people" clippers that I use to cut my sons' and husband's hair, and I am wondering if I need to invest in dog clippers... I do not know the difference. I love a little bit longer look on a doodle, so I don't want to go too short, but I want her to be comfortable. I think she may have a fleece coat, or wool?? It is coarser in back, by her bum. I brush her well every 3days, with the proper method described here and I occasionally trim around her eyes and backside with blunted hand scissors. I tried to do her muzzle a bit yesterday, but I am not sure where to start or how much to cut. I saw Ragley's pics... Nice tutorial! I just want a little more info or advice, especially with Her type of coat. Thanks!

[Christina and Timber]

Here is another picture, a little more recent...she is changing fast

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can't answer your questions about clippers, as I never use them. JD doesn't get haircuts, and my non-shedding dogs in the past were all hand-scissored rather than clipped.

But regarding warm weather, as long as you keep your puppy's coat mat-free, cutting her shorter will not make her cooler or more comfortable. The coat insulates them against both heat and cold. Many people keep their doodles short in summer because it's easier to care for their coats, but if you like the longer look, don't give it up because you think she will be cooler...she won't. 

[Christina and Timber]

Ooooh, okay

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I used "people" clippers when I did Ragley's cut and they worked just fine. I'm not sure about what the difference is either. At 14 weeks, her coat shouldn't be too long yet (and it doesn't look very long in the pictures) so if you can stay on top of line brushing her regularly, there really is no reason to trim her yet. As Karen already mentioned, it won't make her any cooler :)

[Christina and Timber]

That is interesting! Okay,thank you. :-)

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

It looks like Timber has/will have a wooly coat, like my Lucy's. Here's a pic of her before any clipper cut, at 10-1/2 weeks old. Once she went through the coat change between 6-10 mos. her coat was even woolier, more tightly wound.

The good news for you is that wooly coats lend themselves to a nicer finished clipper cut. Between Oscar's soft curly coat and Lucy's rough wooly coat, I much prefer the clipper experience, in terms of results, with Lucy over Oscar. I much prefer Oscar's temperament while grooming, though, but that's a whole other subject.

My suggestion to you since Timber is so young, and hasn't had a clipper cut experience yet, is to go slow to get her use to grooming. Have you bathed her yet? You may want to consider starting her out with a professional groomer her first couple times. Make the first groom just a bath and blow dry and maybe a sanitary trim. You want to start getting her accustomed to everything that's entailed with grooming; bathing and blow drying; the noises associated with the tools; the different physical sensations of the tools; the grooming table.  As for a full groom including clipper cut, most professional groomers will only take that first full groom as far as the puppy will tolerate. I think its far easier to pick up on doing your own grooming after several professional grooms. The puppy hopefully will have gotten use the grooming experience, you'll learn what look/length you like, and it will just be a matter of getting yourself comfortable with grooming, rather than the both of you.

Once you're ready to start doing full grooms, read as much as you can about techniques and tools, watch free youtube videos on doodle grooming and ask lots of questions. We're here to help!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I see you're in the Portland area. So am I. Just out of curiosity, which area of Portland do you live in? I know of a great professional groomer in Hillsboro, if you're interested.

[Christina and Timber]

Great! I am in the Hollywood/Alameda area. I would be willing to go to Hillsboro if the groomer comes recommended. I would love it of Timber ends up with a wooly coat. :-) I have bathed her twice. She is not too keen on the blowdryer, but I will try a diffuser next time. I trim her nails, clean her ears, and brush her, with pretty good success now. I have noticed her hair getting a little bit frizzier, because I did not use conditioner the last time I bathed her probably, and I have been line brushing her which seems to make her frizz out a bit also.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Its great that you've been doing some maintenance grooming yourself thus far with Timber. That's really important. I've found Lucy's wooly coat does well with a good conditioner, Oscar, not so much. His soft coat really doesn't need it, and it doesn't help with clipper cuts, since conditioner weighs the hair down and makes the cut more difficult. Lucy's coarse coat stands up even with conditioner.

Cute Cuts is the name of the salon in Hillsboro. Ask for Kim. She's the owner and the best groomer there IMO. Her daughter is good, too, and did a fine job on Oscar, but I preferred Kim for Lucy's clipper cuts. Oscar had his first few grooms with Kim and she was really great with him, taking her cue from his tolerance/comfort level. Kim is fast, too (2 to 2-1/2 hrs), compared to other area groomers and reasonably priced. She really listens to what you want, if you have a particular look you'd like. She has lots of experience grooming doodles. Cute Cuts, 1011 SE Walnut St. Hillsboro, 503-640-8300

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I wanted to mention too, that if/when you go to Kim, you may want to ask for the ears to be layered.  That's the doodle standard. Kim cut Lucy's ears straight across with a blunt cut, and although I didn't like it at first it ended up growing on me and I never had her change it :) Once we brought Oscar home he made sure her ears were layered (her ears became the main part of her body he grabbed onto and pulled a lot of her ear hair out). Ever since, we've gone with the layered look.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I don't keep my dogs short and I have them professionally groomed, but my groomer scissor cuts and doesn't use clippers at all.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I've trimmed Yogi just to get some of the drier, frizzy hair off. It was probably some of the puppy fuzz. I used regular scissors. Prob took off 1- 1 1/2 inches. It was so easy. Their fur is very forgiving. I really liked it.