What type of coat is Gumbo? Grooming question

[Gumbo and Ashley]

Can anyone tell me what kind of coat Gumbo has? He is 3 months old and I get very confused on the terms wavy, curly, wool, fleece?? Please let me know what y'all think. Also, I want to take him to his first grooming session very soon. I want to keep the "teddy bear" look on his face, so do I tell them to trim it or just leave it alone? I'm so scared he will look funny if the groomer does the wrong thing. I know this is crazy but I've been looking for pics of adult doodles that I think Gumbo might look like, and I like how they are groomed......I found this pic which I think Gumbo might look alot like. I like how he is groomed and esp his face..... Please see the pic below and if anyone out there is a groomer, could you please tell me what type of cut (if any) this doodle has?  this is how I want Gumbo to look when he gets older and his hair gets longer. thanks! Please see below:

Oh, by the way, this is Beowoff, a member of DK, (hopefully his mom/dad won't mind that I posted his pic). LOL

[Ginny Nightingale]

Here are my two cents as a puppy raiser and doodle groomer--first, your guy is gorgeous! The only thing cuter is that sweet little girl in the picture! I would say that most doodles get lighter and curlier as their puppy coat transitions to an adult coat--but there is no RULE--it really varies--so je might end up lighter in color than Beowoof---Gumbo has a wavy fleece coat now and will keep that but it just may have a bit more of a round curl to it. Wool is much curlier, like a poodle.

As far as the name for this cut--there is not one name for each cut--the best thing is to bring a picture such as the one of Beowoof and ask them not to make Gumbo too poodle-y. Most groomers have to be educated about what you want, since there is no doodle pattern. When the doodles I groom go elsewhere occasionally, they always look different than when i do them--the hair on top of the head is often clipped instead of scissored and ends up too short--and the legs are clipped too--you want a scissor cut for his first grooming and take him to a good groomer--not petsmart--they just run the clipper over the whole body and do not shape the hair in different lengths.  Also, it looks to me like Gumbo has long ears--maybe that is hair--I would ask them to cut the hair at the bottom even with the "leather" of his ear to give him less of a "hound dog" look.

See how Beowoof's ears  are even with the hair on the muzzle? That is what you want to have a router appearance to the head. But he may just have to grow into those ears before you get that look! ;) 

[Gumbo and Ashley]

Ginny your 2 cents have been worth a thousand dollars today! Thanks you answered all my questions! I always end up having more questions to my questions lol.... and nope! You just covered it all!!! Thanks a million!!! You rock!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I agree with everything Ginny has said, and will add my 2 cents as well. I think what you may want to ask for from a groomer is a 'puppy cut'. All that means is they take the same amount of hair off all over the body and face. That will keep a puppy look about him. You can specify how much to have them take off.  Gumbo looks like he will probably have a curly coat as an adult. As Ginny said, doodles generally get curlier as they mature. My Oscar also had long ears as a puppy, and he did kind of grow into them. Here's a picture of him at about the same age as Gumbo:

He ended up with a curly coat (but not wooly, like Lucy's) and he mats pretty easily after a certain length, so I keep him pretty short. I give him more of a doodle cut (tail, muzzle and ears longer, body a bit shorter than legs), but he had basically puppy cuts his first year. Oh, and that first picture is just precious!

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

His coat looks very much like my Casey, whose coat is wavy.

[Kurt Gustafson]

I'd say the difference between wool and fleece is more about the thickness of the coat, not the curl. Most F1Bs are wool coated regardless of curl, so expect Gumbo will be also. he looks like he is on his way. You need a good two-speed clipper or a well versed groomer to deal with him.

 

Our F1B had the most beautiful coat, but was a nightmare to groom

[Christy&Riley]

I would strongly recommend not using the term "puppy cut." Riley got a horrible first haircut based on that term. See attached. I'm a big fan of scissor cuts. I think you get a better teddy bear look in my opinion.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Obviously, your groomer didn't know what 'puppy cut' means and had their own definition. So sorry about Riley, but I think your experience is probably pretty typical regardless of what cut you ask for. I didn't have a really bad cut (shaved to the skin) until Lucy was about a year old, but I had varying degrees of 'bad' experiences with groomers for her first couple years. I did everything right, too, taking pictures and outlines of what II wanted, explaining in depth about the length of each area and what I didn't want, and I came away with something entirely different. After 4 different groomers I finally landed on one that listened and did what I asked. Now I groom my own doodles, and its been a freeing experience. I'm no longer left feeling frustrated or disappointed. If I"m not happy with a look, I fix it.

[Dennise]

Hello - your puppy reminded me of ours that is now almost 2 years old. At about 6 months old his coat got much curlier and is beautiful. I loved his long curly fur but is was very hard to manage. I brushed him every night and made sure that there were no mats and he looked great. Since their coats are so thick it was very hard to get a brush/comb all the way thru the fur to his skin to stop the mats from forming. I finally gave in and let the groomer cut his fur so that it was about 1" on his body and kept it long on his face , tail and paws. He still is beautiful and seems much happier and it really made a difference in the amount of dust that gets into their thick coats. I do take him to the groomer for a full haircut every 4 weeks and bath him at home 1 or 2 times in between. I would look for pictures of haircuts that you like when you take him in for that first haircut so that you are not disappointed. I also found a great home shampoos and conditioner that worked the best out of the 10 different brands that I tried for this type of fur. It is called Cowboy and it keeps him soft as a teddy bear. good luck with the first haircut and remember that their fur grows back really fast.

[Three Doodle Life]

Beowoof is famous! He would be so proud! :-) That picture is right before he got his "summer" cut. I had been trimming his face and ears myself prior to this point. I groom my four miniature schnauzers so I planned on grooming Beowoof myself. I ran into trouble with the adult coat hiding underneath the teddy bear locks. LOL! Beowoof is an F1B so he was hiding lots and lots and lots of tight fleecy curls under his puppy coat. When he came back from the groomers I was stunned by the curls! They had also used a hair dryer and fluffed out his head so he looked like a Bichon Frise. It was pretty funny! As soon as we got home I got my spray bottle and spritzed his hair with water to get the loose curls back. ;-)

I waited to get his first cut until he was 7 months old. I just loved the teddy bear look! :-)

Gumbo definitely looks like Beowoof's long lost brother! :-) I would imagine their coats will be very similar. My advice on the grooming is to bring a few pictures of what you like and really have a good talk with the groomer. Let them know what you want and also what you don't want. The scissor cut is probably your best bet. You need to find a good groomer for that. You might try calling around to see who does this. Most groomers like the clippers. :-)

You can't go wrong. That Gumbo is a handsome devil! ;-)

[Gumbo and Ashley]

I haven't been on in a while but thought y'all might want to see what Gumbo looks like at 5 months old. His coat is getting thicker and curlier.(And he is still resembling famous Beowoof, Vanessa) I haven't had him groomed yet, but I have been using 4 different dematting rakes and combs and a slicker brush twice a week on him. So far so good. I know he will be needing a hair cut very soon, but I keep putting  it off bc he just looks soooo darn cute like this!  Everyone in my boutique has to do a double take bc they think he is a teddy bear. Gumbo made 5 months old yesterday, and although he is a puppy, he is soooo calm and laid back. He can be left in the house alone for 5-6 hours and not have a single accident or tear up anything. Sometimes we come home after hours of being gone and wonder, what the heck did he do because every thing is untouched. Once we even left stacks of folded laundry on the rug in the living room and he didn't touch a thing! We just got lucky i think, He acts very mature for a puppy. LOL... Well, I will be posted alot of pics of Gumbo so if you want to see them, just go to my page... thanks everyone.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

He's adorable, and from what you describe, he is a VERY GOOD DOG!

[Greta and Ambi (doodle)]

My Ambi F1B Goldendoodle (soon will be 7 months old) is very similar to your Gumbo, except that your Gumbo has a slightly more curlier coat, especially on the head.