The Coat Question

[Stacy]

Sorry, I know this gets asked over and over! Katie is 9 months - a F1B golden doodle and she is so so soft. She doesn't really seem to matt, though I am a good brush/comber. She's only been to the groomer once - about 3 weeks ago, because no matter how I tried to tentatively trim, I couldn't find her eyes! The groomer seemed upset when I told her that she hadn't been groomed before, but then was less upset when she parted her hair and saw that she really wasn't matted. (She did find a matt behind each ear which she cut off. Whoops! I will pay more attention to that area in the future)

Anyway, to get to the point: I keep reading about this coat change, but I don't really feel like Katie's coat has changed since she was a puppy. Longer and thicker, sure. But she's still soft, fluffy, and wavy like she was when she came home. She doesn't shed either. We get some hair in the brush, but no more than when I brush my hair. I can't really figure out if it's fleece or hair or whatever. So is this it? Or am I still waiting for her hair to do something different? I just love her coat. I hope she's like this forever. I'm just curious if I'm still waiting for something to change or if she's old enough that a coat change would have already happened. 

Thanks! Stacy

[Willow and J]

Willow's coat is still soft and fluffy at age 5, and except for some "kemp" - I learned about this here - a bit of stiffer and thicker hair mixed in on her back, I don't think her coat changed much. But I remember her hair matted terribly around 10 month and I think that was the time she "transitioned" to her adult coat. She hates getting brushed, so we keep her hair short between 1/2 to 2 inches, and  that takes care of matting (more or less). 

[Stacy]

I guess I still have some time for her to turn into a matting monster for a while then. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't happen. I don't think she hates being brushed, but she's not always incredibly patient with the process. I haven't heard the term kemp. I'll have to search the forum for it. Thanks!

[Wendy and Myla]

I've had two doodles and neither one had a coat change.  Zak was our first doodle and lived to the age of five and she had beautiful wavy hair, didn't shed and hardly matted.  I would just finger-comb her nightly while we snuggled on the couch.   Myla is a swimmer and mats when swimming or when she runs in the snow - her hair is a bit courser than Zak's was but both are wavy.  They are both standard F-1's.  I never heard of coat changes until I came upon this website (3 1/2 years ago) while waiting for Myla so I was expecting a coat change with Myla but it never happened. I am so happy that it didn't because I love the wavy look!

[Stacy]

Thanks! This is good to know. I hope that the hair she has now is the hair she always has. I just love petting her. It's one of the reasons that I picked a goldendoodle. Of course now I'd love her to death if she was bald, but I really do love how soft she is.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

I felt the same when Rip was 9mos- he was a doll about brushing his wavy fleece, and I was on top of it. Then it started getting harder. Maybe I wasn't making brushing as positive as I should have (don't be like me!) cause I relied on him being so good. So he started moving away after a few minutes of "tolerating" me, lol, and 11-12 months - boy did his coat turn more matted! I suppose that the puppy to adult coat transition exacerbates it. I started just snipping them out rather than torturing him with the Matt rake. Now at 13 mos I brought him to the groomer again for his first short (1-1/2in) cut! It was a must because of all the holes I'd snipped! We are getting used to his new (less floofy) look and it will be cleaner and easier on him with fewer matts. :) BTW - good news is he is still heavenly soft! Best,

[Wynnie & Jim]

Stacey...our 18 month old puppy (She will always be a puppy to me.) has always had a soft coat. People love to pet her coat because they say it is like silk. I do brush her every day and believe that it quality thime with her. Aside from licking my wrist and watch she stands perfectly still and loves the grooming. I have attached a picture of the silky one.
The picture is at the end of the day and after dinner, so she is a bit straggly.
You may get lucky with Katie's coat as I have been with Wynnie's coat. Keep us posted.