Preparing For A New Puppy- Grooming Basics Questions

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Hi everyone,

I've got a ways to go before I get my ALD (hopefully about 3 1/2 months should everything go as planned) and I have a few questions about supplies that I need to have from the get-go.  I've never had a doodle before (my last dog was a malti-poo) so I'm not sure what to anticipate for his puppy coat.  I tend to be an over-buyer and I'm trying to reign myself in a bit :)  I'm expecting him to be a fleece coat.

Brush:

What kind of brush should I expect to need for a puppy, with the goal of just getting him used to being brushed and handled, as well as keeping his coat nice and not tangled.  Slicker? Pin-brush? Activet? There are SO many options and I want to make sure I have the right starter brush for getting him used to grooming with plans to add new things in as his coat changes.

Ear Care:

Do I need to get ear solution and ear powder for a brand new pup?  When do I need to plan on starting to use this, and how often would you suggest?

Shampoo and Conditioner:

Is a basic puppy shampoo all I need, I currently have an Amazon wishlist started with some Chris Christensen leave-in conditioner kinds of products.  Does a puppy coat need the extra conditioning or do the extra products lend themselves better to the adult coat?

Thanks so much for any advice you can give.  I expect that there would be some trial and error since every doodle (at least it seems so on this site) seems to be different, but I am just looking for some basic guidance to just get me started.

Thanks again!

[Laura and Angus]

Hi there!

Congrats on bringing home a new puppy soon! It's a very exciting (and terrifying - for me at least) time! I'll answer with my experiences:

Brush:

I believe the type of brush really depends on the coat of your puppy. I have an F1b goldendoodle with a softer, curly non-shedding coat. We use a slicker brush. Activet seems to be a big thing for doodle owners, but I don't have the money to spend on that and our simple slicker brush works great! We use one like the one pictured below with the slightly curved tips. We used this with our family standard poodle too...

Ear Care

We got the ear solution from the vet - no ear powder personally, but I don't pluck their ear hairs myself, so I don't worry about that. You should probably practice with the ear solution for cleaning in the beginning- I think we did this once a week or so to help our puppy get used to it. We now do early cleaning maybe twice a month and he gets his ear hair cleaned out completed at the groomer every 6-8 weeks when he's groomed. Your puppy might not need this much, but our doodle has pretty hairy ears (thanks to the 75% poodle), so we make sure that gets cleaned out to avoid infection.

Shampoo and Conditioner

We actually just use baby shampoo (like Johnson and Johnson) for our puppy. We used that when I had a standard poodle who had sensitive skin and so we just continued using that with our puppy now. We don't use conditioner, though so maybe others have ideas on this!

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Thanks so much for your advice.  I hadn't thought of just using Johnson and Johnson, but my young niece spends a lot of time at my house so we always have that around!  

[Laura and Angus]

No problem! Honestly, for a breed with more sensitive skin...it's easy and cheap since it's designed to be sensitive. That's my take anyway :) Doodles (and puppies) are expensive, so we don't like to save on places that don't require something specialized. Also, we don't bathe our pup that much to avoid drying out his skin. We have an itchy pup, so we do what we can to keep him from being too itchy. Good luck with everything! You'll get great advice on this site when you bring home your new baby :) 

[Carlene and Kobe]

Hi there - our 5 month old f1b mini goldendoodle has a wavy coat - the breeder had suggested a pin brush, so we picked one up at our local pet store - the pet store clerk was quite helpful too. The pin brush works well for Kobe and we brush him daily.  We haven't started any ear care yet.  As for the shampoo, the vet gave us a free sample of Epi-Soothe at our first visit, so we are still just using that at the moment.

Best of luck - so exciting as the anticipation builds for your new pup!!

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Thanks so much for your advice! Kobe is adorable!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Brushes:   Any brush will do until you really see what his coat is like, so start out cheap.  

Ear cleaner:  We use ear cleaner from the vet - Epi-otic. We didn't and don't clean our doodles ears often because they don't have any problems, however we do clean our Springer's ears because he does.

Shampoo: to start off, use anything for dogs.  Once you see what his coat is like, you can adjust.  Unless he comes to you dirty (and many do) you won't need to bathe him for a while.  If you do bath him, be careful not to get water in the ears.

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Thanks!  That helps a lot :)

[Joyce]

I like Thornit Ear Powder (http://www.thornitearpowder.com/). I use a Safari metal comb for grooming; for a de-matting tool the best IMHO is also Safari, see the link on my website (http://www.lakelurelabradoodles.com/some-of-my-favorite-new-puppy-b...). I don't recommend using people shampoos, talk to your future groomer for recommendations.
We use Fresh 'n Clean Tearless or Medi-Cleen for in between baths.

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Thanks!  I took a look on your website and it was a great resource!  My breeder recommends the safari de-matting tool, but I'll check out the metal comb as well!.  Thanks for the tip on ear powder and shampoo too!  I really appreciate it!

[Joyce]

Happy to help, I found out about the Safari de-matting tool from one of our puppy families.  Love to pass along what little I have learned...as most has been learned from others!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

 I use a small slicker or pin brush and steel comb on Tara. She has a fine, fairly thin, wavy fleece coat and although many doodle owners can use Activet brushes on their dogs, it is way too much brush for Tara. They do  have sharp points and can be painful if they hit the skin.  A pin brush and a steel comb or a rotating tooth comb may be a good place to start as they are gentle and will help acclimate him/her to being groomed. Also, you may need different tools once his/her puppy coat is shed and the adult coat grows in, around a year old.

Also ear care will depend on coat type and activity levels. Tara has very little hair in her ears. She is 6 years old and has never had them plucked or washed out and has never had an infection. Other doodle's ears seem to be full of hair to the point of plugging. Also if doodles swim a lot they can sometimes end up with ear issues due to dampness. So I would suggest you just monitor them as your pup grows. It's not a "one size fits all" kind of issue just like the brushes.

We use Aroma Paws shampoo with conditioner as we like to avoid chemicals. Tara has very sensitive skin and tends to break out in hives with many shampoos.  So again, regardless of what we suggest your pup may have different ideas! :)

Looking forward to meeting your new family member. It sounds like you're doing a great job of preparing for his/her arrival!

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

That's great to know about the Activet being perhaps a little bit painful if they hit the skin.  I think I may start out with a pin brush and just get him used to the idea of being brushed and once I understand his coat, I can change what I use.  Thanks for that tip!

I am hoping that my pup doesn't have to be plucked, just for my own not wanting to feel like I'm hurting him by pulling out his ear hair, but if he does, of course I'll do what it takes.  Maybe I'll hold off on buying anything, at least until I get a better idea of what his ears need.  

And thanks for the tip on that shampoo!  I had no idea there were SO many options for brands.  I'm with you on avoiding chemicals, so I'll definitely check out Aroma Paws.  

Thanks again for your tips, I really appreciate it and thanks for your encouragement too!  I'm so excited and still have a ways to wait so I'm trying to get all my researching and planning out of the way so I don't suddenly have a puppy with no idea what to do with him.  Thanks again!