Coat and Shedding

[Daniela Horth]

Hi all!  I have a 16 week old mini f1b aussiedoodle named Lucy.  Her coat is quite shaggy right now and does shed a bit.  I was told she wouldn't shed at all.  It's not really a big deal because it's minimal I would say.  My friend has a GD and she said his puppy coat shed a bit as well but his adult coat didn't at all.  Has anyone else had this experience?  Thank you!

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

My F1 labradoodle is a world class shedder, my F1B labradoodle doesn't shed at all. 

[Sam&Bella]

This question is probably really dumb, but I get super confused with the f1b,f1,etc. So what where the parents? Because usually,but not all the time, the first generations will shed.

Also, puppy coats are usually more straight and wavy (which are the coats that are more prone to shedding), but when the puppy coat comes off, it might get curly-er (curly coats are the coats that are more likely not to shed). That's what happened to Bella, but I don't think she shed when she was a puppy.

I hope that helps! :)

[Daniela Horth]

Thanks for your response! F1b means Lucy was the puppy of an F1 bred "b"ack to one of the original breed. So her mom was an F1 Aussiedoodle and Dad poodle. I wasn't aware that the adult cost comes in curlier. I'm secretly hoping she stays a bit wavy despite the bit of shedding.

[Sam&Bella]

Your Welcome! Since she is 75% poodle, I can't figure out why she would shed. But its minimal so I am thinking it might go away:) I was hoping that Bella would stay more wavy too. When we shaved her, and her hair was about an inch, It was more curly.(not as curly as a poodle). But it was different on different sections of her body. Then it got to about 2 inches, it got more wavy, but less wavy then her puppy coat.

(that was confusing!:)

[Daniela Horth]

Haha not confusing at all. It makes sense that the curl loosens as it gets longer. I have curly hair myself and length weighs it down. The hair on Lucy's back is almost straight but her chest, belly and haunches are waiver. I have yet to have her clipped; she was nervous the fist time we went so need to go back after I try to get her used to the clipper sound. I brush her about 3 times a week though as I'm paranoid about mats. I would love to keep her cost around 2 inches. Do you keep Bella's pretty short? Everyone says to ask for a longer version of the puppy cut. We will see how she does on Monday.

[Sam&Bella]

The first time we brought her to the groomer, She was terrified! the groomer was horrible,(mind you this groomer works at Bella's vet!) she did not listen to what we said, scooped her eyes, which made her look really weird, but on top of that, we had to give her tranquilizers to ride in the car! I guess the clippers scared her. The second time, we went to a pet store groomer (a small franchise) and asked them to take about an inch off. Bella was very scared, but they were wonderful with her. In the end it looked nice but matts kept popping up. it was about 5 inches and cut it down to 4. Then it got so bad that we had to shave her:(  ( Different groomer)When I saw her, I was devastated! Bella with no fur! So after that, it got to about 4 inches again, she kept getting matts.(partially my falt. she was wearing a harness a lot which made her chest matted) So we thought we could save a lot of money and bought a clipper. We HAD to shave her this time. (We really did not have to do it last time but the groomer was lazy.) We kept her face fuzzy which helped me recover quicker:) So from now on, we are probably going to do it ourselves, and keep it at about 2 inches. The only problem we had was that we weren't sure how to do her face. So now its a little uneven but when it gets longer hopefully you can't notice it:) That was a long explanation! I have a tendency to do that!

[Daniela Horth]

Oh the poor Belle! That's horrible. The groomer I plan to use works out of her home, and came well recommended. The fact that she wouldn't work on Lucy because she was scared said a lot. Didn't want her to have a bad experience. I have clippers that a neighbor gave me but I'm afraid to do it myself. Is it hard? What kind of clippers do you have? I am having a hard time really visualizing 2 inches but that sounds like a nice in between. Do you prefer 4 inches if it wasn't for matting? Lucy doesn't mind being brushed and I'm having success with a poodle comb, so I may be able to keep it longer; and so far she doesn't seem prone to matting but I suppose that could change with the adult cost as well. Time will tell :) so much to learn.

[Daniela Horth]

Sorry I meant Bella. Darn autocorrect.

[Sam&Bella]

That's okay! We call her Belle too!  Its not really hard, just complicated!, Because of her size we can't put her on a table, We are on the floor leaning over. Also, Its a little hard because you have to do her whole body the same length which takes a while. But in the end, it looks okay:) She also likes to squirm too. And she is much more calm at home. Thank Goodness! Here are the clippers that I use. They are kind of expensive, but cheaper in the long run:http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/dog/dog-grooming-and-bathin... Also, Don't get the cheap ones! They are not strong enough, and die really quick. Yes! The more hair the better! I would keep as long as possible.I Iove when she is shaggy! 

You are lucky! Bella thinks its a game when I brush her. She always tries to bite the brush:)

Now that I think about it, Bella didn't matt when she was a puppy either. It really started when she was 6 or 7 months. Doodles are the best, But they sure are complicated!

Let me know what happens at the groomers:)

[Daniela Horth]

Thanks for all the great advice!! Maybe one day I will get brave and try clipping her on my own. My neighbor has given me her clippers (and Oster and Wahl) but they are very old I think. Like you say, cheaper in the long run. I love the long shaggy look too so lots of brushing I guess. Lucy does the same when I brush her but I have given her one of the kids' old hairbrushes that she'll happily chew while I work on her. She thinks she got a piece of contraband LOL!!
I'm thinking of getting her a really yummy chew that she will only get while we brush. Thanks for chatting!!! I will let you know how it goes at the groomer on Monday.

[Sam&Bella]

Your Welcome! Good idea to give her a special treat!:)

[Daniela Horth]

One more quick question ☺️☺️. Do you put cotton into Bella's ears when you bath her? I am nervous about getting Lucy's ears too wet.