Bathing and grooming - anxious 16 month doodle

[Kristen]

Hi All, 

I have been taking my doodle to the groomer consistently since he was just a baby, but he is still very anxious. He HATES the dryer and they are never able to clip his nails. I have been working with him at home and brush him 3-4 times a week. He won't let me clip his nails either. I would love to be able to bath him at home and eventually groom him. Although I have bathed him here before he has NEVER let me dry him. I don't bath him here anymore because I know he needs to be dried to prevent mats. 

Do you have suggestions for drying? 

What about clipping his nails? 

What shampoo can I use to keep his cream coat clean? We live in Georgia (red clay) and he loves to romp outside. The clay seems to stain his coat in some places. Even the groomer has a hard time getting him clean. 

Also, HOW can I wash his feet and paws after he's been outside romping in the mud/dirt/clay? 

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

I don't know what size your doodle is but I just sit on the floor with mine and hold them while I blow dry them. Do you have a specific dog dryer? A hairdryer for people gets too hot.
When I do the head I cover the ears and turn down the intensity. If you're worried about him being scared of the noise you can also put cotton balls in his ears.
I have a white dog too. I use Chris Christensen Spectrum 10 shampoo and conditioner.
For the white you can also use John Paul Pet Super Bright Shampoo.
For the nails you can use a grinder. I don't like to use clippers because I worry about cutting the quick.
Good luck and try to act confident. The dog will pick up on your mood.

[BG and Gavin]

For the nail clipping, I would do it when he was good and tired. Run the dickens out of him and when he is settled and sleeping carefully do a couple of nips, pet and soothe. For the dryer, each time I dried my own hair, I would have him in the room with me so that he would get used to the sound. I would even play fetch with him while doing my hair. I would also give him a little shot with the dryer each time. These are strategies I used when Gavin was a puppy. I hope they work for you.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Let the vet clip nails - it is really cheap where I live and well worth it.  My daughter-in-law has one dog that, at age 8, still hates nail clipping, so she takes her to the vet - takes minutes. Easy Peasy.  Can't help re the shampoo - I learned to call my groomer :-} with my first doodle - he has a difficult, matting coat. The most I'll do is hose him off. IF you are going to shampoo him yourself, dilute the shampoo in a squeeze bottle - way easier to apply and not over-soap.  And make sure the mats are brushed out too.  Also use a good conditioner - also diluted.

[Heather D.]

I have no suggestions for shampoo because my guy is brown so i have no idea if his fur is stained, but i suggest using a boat load of conditioner and then blow drying him yourself, avoiding his face since that's where they really hate it.  He usually buries his face in my legs, but he sort of likes having the rest of his body dried, and you can pretty much get away with not drying the face anyway because the fur is shorter.

The only way i have found to keep the filth out of my house is keep the fur on his feet pretty short, i usually do his feet/ankles at 1/2 inch, trim the edges of his feet and shave around his toes.  Then he doesn't track much in and i can hose his feet off when they're really gross.  Of course, you can't cut his feet short and leave the rest long so this strategy only works if you're willing to cut his body hair to an inch or less, which is what i do.

Nails are always hard.  I like the other suggestion of taking him out and running him ragged first.  I usually go around with the clippers just to take the ends off, then use a grinder to make sure i don't get the quick.  But my guy tolerates the whole process so i don't have any tips for a tough customer.