Kim Banda's Page

Welcome! LOVE your profile picture. Bailey looks a lot like one of my doodles. Doodlekisses is a great place to learn/share about doodles. There are many groups that you can join. For example, there are groups for grooming, nutrition, health/medical, types of doodles, puppy groups etc. Enjoy!

Hi Kim.  I have two ALD from different breeders.  My Millie has a gorgeous wavy coat that never knots or matts.  My Cooper has a curlier poodle type coat that is a nightmare.  He is 1 1/2 old and needs to be kept short like in a puppy cut, but with fuller doodle head w whiskers/beard and column legs.  I need to comb him out at the short length at least twice per week  or he'll get knots especially collar area.   My suggestion to you is to keep Bailey in a puppy cut and comb out once or twice per week or keep in full coat and comb everyday.  Always have armpits and underbelly very short.  It's unfortunate that Bailey was shaved because groomers have a tendency to not work out the knots that aren't really matts and it's easier and less time consuming for them to just shave it off.   Matts are unmanageable and clumped in a knot tightly to the skin whereas knots can be combed through.   If you keep up on the combing twice per week, Bailey won't matt up.

My Millie had the most beautiful coat every,never knotted or matted and I brought her in for a trim due to the hotter weather.  She had the most gorgeous head,whiskers and beard.  I picked up a clipped down dog that looked like a poodle.  The groomer shaved her entire beard off, cut her ears very high and trimmed her whiskers off. Her feet and legs are cut like a poodle with no column leg.  I was horrified and no longer have a doodle that looks like a doodle and probably won't for a good six month to year as far as her beard/whiskers growing back .  Groomers do what they want and what's easiest in my opinion, so be careful when they say Bailey is matted when all that needs to be done is some time taken to comb out the knots.   

When I got my doodles I was under the impression that their coat was manintenance free.....Not so!!!  Very high maintenance for at least one of mine......but that, I think is due to the breeding stock of a breeder that isn't as good as others.  Now that I know more about the breed, I see that I jumped the gun when getting Cooper and that his  breeder produces puppies from ALD's that are less than what other reputable breeders ALD's produce. The dogs from Coopers breeders look nothing like ALD's should look. Millie look's completely different....and gorgeous (when she has her whiskers and beard that is!) :)  Good luck.