Goldendoodle Article: Grooming – Draft 1 - Caitlin Meredith – 11/28/11

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR GOLDENDOODLE’S COAT: DAILY GROOMING INSTRUCTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Goldendoodle coats are thick and luxurious. A Goldendoodle in a full coat is a beautiful site to behold.

In order to take care of a full coated Goldendoodle properly – and avoid dreaded mats – they need to be groomed every 3 – 4 weeks by a professional groomer or at home. But in between grooming, Goldendoodles with long coats need to be brushed every day. This is a huge commitment and some people end up deciding to go for a shorter, less labor-intensive coat after the first year. For busy families it might just be too much work to be practical. The long coats are beautiful, but after falling in love with your Goldendoodle, you’ll think it’s beautiful no matter what! But for those who want to try out a long coat, here are some information and recommendations for keeping it healthy.

Haircuts for Goldendoodles: Short coat - this is the easiest and cheapest option. Goldendoodles need

to be shaved about every 6 – 8 weeks. This also means that the coat is short enough that you don’t have to do any daily brushing at home.

Medium coat – this is a more expensive but still easier option (than long coat). Some groomers will hand cut Goldendoodles to give them a medium-length coat. Goldendoodles with medium coats typically don’t need daily brushing at home. Once a week in the trouble spots (behind ears, around neck, tail and under arm pits,) is enough.

Long coat - this is the most labor-intensive option. It can also be the cheapest since you don’t have to pay for professional hair cutting, but if done improperly you could end up paying for haircutting anyway. The coat needs intensive daily grooming. See instructions below.

**Advice** Even if your Goldendoodle doesn’t require daily brushing at home, it’s a good handling technique to brush the coat at least once a week. This way you can find if your dog has any sores or other areas of concern.

Tools You’ll Need For Daily Grooming Long Coats: Poodle comb – this is a metal comb with teeth close together on one side

and further apart on the other Slicker brush – get a soft one or one for puppies. The hard one can do

damage, especially since Goldendoodles are so pain tolerant – you can make them bleed without noticing.

Pin brush

Daily Grooming For Long Coats – if you want to keep your Goldendoodle’s coat long, you need to do these steps every day:

1. Take the pin brush and brush through the coat, starting at the legs and working your way up. Concentrate behind the ears, the scruff of the neck and on the legs, where mats typically develop.

1

Goldendoodle Article: Grooming – Draft 1 - Caitlin Meredith – 11/28/11

2. Take the poodle comb and first use the side with the further apart teeth. Make sure to concentrate on small sections so you can get down to the skin. Start with the legs and work your way up.

3. Flip the poodle comb over to the side with the closer together teeth. You don’t have to go over the whole body, just the matting areas to make sure the hair isn’t clumping together.

4. If you want a really fluffy look, use the slicker brush for a nice and fluffy finish – this is optional. The slicker brush is also good for getting out the weeds that your dog will pick up when playing outside.

****Warning!**** No matter how diligent you are about daily brushing of your Goldendoodle’s coat, it’s very hard to avoid matting when going through the coat change. The coat change will happen when the puppy is 9 – 12 months old. The adult coat grows in to replace the baby coat. As the new coat is sprouting up it gets tangled in with the baby coat, creating a felting of the coat. Most people will shave their dogs coat at this time and then let it grow back again after the coat change takes place. Don’t worry, the new shorter coat will look strange to you at first but the coat will grow back quickly.

Most common mistakes made by those trying to keep their Doodle in a long coat:

They only groom outer layer – even if you do this every day, it still won’t prevent mats. Make sure that you’re brushing all the way down to the skin.

Other tips to prevent matting: Only use a rolled leather collar around your dog’s neck – make sure it’s

rolled leather, not flat.

Washing Your Full Coated Goldendoodle At Home: You need to brush first before you wash. Use an unscented shampoo that is made especially for puppies. We like

to use shampoos that are as natural as possible – the fewer ingredients the better. **Don’t use human shampoo – dog coats require a different Ph balance.**

After you wash the dog, you need to blow dry the coat while you brush it out. You need to dry the dog with a high quality blow dryer (not your personal blow dryer! You need to get a special one for dogs.)

Full coated Goldendoodles should be washed when they look dirty, which will probably be about every 3-5 weeks. Active puppies will likely need more. Also dogs that go to the beach or get wet and dirty often will require more frequent washing.

Getting Your Goldendoodle Professionally Groomed: The best way to find a groomer– just like finding a vet – is to ask other

Goldendoodle owners or vets in your area who they go to. There’s no rule of thumb about which type of store has better groomers – one of our favorite groomers worked out of Petsmart, one we had a bad experience

2

Goldendoodle Article: Grooming – Draft 1 - Caitlin Meredith – 11/28/11

with worked at a fancy doggy salon. As with everything, it depends on the person.

Most groomers will not do a hand scissor on a Goldendoodle when they’re too matted. It takes too much time and is painful for the dog.

Professional grooming prices vary widely.

Supplies: Poodle comb Slicker brush Pin brush Hair dryer Rolled leather collar Dog shampoo

Online resources for grooming supplies: Petedge.com

3

Goldendoodle Article: Grooming – Draft 1 - Caitlin Meredith – 11/28/11

DO GOLDENDOODLES SHED? ARE THEY HYPOALLERGENIC?

At our farm we only have F1 Goldendoodles and many people wonder if they shed. The answer is very mildly. I compare it to how much humans shed. After you brush your hair you’ll see hair in the brush, but it won’t cover your pillow when you wake up. It’s the same for our Goldendoodles. If you’re wearing black pants and a Golden Retriever brushes past you, you’re covered in hair? That doesn’t happen with our Goldendoodles. No sticky roller necessary!

After eleven years of breeding Goldendoodles, I haven’t heard of anyone having allergy issues with our dogs. Many people think that if they have allergies they need to get an F1B Goldendoodle for their curlier coat and more Poodle lineage. We have not found this to be true. Actually, F1B’s have much less uniformity in their litters than do F1’s. While one of the things we specifically breed for is uniformity in our litters of puppies, there is a little bit of variance in the coat type between siblings. Most of the litter will be medium wavy, then there will be a few puppies in each litter that have a slightly curlier coat (not like a Poodle coat, just a bit curlier than the majority,) and a few that will be slightly straighter (again, not Golden Retriever straight but straighter than the majority of the puppies.) In our eleven years of breeding, we have not found that there is any difference between a curlier coated Goldendoodle or a straighter coated one in terms of having trouble with allergies.

Some of the families that have adopted our Doodles have members with severe allergies but none have ever had any problem with our F1 Goldendoodles whether curly or straighter coated. I know this is a common concern as no one wants to adopt a dog and find out that it doesn’t work for their family, neither do we want you to have to give up your dog.

Some people think that they should come over to our home for a visit to see if they have a reaction to the puppies. This does NOT work! The momma of the puppies is a Golden Retriever and most people that have dog allergies are very allergic to them. The puppies have been cuddling and playing with her every day. We also have a high density of animals in our house, and not just dogs either! We have the Golden Retriever mommas in the house as well as a cat, baby goats in the spring, a guinea pig and even an occasional chicken or duck! Our home is an allergy nightmare!

Don’t worry, like I said before, we don’t want you to bring your new puppy home only to find out that they make your eyes and nose miserable. If someone in your family has severe allergies, first, take some medicine before you come over to choose your puppy, then after getting your puppy home give them a bath in an unscented mild shampoo to wash off any dander picked up by the mom and/or the cat, goats, chickens etc. After that you can nuzzle your face into the soft fluff of your new puppy and fall in love!

Sorry if I belabored this shedding/allergy subject a bit too much but it’s one of the most commonly asked questions. I hope this helps to alleviate your fears.

4

Goldendoodle Article: Grooming – Draft 1 - Caitlin Meredith – 11/28/11

5

Goldendoodle Article: Grooming – Draft 1 - Caitlin Meredith – 11/28/11

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR GOLDENDOODLE’S NAILS, EARS AND EYES: INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION FOR KEEPING YOUR GOLDENDOODLE HEALTHY AND HAPPY

Grooming your Goldendoodle doesn’t just involve brushing its coat – taking care of the nails, ears and eyes are also part of keeping your pup healthy and happy. With just a few supplies, all of these techniques can be done easily and safely at home – they should all be part of your regular routine.

Nails: Goldendoodles’ nails need to be trimmed a little bit on a regular basis –

cutting just the tip off once a week or every other week will keep your dog’s nails nice and short by keeping the quick from growing long.

To trim the dog’s nails use a dog nail clipper or a drummel. Don’t forget to clip the dew claws!

Ears: Goldendoodles’ ears should be cleaned every 2 – 3 weeks. Use an ear flush that you get from the vet (not an ear cleaner!) Fill up the ear canal with liquid Let the liquid stay inside for at least 30 seconds so that the cleaner has

time to loosen any debris Massage from the base of the ear canal upward Tear a cotton ball in half and stick it as far down the ear canal as you can

reach. **Do NOT use Qtips – you can’t see what you’re doing and you can go too far. **

Wipe the inside of the ear with a fresh cotton ball several times to clear out all the liquid.

When you think the ear is clean and dry, do one more swipe. As with any floppy-eared dog, if you take a Goldendoodle swimming, you

need to clean the ears when you get home. Goldendoodles often grow hair inside their ears. We do not recommend

plucking the hair unless there is a problem with chronic ear infections (check to make sure it’s not diet related first.) Plucking opens the hair follicle which lets bacteria in which can lead to an ear infection. Unless the dog is having problems, tell the groomer not to pluck.

Professional groomers don’t always properly clean ears, so even if you get your dog groomed you should still clean its ears every 2 – 3 weeks.

Eyes: Trim the hair away from your Goldendoodle’s eyes – it doesn’t have to be

dramatic, just so your dog can see. People love the “shaggy dog” look so sometimes they let the hair grow

over their Goldendoodle’s eyes. This isn’t healthy for your dog. Your dog will probably be able to find its way around your house because it’s familiar terrain, but without proper visibility new places can be dangerous.

Gentle wipe out any crust (or “sleep”) build up with a warm wash cloth.

Supplies:

6

Goldendoodle Article: Grooming – Draft 1 - Caitlin Meredith – 11/28/11

Dog nail clipper Cotton balls Ear flush Hair cutting scissors

Online resources for grooming supplies: Petedge.com

7