7 Grooming

Grooming

Your puppy’s coat

The fleece coat is typical of the Labradoodle and is what breeders aspire to. It is slow growing, non-shedding, silky and easy to care for. The other “non-shedding” coat is the wool coat, which is more like a poodle’s coat. It needs trimming a little more often and can be clipped with clippers.

Please note that a small amount of hair will be lost from “non-shedding coats” but it won’t stick to your clothes.  Because the Labradoodle coat catches any hair that is lost you will need to groom your dog. A quick brush every second day or a couple of times a week will do the trick. Almost all Amalie Labradoodles have non-shedding coat as we breed advanced generations of the breed.

The hair coat of the Labradoodle occurs in early generation crosses and rarely at any generation. They will need grooming to remove loose hair and if your pup has this type of coat I will have discussed this with you in detail so you know what to expect.

Tools of the trade

The comb and slicker brush (left) are great to use on your Labradoodle’s coat whether it be fleece or wool. They will be useful through all ages and coat lengths. The pink zoom-groom or equivalent is easy and gentle to use on the young puppy. If you only buy one grooming tool, buy a comb!

Do start grooming your pup at a young age to get him familiar with the contact and the routine. Standing the pup on a table makes life easy if he learns to stand to be groomed, or grooming your pup while watching TV while he sits on your lap can be relaxing. If you bath your pup regularly, two-three times weekly grooming should not be a chore. Beware of grass seeds that lodge in the coat because if they are left in there they can be the beginning of a matt which will be more difficult to remove.

Your puppy’s coat will change to an adult coat usually between 10-18 months. At this stage more frequent grooming may be necessary to avoid matting as the junior coat moults.

The Mars comb 

This is a great tool for thinning the coat for summer and for managing mats if they occur. It is rarely needed though if your dog is bathed regularly and clipped to a manageable length. 

 

Bathing

You will need to brush your dog or at least make sure there are no mats in the coat before he gets wet (beach or bath) otherwise the coat will felt up – not a good look! Martha Gardner’s wool wash is gentle on puppy coats and also helps repel fleas apparently. I use either Aloween Oatmeal Shampoo or Fido’s Everyday soap free shampoo - both are available from pet shops, online and your vet.

Clipping

I prefer to scissor clip our Doodles to get that shaggy dog look. It is an art that needs to be learnt and takes practice. Fortunately dogs are very forgiving if your give them a haircut that is not quite super cool. You’ll need an 8” (20cm) pair of scissors for general clipping of the coat and a blunt or rounded tip pair for near the eyes. Generally puppies will not need a full coat clip until at least 8-10 months of age. Before their first clip they will only need a tidy up around the face and tail.

Doing the eyes, ears and face

Get your pup comfortable with having the scissors near the eyes and also the sound of the snip, snip before you do any cutting.   Do this by moving the shaft of the closed scissor over the eye area and making snipping noises well away from eyes and ears but within earshot.

You will need to trim the hair around the ear and inside flap to improve ventilation to the ear. This will help keep the ears healthy. If the fleece on the ears is getting in their feeding bowl, excess length can be cut but keep your fingers between the scissor blade and the leather of the ear to prevent your pup from being snipped.

Puppies wriggle so don’t start clipping until you are confident as pups will sense your nervousness and wriggle even more! Hold their beard to steady their face (therefore always clip this part last!)

Ear care

As the Labradoodle ear hangs down, circulation to the ear canal is reduced. There are three things you should do to ensure healthy ears:

·         Check the canal regularly to ensure it is not inflamed or smelly which are signs of infection or irritation for which a visit to the vet would be necessary. 

·         Clean the ear weekly, after bathing and swimming or more frequently if indicated or advised by your vet. We like Milo’s or Kleo (pictured left).

·         Clip the hair in front of the base of the ear to improve airflow. You can even gently pluck the hair from the ear canal, which is numb so shouldn’t hurt if done correctly. Use your fingers – not tweezers.

Nails

Puppy toenails need trimming from time to time – especially the dew claw (equivalent of the thumb nail) as this doesn’t have as much contact with abrasive surfaces like the footpath.  Please ask your vet how to do this – he or she will be able to demonstrate at an early consultation when vaccinations are given.