Grooming your goldendoodle performs two functions. The first is to keep your doodle looking & smelling great for yourself & others; The second function maintains and establishes a bond between you and your doodle. By daily grooming, you are telling your Goldendoodle how important he or she is to you and to the world. It also tells your doodle, in a gentle way, that you are in charge. The whole ritual of insisting that your doodle stands while you brush and comb him or her emphasizes that when push comes to shove, YOUR the alpha. There is no more important lesson in doodle training than to know that YOU are the boss. Grooming your goldendoodle should be an enjoyable interaction between both you and your dog but don't expect your Goldendoodle to automatically be thrilled about a bath as a young pup. Bath time is a learned experience, not bred. But you DON'T want your lovely doodle to look like a poodle and unfortunately there are no exact guide lines to a "standard" clip for this wonderful hybrid.
Many people confuse an ungroomed goldendoodle to a "Wheaten Terrier" and if your goldendoodle is black, they will confuse your doodle with a Portuguese Water Dog. A Doodles' thick, wavy & shaggy coat can get quite unruly if care is not taken with the coat. Using a slicker brush will give your doodles' coat a very nice look as well as help remove mats and any dead hairs within the coat, should there be any. None of our Goldendoodles have a tight curly coat like that of the Poodle, rather, they do on occasion have soft, relaxed curls about the coat and face. Alot of swimming in a pool can damage the coat because of the chlorine, just like human hair can be damaged from the sun and too much exposure to chemicals. Your going to want to have some grooming equipment available for home grooming care if you plan to groom your doodle yourself. If you plan to take your goldendoodle to a professional dog groomer, be careful that they do not shave off all of your doodles' coat! Since this hybrid is quite new to many groomers, they do not have a guide available to them on how to properly clip your doodle. Many owners of long haired breeds completely enjoy grooming their dogs themselves. Over time, they can often achieve and maintain a professional result. This does, however, demand a great deal of dedication and time! Sometimes perfectly groomed dogs are achieved by spreading out the grooming process over a day or two.
Many dog owners in temperate climates are generally reluctant to bathe their dogs sometimes because of old wives' tales regarding the adverse effects of doing so. Most of our Goldendoodles enjoy playing in the dirt. Bathing a dog does not have any ill-effects unless of course, you are completely inexperienced and bathe your dog in a strong chemical and do not follow proper instructions. Some breeders may claim that their breed should NEVER be bathed...but those are the dogs you can SMELL coming into a vet's office before it ever hits the door! You will want to use a good shampoo; I prefer to use Pantene even though it is NOT rated for dog hair. Baby shampoo as well as Oatmeal shampoo works very well too! CLICK HERE FOR EXACT DETAILS ON BATHING.
Because the Goldendoodle can have dry skin just like purebred Golden Retrievers, using Pantene along with a conditioner will help alleviate such. I personally never use dog shampoos because of the harsh chemicals. If you use a conditioner, make sure just to use a little. Too much will cause your doodle's coat to lay flat. Before you have saturated your doodles' coat with warm water, you may want to place a couple of drops of mineral oil in your canine's eyes. This will help protect his or her eyes in case you accidentally splash some shampoo towards the face. You will want to avoid getting water into the eyes of your doodle during bathing and always wipe around your dogs' eyes with a soft cloth or cotton ball once he or she gets out of the bath. I never wash the face with shampoo, rather, I just use a damp cloth. Always spray water from the back of the head downwards. Sometimes my doodles like to try and drink the water as I am bathing them, but I have to stop them if shampoo mixes in with the water! While a small dog is easy to lift into your sink......the goldendoodle is not always the smallest dog! You will want to bathe your doodle either in your tub or CLICK HERE to purchase a canine tub that will work out just as great or better. A large doodle can even be bathed inside of your shower if you have a walk in shower available. After thoroughly soaking your doodle's coat with warm water, you want to gently massage & lather him or her with your favorite shampoo. Make sure to wash all areas of your dog...especially around the buttocks and the feet.
Pay close attention to your doodles eyes and ears. The Goldendoodle has thick, wavy hair and this includes hair that can grow on the inside of your dogs' ears. Your vet can sell you "ear otic" if your doodle needs it or you can CLICK HERE to buy canine ear cleaners. You will need to make sure that your doodle does not have alot of thick hairs inside of the ear as this can cause moisture to collect and an ear infection to occur. We do see some doodles with twice the Poodle having this issue and those who have equal Golden Retriever and Poodle usually do not have this problem. Light colored doodles may get some discoloration around the eyes (similar to that of the white or apricot poodle) but not always. There are wonderful products on the market that work well to remove the staining. Once your dog has been taken out of the bath tub, allow him or her to give a good shake. This will help with the drying process. Rub him or her down with a thick towel until your dog is semi-dry. If its a nice day, you may want to let your doodle air-dry..otherwise a blow dryer set on "cool" will finish the drying process and make your doodle look like a million bucks! Although the Poodle is generally thought of as a trimmed dog and the Golden Retriever has that flowing long undercoat, your doodle's grooming requirements will be completely different. Daily attention to matting under the armpits, behind the ears and near the anal area is very important. Most Goldendoodles are very shaggy dogs. Unless you keep your doodle's coat short, he or she will require regular brushing.
You are NOT going to want an exaggerated trim for your goldendoodle....so that means it would not be wise to give your goldendoodle a POODLE clip. Nor do you want your goldendoodle to remain a matted mess. A close trim works very well for the Goldendoodle, keeping his or her hair at least 2" out from the skin. Your Goldendoodle's coat protects him or her from the sun, insects, UV rays as well as the cold. The hair also protects their skin from drying. Try not to have your doodle's coat shaved too closely to the skin. Leaving at least 2" out from the skin is a clipping that is easy to manage and requires little brushing. More than likely your doodle will have a full facial beard as an adult. Leaving the beard can be messy when your doodle eats or drinks, but they do look so adorable with it! However you decide to have your doodle trimmed or groomed is all personal preference.
Regular, daily brushing and combing will prevent the coat from matting if you leave your doodle's coat shaggy. It will also pull out (using a slicker brush) any dead hairs inside of the coat. It is important for your doodle's coat health to brush or comb through the thickness of the coat. Just skimming over the top is of little use. A beautifully groomed dog seen on TV and in all of your typical dog books are the dogs that the family cries "I WANT A DOG JUST LIKE THAT!". But none of them has the time or inclination to spend a long time, every day, brushing and combing and cleaning up after their new dog. Still less when the novelty has worn off. Unless you have the time to devote to performing coat maintenance on your goldendoodle, we highly suggest a short trim or not purchasing the breed. Many people desire to own a Goldendoodle but give little thought to the actual requirements of the coat.
Goldendoodles are so easy to fall in love with and it is easy, when viewing a puppy, to forget the involvement that follows in coat care and dog maintenance. Expert owners and groomers will usually groom their own dogs, but if you don't have the time or ability to perform coat maintenance yourself, make sure that you locate a groomer that you can trust. Not only to groom your doodle in the manner that you desire, but one that will NOT put your doodle to sleep just to groom it. We became aware of some groomers placing their customers' dogs under sedation when clipping the coat and this is a very dangerous practice and very risky for the groomer. Sadly, some dogs die from groomers being inexperienced with chokers, collars and sedation's. Until you get to know the groomer you have selected well, we do advise that you stay with your doodle and observe the grooming process. If your groomer gives your doodle a really great clipping, you can continue this type of clip by following your groomers' lines before the coat gets too long.
Owning your own equipment will be expensive at first....but in the long run, it can save you plenty of money!!! CLICK HERE to order a magazine or call 1-800-786-4751 and ask for one! Grooming sheers and clippers will be one of the biggest investments and of course, the most expensive....but well worth it! For clipping around the face, feet and small areas, you may want to purchase a clipper called "PEANUT" or "POCKET PRO TRIMMER". It is battery operated and works well around the nose & eye area. It also works well for trimming around the pawpads. There are some wonderful combs available as well as dematter rakes to help remove tangles in the coat. One of the best clippers to use is called "GROOM MASTER BY OSTER". It is a very versatile clipper....is heavy duty and has alot of power. It does cost over $100, but it is worth every penny. Some other important equipment is a good blow-dryer, clipper oil, blade cleaner as well as blade cooler spray to prevent accidentally burning your doodle when the clippers get hot. Since nails are important too, make sure you purchase a good nail trimmer. Guillotine style trimmers work the best. There are many great books to aid your grooming ability!
Below are some great photos of our beloved Hennie, who passed away in 1999 of Kidney failure. To make a long story short, she developed an inner ear infection and was given Rimadyl which caused her kidneys to fail. Hennie was originally my older sister's dog but we took her in and made her a part of our family. Hennie was our first goldendoodle. When she passed, we missed her so much that we decided to create the Goldendoodle in her honor. Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Read of PA. for sending us photos of their original doodle, Tess. She passed away and the Read family purchased a doodle from us many years ago. We also added some photos of Harley Hall and Jordy....special thanks to their owners.....Wendy & Dean and Mr. Hall.
Hennie always loved being groomed. We called her our "glamour Queen". She knew she looked great after each haircut and I completely enjoyed giving her new looks. Of course, I groomed and clipped her myself as well as did her nails. Some people do not feel comfortable grooming their doodle themselves, but we suggest trying since it really does allow you to bond with your dog. With Hennie, I shaved her neck as well as her face. I loved to give her bangs and outline her face with a "round" haircut to fit her face. It gave her the appearance of having human hair on her head and she looked adorable! I left her coat full most of the time....but when I wanted to experiment, I would shave the back bend of her body and clip the front like the "Portuguese water dog". I would also shave the tail down partway to leave the lower portion full. It was a unique look on her and she liked it.
This was my favorite clipping for her. I would just leave her coat full and brushed out.....shave her neck to the top of her shoulders and her face. Then clip her hair around her ears and head in a "round" look to bring out her face. If you have the time to brush your doodle several times a week, this is a really nice look and gives the doodle the unique look that they deserve. Hennie was apricot in color but lightened up quite a bit to cream as she aged. The pictures to each side of Hennie (in the middle) are pics of my first Goldendoodles.
Harley Hall is up above to the left. His owner has left his coat full in this picture. Jordy is up above to the right. He has a nice clipping on his body and his face has been clipped around the eyes and has his facial beard intact. Keep in mind that both of these boys are young in these photos. Under 1 yr of age. Hennie hid her age well as she was a senior citizen in the photos above.
Easy coat maintenance can be achieved by allowing your doodle's coat to be short like that of Tess Read. Tess has since crossed the rainbow bridge, like Hennie....but like Hennie, Tess hid her age well! She was 9 yrs old in these photos! Still beautiful and showing all the love she possessed in those lovely almond eyes! The wonderful thing about Goldendoodles is that they show so much love through their eyes and they are so unique! Someone had asked me what "BAD" qualities could I think of that a Goldendoodle would have.....you know what????
THERE AREN'T ANY! There just is no such thing as a BAD GOLDENDOODLE. Maybe naughty...but not bad. They are truly wonderful, loving dogs who are happy to do whatever you want them to do. You say JUMP and they will ask HOW HIGH??? CLICK HERE TO VIEW MR AND MRS READS' NEW DOODLE FROM LAKE RIDGE.
