Goldendoodle Grooming: All You Need to Know
One of the most common questions is about Goldendoodle grooming. Monica Dickens was the first to breed a Goldendoodle in 1969. They became amazingly popular in the 1990s. Both Australians and North Americans crossed the Standard Poodle with the Golden Retriever. Today, all over America, house decorations say, “Home is where the Doodle is!”
Before the Bath
Firstly, it is important to brush every day. Therefore, you can remove any mats or tangles. There are great tools available for this purpose. In fact, the best brush around is the slicker brush.
The pet should be brushed so that the bath doesn’t tangle anything further or make matters worse. Secondly, cut out any tangles that cannot be brushed through. This will improve the whole process. If you plan to remove much of the coat, then you can use a dog grooming clipper to take this off. That way, you won’t need to wash and dry that which you weren’t planning to preserve in the first place. This is just a rough outline of the final product. After the bath, you will polish the style.
Please note that it is important to have a professional use clippers and scissors for the groom. Doing this at home can endanger your pet.
Use some clippers on the nails if they are extremely long. If not, then you can proceed to grinding them. Dremels or other grinders will smooth them out and make them nice.
Rub-a-Dub-Dub
Bath time! Once in the bath, rinsing completely is the first step. Then, add some shampoo. When choosing shampoo, it has to be strong enough for a thick coat. However, it also has to be gentle enough for sensitive skin. Discovering a balance is key.
Consider the coat. Is it fleecy, curly or wavy? Oatmeal based is great for sensitive skin, so it’s a safe-bet. Otherwise, choose something natural and herbal.
Careful not to get any shampoo in the dog’s eyes. If it happens, use a saline solution to prevent burning and watch very carefully for irritation.
Brush the teeth and apply some freshener.
After at least two lathers, rinse entirely. Lastly, apply an ear solution. They are self-drying and will prevent ear infections.
Towel-dry and then blow-dry using a pin-brush.
Goldendoodle Grooming Time
Body
Clip the sanitary area with a 7 blade. Also clip the armpits and inner legs. Use a 40 blade with a 3/8″ comb attachment for the body. Start with the back of her head and follow straight down her body to the base of her tail. Then take them down over her legs, just a few inches above her hawk and all the hair on the inside of her leg. Afterwards, blend into the side of her leg and then over the side of her body. Following, run the clipper comb over her ribs. Be careful of the skin around the armpit. You will probably need to run over the body multiple times.
Go over the side of her neck next. Run the clippers just down into the top of her shoulder. Stop at the top of her leg. Make sure both sides are symmetrical.
Lift her head and clip her entire chest. Make an A line from the top of her chin.
Head
From the occiput, run the clip comb back. Then, run it from the occiput in reverse over the head towards the face. Continue straight over the top of her eyes and top of her ears. You will return and scissor.
Remove all the hair from the corner of the ear into the side of the neck. Take it all out from this area to prevent knots.
Comb all the hair towards the front. Use chunking scissors to blend the longer hair around the mouth and over the eyebrows. Trim under the ear and blend to the side of the face so that no hair is extraneous.
Face
Remove the hair between the eyes with thinners. It’s important that you can see them completely.
Make her fringe a neat-looking semicircle using chunkers or thinners.
Tidy the bottom of her beard up to her ear for a neatly curved line. Trim the chin hair straight and curve up a bit. Remember to comb forward, so nothing is missed. Double and triple check to be sure that no extraneous hairs are hanging out underneath.
Thinning the beard will help it to lay flat if it’s too thick.
Comb the ear hair and then use your fingers to protect the leather. Trim below the fingers in a straight line. Then, hold them open and use some curved scissors to round them up in towards the temple. Check that they are symmetrical.
Front Legs
Chunkers can blend the legs. Especially, for Poodle-like coats, they are perfect. The legs are supposed to appear like neat, parallel columns. Make sure that the dog is standing straight so you can check the symmetry.
Legs should be a bit shorter at the top than at the bottom. They can also be equal length. Remember, they cannot be shorter at the bottom than the top. This is never attractive.
When peering from the side, the front of the leg should appear straight. There should not be a dent above the toes. The foot should blend into the column. The toenails shouldn’t show. Fluff and comb upwards repeatedly to remove extraneous hairs.
The length should gradually blend into the column-shape legs. There shouldn’t be any ridges, but a neat, blended line from the chest and side of body towards the legs. You can use straight scissors for the finishing touches.
Feet
Use a 40 blade to remove the hair from underneath the pads. Straight scissors can shape around the feet.
Skirt
Leave a little skirt depending on the shape of the dog. For dogs with long legs, it makes them appear somewhat shorter. It should look like a neat curve with the shape of the body.
Also, blend the skirt from the chest so it follows a continuous curve from the chest towards the back legs.
Back Legs
Blend with chunkers up until the top of her hawk. Refer to the natural form of the leg. Use an upwards motion when combing. From the back, the hair should appear straight in an A line from the top all the way to the hawk. The inner portion of the leg should run straight to the top of the hawk. Using straights, create a neat curve from the top of her leg towards the inside of the hawk. Chunkers can blend them.
A comb can be used to verify the lines. Blend the front and back of the hawk area towards the foot. You will see the natural form of the back feet, unlike the front.
Ensure, that the dog is standing properly. Otherwise, you will finish with an asymmetrical result.
Lift the foot. Comb downwards, and then trim any hair that descends over her pads with straights. Then create a neat curve around the feet without exposing the toenails. Position the scissors flat on the table.
Tail
Comb hair in an upwards direction at the top of the tail and trim with blending scissors on both sides and underneath.
Find the end of her tail and hold it with your fingers. Trim all that extends below it.
Brush out the remaining hair. Create a flag shape towards the body in a neatly curved line. Refer to the owner’s preference for length.
Final Thoughts on Goldendoodle Grooming
When it comes to Goldendoodle grooming, its all about following the natural form of the pet. It’s important to have a professional complete the work because it takes experience to understand how to use scissors and clippers safely. If you would like to know more about professional grooming services, refer here.