01/04/2025
“So, You Just Purchased the Most Expensive Dog You'll Ever Own? What Now?...a heartfelt, spicy expose on the beloved designer breeds...”. by Groomer Chris
“I find the need to preface this article for fear of offending folks. The following need not be taken personally by any of my clients. Typically, anyone who would take the following the wrong way has probably moved on. As you all know, I’m up front with you about how the grooming process impacts your dog—because I love them—most of them… Enjoy.”
By definition, a designer breed is created when two purebred dogs are bred to create a dog that in theory contains the best traits of both. This is not always the case as many doodles, shons, orkies, and any other designer suffixes that may exist can be very unpredictable. Specific traits are unpredictable regardless of what a doodle breeder has told you. Please don't get me wrong here--I love doodles! Some of my best clients are doodle owners. In this article I hope to help you maximize your success with your curly coated breed. As I will say later, I have no angle here. I don't need any more business--I simply love dogs, love making people happy, and have a lot of random knowledge about them that I know will benefit you, the designer breed owner.
So, first things first. It is imperative that your doodle puppy or adult is introduced to the grooming process quickly. If you have a puppy, I highly recommend nail trims, face trims, and sanitary trims by a professional as early as 2 months. This should be in addition to introducing them to a slicker brush and comb. Weekly brushing should be taking place. This applies to both your new puppy or your adult doodle. There are important brushing techniques such as line brushing that will change yours and your pups life--and make it easier on your groomer. Please utilize the videos and links available on our helpful resources tab. There you will find videos to the line brushing technique, a nail trimming at home tutorial, and links to many of the products that I use on a daily basis and--if you want a beautiful designer breed, you should be using them weekly.
Quick story for you--I met a lady in Louisville who had hired me to groom her ten month old doodle who had never been groomed before. Let me set the stage for you. A ten month old, very sweet dog, who had no idea what professional grooming entailed. He had been poorly brushed his entire short life, didn't like his feet handled and...you guessed it, was filthy and tangled. But, his mom asked me to keep him at least one inch long. I'll spare you the details after that, it got ugly.
Your designer breed is an investment in beauty, companionship, and fun. Decide now how you want him or her to look and come up with a plan on how you're going to make that work. Don't wait until your poor groomer shows up and ask them to work a miracle. Here's why I say this. Can a severely matted dog, dirty dog, tangled dog be cleaned, de-matted? Yes. There are all sorts of asinine techniques with corn starch, rakes, cutting each mat and pulling it out, but you must ask yourself? At what cost? In addition to the financial sacrifice, you are likely causing bruising to your dogs skin--not to mention stressing them out. These methods should be retired by the older generation of groomers. Just because something works doesn't mean it's a good idea. It's also not practical from a professional grooming standpoint. Let's say I did spend 5 hours using corn starch on your dogs mats and brushing them out. I've tortured your dog, destroyed my hands and still have no guarantee that you the owner is committed to this important process that we are going to discuss. Honestly, in my experience, the designer breed owners that don't take matting seriously are typically bad clients and inexperienced dog owners. This is also why when a responsible groomer shaves your doodle, they may be doing you and the dog a favor. This gives you a chance to start over and, as previously noted, decide how you want him or her to look and come up with a plan on how you're going to make that work." If your dog has been shaved (at least by this groomer), it means that you have either decided on a short coat OR you don't have a plan on how you're going to make whatever length you want work. This is where I can speak for all GOOD groomers and say, "don't blame me, I would have gotten a basset hound."
So, the moment you've been waiting for. I'm going to detail how you can decide how you want your designer breed to look and offer you a few templates for how to make that vision work. PS, this has nothing to do with money or promoting my specific grooming business. I am to a point where I am only accepting the doodles that I want and the doodle owners that sound somewhat balanced. The following is simply things that every designer breed owner needs to think about to prevent stress on their dogs and trouble with their groomer. If you don't believe me, ask around, I'd bet you that of a good percentage of the designer breed (mostly doodle) owners that you know have been through their fair share of groomers. This doesn't mean there are not bad, lazy groomers. I speak for the good ones that have attended a professional grooming school and are committed to honing their craft and knowledge of how to make the process both beautifying and easy on man's best friend. If this is not your goal, then you should have gotten a fish.
Step One to deciding and putting a plan to have the designer breed your breeder told you that you could have. What type of coat are we dealing with here? What two breeds are we dealing with? For example, a Bernedoodle is my favorite of the poodle designer breeds, BUT, due to the Bernese Mountain Dog and Poodle combination, you're very likely to have a dog that sheds. I don't care what your doodle breeder has told you--if it's F1A, B, or any other fancy acronym to justify the unholy price, Bernedoodles usually shed. So, step one to being a responsible designer breed owner is to know about the individual coats of what makes up your designer breed. If you don't know, ask a good groomer. We see and feel so many different coats and can usually tell you what you're dealing with in a few short minutes. Very briefly, before moving on, a few types of coats that are worth noting and my thoughts on each.
Wiry - I love wiry, curly, terrier like coats whether they have undercoat or not. It they don't have much undercoat, it's likely you have a dog that looks more terrier like (maybe even more than two breeds...i.e..the supermuttdoo...or as my friend Kat calls it, the Mexican street dog). Wiry coats usually mean theres hair in funny place, maybe the cheeks, legs, chest, and ears. These dogs look really good short if their bodies are nice. Their grooms offer a ton of flexibility.
Thin, Whispy, and devilish - Even though I work with a lot of Goldendoodles, their coats are tough, if you have one, this article is mostly for you. Thin hair gets dirty quick, tangles easy, and doesn't brush out nicely for your groomer or comfortably for your dog. How to know if you have this hair type? Does your dog have huge mats/tangles of hair behind the ears, in the armpits, on the chest, between the shoulders? If so, then, you need a solid grooming budget, or you need to learn how to do a lot of this stuff weekly at the house.
Thick - This can mean so many things because... TRAITS ARE UNPREDICTABLE. Take the Aussiedoodle for example. A thick, messy coat. If the undercoat can be blown and brushed out (because Aussies shed), then you're likely in good shape. If you're Aussiedoodle's great grandfather was a whispy coated, unhealthy poodle, then those curls with an undercoat may become the bane of your existence and the reason that you've gone through four groomers and no one is returning your calls. I'll let you in on a secret, good groomers talk. We know the crazies in our area and can usually spot the red flags.
This is a good place to stress the importance of proper brushing techniques. See our helpful resources link to see the items that we have vetted for you. An easy plan for maintaining your designer breed is as follows. P.S, if you aren't at least attempting the following and only seeing your groomer four times a year, you need to lower your expectations. Whether it's with this groomers or others, that note will save you so much trouble.
Invest in a cheap grooming table. Purchase the grooming arm that goes with it, a nice grooming loop. One day a week, get that expensive bundle of energy and obnoxiousness on the table for 45 minutes and do the following. Encourage them to stand by supporting their butt when they go to sit down. Simply do this by putting your hand between their legs and support them until you don't have to. Touch their feet. Don't squeeze them too hard. Dogs tend to react to over restraint. Keep it positive, calm, and happy. If you wanted to work on doing nail trims, this would be a great opportunity to do them monthly. The most important part of this weekly 45 minute session is the brushing. It's so simple. Purchase a nice curved, long teeth slicker brush and a comb. Once again, don't kill the messenger, you could have gotten a Jack Russell or a Rat Terrier. After lovingly playing with the feet, working on standing, brush your dog using the line brushing technique. Master the technique. If your dog has undercoat, you should notice undercoat on your brush. As the line brushing technique teaches, you should finish with a comb, getting all the way to the skin. If you cant get that comb through fairly easily, it's probably time to call the groomer--if you're not hearing back from any, try a different city--some of you will have to try a different state. I am mostly kidding, but there probably are a few out there that can't get an appointment with anyone reputable.
There you have it! If you have read that information and taken it to heart and are willing to learn the proper brushing techniques with the right equipment and be on a somewhat regular schedule--you are setting yourself up to be able have options when it comes to how you want your designer breed to look. If you're doing those things, the only thing left is to find the right groomer and decide on a schedule.
How to find the right groomer. I wish I could help you there. The industry is still very inconsistent and groomers typically lack the communication skills to effectively describe their approach and discern yours. As one who typically discourages corporate establishments, if you find the right groomer who happens to still prefer the security of a corporate place over the flexibility and dread of self employment, then you may be in good hands. I'm also not one who respects the places that charge extra for things that should be included, but I'm not convinced that there are many others that are committed to that one price approach--and my availability is limited. What I typically tell my clients is to look at my work. It should speak for itself. I've groomed every type of designer breed coat imaginable and, while there's a subjectivity to grooming, there is a good, better, and best way to manage the variances without sacrificing the care and love for the dog. You can usually find someone to do what you want, but if your dog suffers for it, you and the groomer are forgetting that these dogs have good memories and they'll need to be groomed again. If you keep putting them through crappy experiences, the process will get more difficult. After all, don't we all want happy, balanced, beautiful dogs? One example I will give you is when I do have to shave a doodle--it happens--it's never my fault--really, it's not. I often will tell the client, "please look at my website and page, you will see dozens of long coated doodles that look beautiful--they are on a 5 week schedule." I may even say,"they are on an 8 week schedule, but mom and dad and the kids do a lot of the brushing at home, which makes the longer coat possible." Now, obviously, this is all a bit self serving because I'm explaining the way I do things, but, I'm around a lot more dogs than most and I think I know what they like and what they need--so, I think my way is better--not best, just better!
You, your dog, and your groomer--whether the three of you like it or not--are on a little, dysfunctional team together and directly influence one another. YOU hold all the cards because YOU schedule the appointments and oversee the maintenance in between grooms. YOUR DOG holds a card or two as he or she can positively or negatively impact the grooming process. As I've always said, the dog is an active participant in the process. Bad grooms usually mean either your groomer sucks or there's something about the process that your dog doesn't go along with. As I've gotten better--and more secure--in this process, I don't push a dog too far beyond what I think he or she is capable of. This usually means the first few grooms aren't great, but that third or fourth one starts to look like it was done by a groomer that doesn't suck AND a dog that is willing and able to go along with the process. This is also why clients that don't acknowledge that this process exist don't get along with me and are probably on their 3rd or 4th groomer and having to cross the state line to get a grooming appointment by now.
So, let's talk length, appointment cadence, etc... This really should be discussed for each individual designer breed, but I will offer a general, rule of thumb. Don't overthink this information--just pull out the stuff that applies to what you think you want. Blade lengths are in millimeters. There's not need to be specific and I will only speak to what I do because it works. You have blades and then guard combs. Blades are shorter, guard combs longer. Guard combs are also more difficult to get through a matted coat, dirty coat, or a coat that is the slightest bit damp. Gaurd combs require more brushing, back brushing, and effort by the groomer. If I'm going to use a guard comb on a dog, I make sure I'm getting some effort from the owners. I use guard combs as long as 1.25" down to 3/8". I love 3/8" on most doodles as it's short enough to show off some figure and not long enough to require an overly aggressive schedule. 1/2", 5/8" are still short-ish and look nice. These lengths can be maintained on a good 6-8 week schedule if you're at least doing the weekly maintenance routine above.
Blades move through the coat easier and require less effort from your groomer and are easier on your dog. I'm more likely to use a blade if the dogs owners aren't doing much maintenance or they simply want a short coat. Not all blades mean your dog is shaved. Some doodle folks see short and think shaved. For example, a #3 blade is shorter than 3/8", but it's not a shave. The higher the blade number, the shorter the hair. I use a #4 on coats that I want to use a #3 on, but can't quite get through tangled sections on the legs. I can't tell you how many times I have taken a 3 blade to a dog and couldn't get the 3 through the legs so had to switch to a 4 (tiny bit shorter) for the legs and then have to go back over the body with the four. Shorter than the 4 is the 5 blade, which still looks nice. Dogs begin to look shaved when the 7 blade is used. Obviously, the 10 blade is considered a significant shave. The 10 blade is what I use on the dogs sanitary, armpits, and up the belly. I also use it in the corners of the eyes (also called the "stop"). Using it on the dogs stop (top of nose, corner of eyes, between eyes) is a preference things as many very good groomers scissor that area. I like it shaved as it's cleaner. To summarize all these somewhat subjective details, let's take into consideration your dogs coat type, the length you want your dog, and your level of commitment.
If you want your dog to be that front of a magazine, Kardashian looking doodle--first off, bless your heart! Second, you should be just as good as your groomer at brushing and following the steps above. Grooming needs to happen every three weeks where the groomer will maintain 1" of length. Considering that, you see how ridiculous the story about the lady with the 10 month old dog wanting him over 1" long really is?
Let's be a bit more reasonable here. If you don't need 1" of length (which very few do), 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" is lovely and still fancy. You'll need to maintain weekly at home and schedule grooming anywhere from every 5 to 7 weeks. The longer, the more frequent. Examples of all of these can be found on our page where I often post pictures of doodle grooms with specific notes about what you are looking at.
Finally, if you're okay with short or not even that short, there is nothing wrong with the 6 to 8 week #3, #4, or maybe #5. I say maybe #5 because it's here where we start to see condition issues and need the shorter blades. It's not a shave and look on the bright side, you're saving money with less appointments and your dog and groomer appreciate you as well.
If those suggestions have fallen on deaf ears, then, you my friend are the three month shave down. No matter what your breeder has told you, good groomers do not shave doodles ONLY because it's easier. We do it because your dog is too dirty, too matted, too pelted, has too much impacted undercoat (because designer breeds shed), to be bathed first. What does that mean? Well, the rule of thumb with matting, tangles, whatever you wish to call it is--you don't bathe a matted dog. Those mats set in and don't dry. It's also likely that if you're on this spaced out of a schedule that you and your dog are not entirely committed to the process. Good groomers don't typically want to work with people who aren't at least somewhat committed to a process. In states where the dog population outnumbers the squirrel population, we don't have to. The corporate places are usually cheaper, go there. I know that reads funny, but it's true. My policy is to never doodle shame. The only people I shame are the ones who I know aren't listening to me because they think I have an angle. My angle is to show the dog the best possible time that I can while giving myself and the owner the best looking groom possible. It's how I'm able to sleep at night knowing I'm looking out for one of the most incredible creatures that God has given us. Notice I also said "while giving myself." Good groomers don't like putting out lousy work. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've had a quiet drive home (or to my next appointment) after shaving a dog and giving it back to a disappointed owner. It's a lose-lose-lose situation. The owner hates it, dog hated it, and I'll hate it forever. So, there is nothing wrong with a 10-12 week schedule where the groomer takes your dog down with a #7 blade. It's so much better for all involved going into it knowing that this is the likely outcome rather than trying to make something special out of no commitment, effort, and willingness by the owner and dog. Besides, some dogs look good short--some do not.
Anything beyond 12 weeks and there is a risk of pelting. This is where the hair is taken off with at least a 10 blade and at times a 15 blade (super short). This puts the dog at risk of bruising, cuts, and discomfort. Personally, I love taking off pelts unless the dog is suffering. There's nothing better than getting a pelt off of a happy dog and getting to see them get even happier when they are free of the mess.
Despite my sarcastic tone at times, I love designer breeds. When it's done right, you can have a dog with an incredible personality and some really nice physical features. As I type this, I can think of several of my clients that do it right. I'm always happy to connect you with them if it means making your dogs experience with grooming better. My speciality is making dogs happy and comfortable...and then making them look good. The responsibility of making that process easy for the dog and the groomer lies squarely on the shoulders of his or her owners. I hope the information that I have shared is a resource for you and yours that you rely on to ensure your pup is happy, healthy, and beautiful!
Groomer Chris
