Grooming Your Labradoodle
Grooming Your Labradoodle Puppy
Most puppy’s coats require little brushing. However, they need to get accustomed to being handled. They should be brushed, have their ears and teeth looked at, and nails handled or trimmed every day. At around nine to sixteen months the adult coat starts to grow in. The puppy coat does not fall out and will start to cause matts. You want to brush thoroughly to pull the puppy coat out from the new adult hair. This could be a good time to visit a groomer to ease the amount of brushing and formation of mats.
It is important to start introducing your puppy to the groomer early so when they're older they will be comfortable with the grooming process. Once your Labradoodle puppy has had all of their shots, they can safely be taken to the groomer. Up to this point, handling and brushing your puppy everyday will prepare them for their first trip to the groomer. Let the groomer know you have a puppy and want to have an introductory visit. Even a quick visit to meet the groomer and have a nail trim might be enough to start a good, calm rapport with the groomer. Follow up visits can begin to include a simple session of brushing, washing, drying and ear hair pluck. Your puppy and groomer will be thankful for these small visits every 3-4 weeks so the puppy can get used to all of the sights, sounds and sensations so that they'll be ready for a full clip.
Grooming Your Labradoodle Adult
You can easily maintain a long fleece coat with a weekly thorough brushing. A wavy fleece coat will require less attention than a curly fleece coat. Curlier coats will be easier to maintain if they are kept shorter. Regular bathing is mostly unnecessary. Even after getting muddy, the clumps will dry and fall off or can be brushed out.
Many owners have their Labradoodles clipped two to six times a year depending on personal preference, lifestyle, and curliness of the fleece. We personally prefer to take our Labradoodles to their groomer every 6-8 weeks for a brush and/or bath. The dogs get a full groom with a 1.5-2 inch clip several times a year. If you prefer that your doodle not look like a poodle, talk to your groomer about what you want. Pictures of a well-groomed labradoodle can help.
Nails should be clipped regularly (every 4-6 weeks) depending on wear. Many groomers offer walk-in nail trims.
Pay special attention to your Labradoodle's ears. The hair in and around the ear canal can prevent air flow which can cause ear infections. The hair needs to be pulled out of the ear canal and kept trimmed around the opening and under the ear. For most dogs this causes no pain and can be done every 2-3 months, so your groomer should be able to keep it maintained.
Additionally, if you do not use a groomer often, make sure the hair around the anus does not get too long in order to prevent problems with waste build up.
Note: Ask your vet about giving your puppy a bordetella shot when they receive their final set of vaccinations to protect them from a dog flu/cold like viruses easily contracted in places where many dogs go (such as your groomer or a place of boarding)
Brushing Your Labradoodle
When your Labradoodle has short hair (an inch or two), regular brushing with a pin brush or slicker can work just fine. Once the hair gets longer, it is important to make sure you are reaching all the way to the base of the hair. If you don't do this, loose hair is not removed from below the surface and matts will begin to form. If that hair builds up, it is not going to be possible to clip the hair at a decent length and the only alternative will be to shave the hair close to the skin. In order to keep a coat longer than and inch or so, you will want to use a simple technique called line brushing.
Line Brushing
Line brushing is done by parting the coat with your free hand and brushing the loose hair on the other side of the part, starting at the base of the hair. With every other stroke or so, you can bring down a small bit of the hair being held up by your hand. This continues so that with every stroke you are brushing through a new, thin “line” of hair. You will then slowly move your hand up that section of the coat.
Begin low on a section of the body and work your way up with care.
This method can be done with a pin brush, slicker brush, and/or comb.
Below, we've provided pictures to help guide you in the practice:
