TLC Pet Spa
Doodle and Other Fluffy Dog Grooming Tips and Details
We LOVE Dogs, Doodles and Fluffy dogs of all types at TLC Pet Spa! Here are tips to help you achieve and maintain the look for your canine companion .
** First tip - schedule in ADVANCE! fluffy dogs take more time than small friends. This means that we need to schedule fluffy dogs in advance to ensure that we have several openings available in a row in our appointment book.
** Brush AND comb them daily! Focus on their entire body – especially their “friction areas” which are the areas that move and tangle/mat up easier. Examples are behind their ears, where their legs join their body, under any collars or harnesses, their feet and ankles/hocks and chest. Focus also on the long hair on their ears, top knot and tail.
** Start getting them groomed as young as possible! We need to get them used to grooming and make the experience as positive as we can -- and build on it. Puppies under 4 months old typically get a Basic Bath and get used to the salon environment and noises (bath, blow dry, anal glands expressed, nail grinding, ear cleaning, and teeth brushing and a complete brush/comb out).
** From 4 to 6/7 months old, we like to give them a Mini Groom every 2-3 weeks. This includes everything that the Basic Bath offers and introduces the clippers and scissors. We will trim their feet, potty area (sanitary trim), pluck the hair from their ears and trim their eye area. We believe in grooming more often when they are young to build on the positive experiences. Once full grown, we usually find a length and schedule that works for their parent and budget.
** At around 6 months old, your puppy’s coat will change to an adult coat which usually requires much more maintenance to be kept long. Long to most groomers is over 1.5 – 2 inches long. Any longer than this is considered extremely high maintenance in the form of brushing, combing and getting professionally groomed.
** Their first full body haircut should start between 6 and 7 months old. In our experience, many parents are not ready for the change in their fluffy dog's appearance. We must remember that a Doodle’s hair never stops growing and the longer their coat is - the more it will tangle. Their first haircut (on a coat that can be completely combed through) typically leaves their coat about 1 inch to 1 ½ inches long all over.
** Professional grooming is the key to maintaining your pet’s tangle free coat. Many clients bring their fluffy dog in often but alternate services. We recommend a schedule of every 2-3 weeks alternating services of a Basic Bath, Mini Groom and Full Groom - depending on the length of hair you want to keep on your fluffy dog. A healthy coat grows about ½” per month.
**We understand that many fluffy dog parents like the natural look and want their fluffy dogs to have long hair. However, without proper maintenance, brushing AND combing to keep them tangle free – a longer coat is not in the fluffy dog's best interest. We believe in HUMANITY OVER VANITY.
**A matted coat can cause many skin problems as the skin is deprived from air. Matted hair can also be painful to the pet depending on how severe the matting is. Dematting here and there on a pet is ok and often expected. However, dematting can be painful and cause bruising and hematomas. At TLC, we will not extensively demat a pet for many reasons – the primary one being that it is torture for the pet. Thankfully, hair grows back. Unfortunately, sometimes the groomer’s only option is a “do over” shave down. You see, we use clippers to set the length on a dog that is getting a haircut. If the pet cannot be combed out, we simply have to use a clipper blade that can fit between the mat and skin. This can make for unhappy pet parents and we want to please you, but not at your pet’s expense in comfort.
** We recommend having adult fluffy dogs professionally groomed every 6 weeks or less. The shorter you have their hair cut, the less they will need to be professionally groomed. All fluffy dog breeds that get their hair cut down to ½” or less left on their body may be able to go 8-12 weeks between grooming (but please brush and comb their ears and tails!!).
Pricing at TLC Pet Spa can be found on our Specific Breed Pricing Tab. Doodles are priced by size - height at their shoulders - and time involved in their service. The longer we leave their coat, the more time involved in scissoring.
Here are some links for the proper grooming tools to be used at home.
The BEST brush in the world! It has long/softer pins to go through a long/curly/wavy coat. It cost more than your average brush but is worth every penny in our opinion!
This is a Poodle Comb. It has wider/longer teeth to go through long hair.
This is called a Greyhound Comb. I am not sure why they call it that, but this is the type of comb that every professional groomer uses!
This is a well written article from a groomer to a Doodle Pet Parent. As groomers, we want to make you happy! Doodles are wonderful family members but often take a team to maintain their beautiful locks of hair.
We hope this information is helpful and beneficial to you!
