The Reading Corner
Grooming Your Goldendoodle
by Bev LaLonde
Harlee, Timshell Farm Goldendoodle owned by Bev and Ed LaLonde
What you will need:
Oster A5 electric clippers with a #30 Blade and a #1 Comb Attachment
Curved Grooming Scissors and Grooming Scissors
First thing, brush thoroughly, and then comb through so there are no tangles (as they get worse after bath and form mats). Next, comb through the whole body, legs, tail, neck & head. Don’t miss armpits, behind ears, or under tail area. If it’s difficult to comb through the coat, you won’t be able to get through with clipper and achieve a good grooming!
Next, clean ears, and brush teeth if needed. We see that Harlee gets lots of large knucklebones. If they are raw, they can be boiled or roasted for 30 minutes. Harlee’s teeth and breath are wonderful.
Now comes the shampoo. Be careful to not get shampoo in eyes or water in ears. Gently, put cotton balls inside their ears to prevent ear infections later on! Start with the face, and use a washcloth, for face, head, neck, chest, back, belly, legs, hips, and tail. Rinse very well as any shampoo left under the coat can cause skin problems. It is very important to rinse all the shampoo residue out of hair. You can use a vinegar rinse (one cup of white vinegar to one gallon of water) for the final rinse on body (but do not use on head).
Blow dry completely, as it is very important before you start grooming! You must have a completely dry coat. Comb through coat once again to make sure there are no tangles. Tangles will snarl in the clipper and will mess up the grooming.
Start on the head, and use scissors to groom the top of head so it blends into the neck and the dog does not lose this wonderful animation, personality and facial expression!
These are Goldendoodles, not poodles! We must keep them looking like the wonderful crossbreed that they are.
Next, use an electric clipper and long comb (1-inch attachment), and take two swipes down the cheeks on each side.
Finish hand scissoring over the eyes so you can see their beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, (not too short) so it blends with rest of his head and he looks like a Goldendoodle.
Now use the electric clipper and a long attachment comb (1 inch) and clip the neck, back, sides, chest, and belly. It is best to clip in all directions.
Stop clipping about ½ inch above the elbows on the front legs, and clip the same height for hip area on hind legs.
For the legs, make one pass down the legs (1-inch comb on clippers) with a #30 blade, making sure to get the front, back, and sides of legs only once - always going down the legs. Comb up the legs and hand scissor wisps of hair.
For the feet, use a Mini Dremel tool and carefully grind off tips or clipper-trim the nails. Next, trim the feet, starting at front to so that the nails are covered. Trim close to the foot but not so close that you can see the pads. This gives a neat appearance and prevents them from looking like they have snowshoes on! A curved grooming scissor works well for this - what groomers use on Poodles. Last but not least, trim hair on feet between the pads to the level of the pads.
Click HERE for a drawing of the Groomer's Notes * easy to print out and take with you to the groomer!
