Labradoodle Grooming Guide

Upon adoption of your labradoodle, we will provide you with a demonstration of how to brush your puppy's coat and trim their nails. Your puppy is already accustomed to being washed, brushed and blow dried and having their nail trimmed by us. 

Please continue to make grooming a positive and regular experience by initially completing short 5 minute sessions on a safe, non slip surface of brush, reward, brush, reward.

We recommend puppy trims initially & a full clip around 6-8 months of age, as this is when their adult coat begins to grow in. When they are ready for their first clip, let your groomer know you’re looking for a teddy bear clip – it is a good idea to get groomer recommendations and take photos along to your groomer to show them examples what you’re looking for and the length of coat your hoping for.

• Trim between their eyes
• Fringe should be cut so there is an inverted"V"above the nose
• Trim the ear length back to about 1 cm following the shape of the ear leather.
• Neaten the face, especially if the beard is long.
• Trim hair in and around paws so the pad touch the ground
• Clip their nails
• Remove any knots
• Belly coat can be shortened slightly, but the rest of the coast shouldn’t be cut, just brushed or combed through
• Trim around private parts to keep them clean and unmatted.

We recommend brushing your dog 2-3 times every week but at least once a week. This will avoid matts which can cause discomfort and a full shave at the groomer! The length you keep your Labradoodles coat will dictate how much grooming you have to do. I.e. in summer our dogs coats require much less maintenance as we keep them short due to the heat. In winter we spend longer brushing their coats and get them groomed professionally every 6-8 weeks, in comparison to every 12 weeks in summer. Grooming is also a good opportunity to check your dog for skin irritations, ticks and fleas, and remove debris and knots in the coat. 

• Slicker brush
• Wide toothed metal comb
• Scissors for trimming around their face
• Towels 
• We recommend a dog dryer which can be bought on eBay for approx $100

Brush the coat from the skin outwards using a slicker brush, or as the hair gets longer, a wide-toothed comb. Hold the skin taught to protect from any discomfort, especially where you come across a knot, or matts. Work knots out gently and never cut matts close to the skin as you can cause the skin to break open. Areas more prone to matting are the ears, jaw, and collar as well as behind the tops of their legs. If they wear a harness regularly, you may find matting from this too.

Please ensure you are brushing from the root not just the surface of the coat.

Here is a link to a demonstration of line brushing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osruYq7xpMA

How often you need to bath your dog will depend on your dog’s lifestyle. Our dogs get groomed every 6-8 weeks and bathed after they have been swimming or if they have been walked in muddy areas. Please note that over bathing can decrease the oils and negatively impact their coat. We use a good quality pet shampoo from our local pet store such as Dermcare Alooven. Please do not use human shampoo or detergent as these NOT designed to suit the pH of the dogs skin and can therefore lead to irritation.

Floppy-eared dogs such as Labradoodles don’t get too much air circulation in and around their ears and this can lead to problems such as yeast or bacterial infections.

Check your dog’s ears regularly for odour, irritation and matting and use an approved ear cleanser to prevent problems.

Dogs nails grow, much like humans, and will need clipping - especially if they don’t regularly walk on rough surfaces such as concrete paths. Whilst a puppy, human nail clippers are suitable, we will show you how to trim the nails by only cutting the small hook off the ends weekly and is important as this accustoms your dog to paw handling. Nail clipping is usually be completed by the groomer as part of their regular professional groom.