[TexasDoodle]

At what age did you start taking your Doodle to the groomers? How often do you go?

 

[tallady]

I took Abby for a minor grooming around 3 months for her face, paws and the hoo-hoo I made the mistake of taking her the first time to PetSmart and she looked like a baby black bear (they blew her wavy coat straight - OMG) with a baboon face because they shaved around her eyes way toooooo much :shock: At around 6 months she had the full spa treatment with an excellent groomer at my vet's and I take her about every 8 weeks so I can see her eyes again. She was blowing her puppy coat so she was matting, but now at 10 months her coat seems to be just dandy

 

[Jac]

And what a beauty Miss Abby is! (Of course, I am a bit prejudice!)

I dont take mine to a groomer...I have too many, so I had to learn how to do the grooming...it is worth it to pay a good groomer, in my opinion, if you only have one dog!

The younger the better....but I'd stay with her, I wouldn't leave her...you never know what goes on when you are not there...

 

[emilee]

we took kumo for the first time when he was around 4 months old. our puppy kindergarden teacher recommended we have him groomed at a young age, not because he really needed it, but as part of the socialization process. here are some photos of his first haircut:

and here's what he looks like today!

-em

 

[annabelles mom]

We took AB for her first groom at about 4 months - she did NOT like it, but it involved being crated which has Never flown with her, I wasn't thrilled with how they cut her so we got our own clippers/accessories and we have groomed her ourselves since. Takes us longer as we are not pros, but we can give her a b reak if she gets restless so it works out fine for us.

I do comb/brush her daily or every other day to keep her from matting - I dont' look forward to her next combing as we've been gone 10 days, it will take me a while of several sessions I'm sure

Abby and Kumo are both adorable

 

[lmtoth2]

We took Dexter around 4 mos (Petsmart has a puppy cut deal) for the first time. We left him for a little bit, but watched most of the cut in hiding

 

[gracielou]

No help here as I do mine own also but I would think don't wait to long they for sure won't like it.

 

[Echo]

The younger the better....but I'd stay with her, I wouldn't leave her...you never know what goes on when you are not there...

Jac, you are so right. Two weeks ago a groomer not far from here was arrested for beating a poodle to death.

 

[River Rat]

The younger the better....but I'd stay with her, I wouldn't leave her...you never know what goes on when you are not there...

Jac, you are so right. Two weeks ago a groomer not far from here was arrested for beating a poodle to death.

How do you stay with them? At Petsmart the first two times I watched as long as I could, but then Chouette was taken into the back for bathing and blow drying, where I couldn't see. And with the new groomer, there's no place to wait, really; it's all a work area. I always insisted on staying with my kids through any procedures, but it's obvious that no one expects people to stay with their dogs, at least around here.

Leslie

 

[Jac]

Pj. Echo, that is so horrifying!

I don't know how, but I would insist on staying, I'd stay out of sght so the dog would not want to come to me, but I'd be near enough to at least listen! If they refuse to let you, I'd wonder why...

 

[River Rat]

I don't know how, but I would insist on staying, I'd stay out of sght so the dog would not want to come to me, but I'd be near enough to at least listen! If they refuse to let you, I'd wonder why...

I have the impression that that's how Petsmarts are set up. Maybe other people have some insight into this. Most places just assume you're leaving the dog, and if it's going to take two or three hours most people wouldn't want to stand around that long. The new groomer took three hours, but I think she was working on a couple of other dogs in between.

Leslie

 

[River Rat]

Deleting duplicate post...

 

[tykesmom]

Tyke went at about 3 months, and I was lucky enough to have a trustworth groomer, so I was able to leave her. The groomer also works part time for our vet, and had taken care of my Eskie - she is more than willing to let you stay with your dog if you want, and I always did with Fritzy, b/c she was about 12 before she went for the first time! When I came back to pick up Tyke, it was obvious she'd had a good time - she was crated, b/c Delores doesn't really have enough room for a place to keep them loose, but as soon as she was out, she ran to Delores and gave her a paw for a treat! (didn't take Tyke long to train her!! :wink: )

 

[Echo]

Jac, it is horrifying. Apparently, the groomer had been in business for several years with no problems. He just snapped one day.

I've never had to take my dogs to a groomer so I can't offer advice on how to keep an eye on things. When I was a kid we had a Scottie and she'd stay at the groomers for several hours and like Leslie said, the whole area was work space so there was nowhere to wait without being in the way.

 

[TexasDoodle]

Thanks for the replies!

I have a place to take him that is trustworthy, it's where my breeder takes her dogs. I just can't decide if I want to do it myself or take him to the groomer.

 

[lmtoth2]

One of the things I like about going to the Petsmart near us is that there are always so many people there! They also have huge windows at the grooming salon and people watch the dogs getting groomed. In addition there are always people coming in and out of there. The first time we took Dex we were concerned and hid and watched most of the time. We saw the girl petting him and accepting his kisses willingly (actually seemed to enjoy it) and then was playing with him at the end.

We had bad experiences at 2 other Petsmarts (we picked up Dex and he was crying and was all freeked out) so we will never go anywhere but the one near us in Holmdel.

 

[Snickerdoodle]

We also groom Tegan ourselves. We aren't that good at it but it's a lot less stressful for her and we usually take a few days because we keep noticing longer spots that we've missed.

I heard a good tip once to tell the groomer to do it more like an English sheepdog look for a doodle.

 

[tykesmom]

I wish I could groom Tyke myself, and probably could, except for one thing - her EARS! Our vet said she had the hairest ears she had ever seen, even on full blooded poodles! She tried to get some of that hair out, and then gave up and turned it over to the groomer. I usually clean Tyke's ears once a week with the stuff from the vet, and she fights me like a wildcat! :evil: I had really bad ear infections when I was a child, so I guess I am paranoid about Tyke's ears. However, it takes at least two people to do it, (one to hold her and one to pull the hairs) and my mom just doesn't have the strength to be much help! Delores uses a powder that numbs Tyke's ears and makes the hair easier to pull out, so I leave that part to her!!

 

[Snickerdoodle]

We use a mix of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud to wipe around the ear canal, then put in drops bought from the pet store. We pull out the hair ourselves but there's not too much of it. We also clip the longer hairs around the ear canal. Tegan has very dark nails so it's hard to see the quicks and we've nicked them twice. After the first time we bought some styptic powder which worked great the 2nd time we nicked the quick. She's not fond of being brushed though, especially around her tail, rear end and feet.

Currently I'm procrastinating shampooing her feet with dandruff shampoo. We took her to the vet last week because of her stinky feet and they took scrapings from her nails and there was evidence of a slight fungal infection. We were advised to buy some Nexoral shampoo used for dandruff and fungal infections in humans and shampoo her feet twice a week for 3 weeks, leaving the shampoo on for 10 minutes each time - yeah right - any suggestions?

 

[lmtoth2]

leaving the shampoo on for 10 minutes each time - yeah right - any suggestions?

my only suggestion is to give a good long lasting treat...maybe you can have her sit and hold the treat? We have done that with a Kong (jam a treat in there goo) and have one person hold the Kong (Dex/Kirby will sit up and eat from it) while the other does whatever needs to be done