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September 14th
Looking for goldendoodle puppies for sale? You may want to know about the grooming you will be committing too before you buy. Luckily, Grooming Goldendoodles is not as hard as you think, even though Goldendoodles are quite special.
Goldendoodles are rarely groomed down to the skin. This is due to the fact that their hair is an intricate protective shield that keeps them cool in the heat and prevents the cold from damaging their sensitive skin.
Another reason why Goldendoodles should be shaved a certain way is that you want them to look natural, which means leaving at least 1 1/2 inches of hair and maintaining that upside down V shape for their face.
The easiest way to groom a Goldendoodle is, of course, to shave their body. However, you must never shave their head, tail or feet, but trim those parts with scissors. Shave Goldendoodles twice a year, which is an optimal trimming schedule but also give a minor trim every other month.
Here is the ideal trimming calendar for Goldendoodles:
An important part of trimming calendar is bathing. Bathing can be performed more that twice a year, but make sure you comb the hair and remove the matts before you bathe.
When trimming, you can either shave the body first and then do the head, tail and feet or do it the opposite way. Here is the process we recommend:
Step 1. Body: shave the entire Goldendoodle’s body but leave the ears, head, face and feet untouched.
Step 2. Ears: the general standard is that the length of the ear if pulled forward should be just a tad bit shorter than the nose. Ear trim includes trimming of the hair on the outside of the ear, underneath the ear leather and behind the ear. The length of hair outside the ear should not exceed one inch.
Step 3. Top of the Head: the general rule of thumb is to keep top of the head hair an inch long.
Step 4. Face and eye area: this is the most complicated part of the process and will be described later in details. But the top of the head hair should fall onto the eyes just enough to cover them and not to obstruct the view.
As the hair grows you’ll see your Goldendoodle struggle with top of the head hair, that’s why you want to leave enough of the eyelashes too – eyelashes will hold up the hair falling from the top. Other tips for trimming this area include: trim below the eye area just enough so that your puppy can observe the world, reduce the muzzle by 1 -2 inches and make sure you don’t cut bold but in layers.
Step 5. Feet: Goldendoodles look best when their feet are round and fluffy. When you shave the entire body, stay clear of feet and trim them later with scissors for that signature Goldendoodle look.
Before we delve into the details of each step here are the tools you need:
Here is the whole trimming process broken down step by step:
If you’re using scissors for the body, first remove all the matts and then work the whole body except the head, feet, face and ears. If you’re using a professional trimmer, shave the entire body except for the head, feet, face and ears. The number 10 blade should leave just enough coat for the puppy to feel comfortable.
Tush area should be handled with additional care. Reduce the thickness of tail hair all the way to the end, but don’t touch the end. You can either use scissors for tail trimming or shave the hair in this area.
Try shaving the belly a bit shorter when the weather is hot.
Trimming ears area can be further broken down into two parts: the outside part of the ear and the inside part. The inside part is to be kept clean and tidy to avoid infection. Before you can clean the ear canal, you need to pull excessive hair out and trim the underside of the ear.
To clean the ear canal get an ear powder on the q-tip and rub the powder in the ear canal. To have a better access to the ear canal, try lifting the ear. The ear powder is a great product since it makes the excessive hair stick to the qtip and you can remove the hair afterward with your fingers.
Your goal is to keep the ear canal and the area around the ear clean and open to the incoming air. Goldendoodles are prone to ear infections because their ears are long and heavy, which prevents good air flow and makes the moisture build up. As another preventive measure, you can feed coconut oil to the puppy – this too tends to fight away ear infections.
Ears is the area where hair grows in all the different directions, so it is hard to avoid matts. Shaving this area short and keeping it clean will help prevent the matts.
For outside of the ear there is a rule that applies to all the trimming techniques – layer it. Goldendoodles hair should not be cut blunt but always diagonally, just like human hair.
To achieve the layered effect, pull the hair up and cut them to about an inch. The nose of the puppy will serve as an indication of the ear hair length – pull the ear forward and mind the point in the middle between the longest teeth and the nose – this point marks how long the ear hair should be.
You want the top of the head look natural, so for that natural layered look pull all the hair forward and cut it. Leave at least 2-3 inches above the eye. When you pull all the hair forward and cut it, the hair at the back end up being longer and thus the coveted layers are created. You want a little fringe to fall just above the eyes to allow for good observation.
This is the most complicated part of the cut because there are many details to take care of. You have the muzzle, which should be layered, but you also need to make sure you differentiate between the lower and the upper parts of the muzzle. Pull the hair of the upper part of the muzzle up and trim it at an angle from the nose to the eyes. Naturally, after the previous cut, the muzzle hair closer to the eyes will be shorter. If it’s not the case, you want to cut the muzzle diagonally keeping the hair near the eyes at the shortest length.
The lower part of the muzzle should be round shaped. Cut the hair around the mouth shorter, with exception to the beard that should be left at about an inch below the lip.
For a natural Goldendoodle boot type, pull all hair up and trim at around 1 inch. Don’t forget to trim the hair in between the pads, since this area makes a perfect place for dirt buildup. Nails and area around the nails should also be trimmed short.
Now that your Goldendoodle has gotten a fresh stylish cut, it’s time for a fun bath. Use the non-tearing shampoo that has a conditioner inside. To dry the hair, use the regular hair dryer, but be careful not to scare the puppy with the noise and double check the temperature before the procedure.
Simply allowing the dog to air dry is an option too, however never air dry or partially air dry in winter or during cold months. When drying, combing isn’t recommended, because it leads to matts. Instead, use your fingers or let the hair air dry by itself.
For teeth cleaning the vets recommend brushing the teeth every day. Bear in mind that brushing Goldendoodle’s teeth is a delicate procedure and all the human products such as a toothpaste should be avoided.
Use a special dog toothpaste and follow the recommended teeth cleaning schedule. Also, try to be enthusiastic and patient about the process. After all, teeth brushing is not a natural thing for Goldendoodles to endure.
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