My baby's going to the groomer!

[Dextersmommy]

I've been saying all along that I was going to get Dex groomed. Kevin says poo-poo, not cutting his hair, like it shaggy. Well, he's been panting and he looks like heck, so Kevin left today for the boat, and I told him I'd send him puppy porn pics of a nekkid dog in about a week.

I stopped by a semi-local private groomer today and talked to her. She said a year and a half old dog who's never been to the groomer is not getting groomed without coming in for $25 shampoos every two weeks til she says he's ready to be cut. I live 20 miles from her shop on a good day, now that it's flooded, it's 50 miles. She also said there's no specific cut for a labradoodle, and she'd give him a poodle cut. not. She was very snippy and arrogent. not.

So I called the vet's office; they have a groomer on premises. They said sure, bring him in Monday, they'll do a doodle cut. I said, but doesn't he have to come in several times and get desensitized first? She said, heck no, better to dive in and get him going. Okay. I guess I feel better about him being at the vet's office, in case they lop off anything important I've sat and watched through the glass wall many times while waiting for the vet and they seem great in there. Oh, and they said they'd have to give him bordatella vaccine because I don't think he got it with his yearly vacs.

So why am I so darned nervous? I desparately want him groomed. But I feel so apprehensive. Anybody else nervous about a first grooming?

[Natalie]

It is a little scary getting your doodle groomed! I had to drag Puddles into the groomers and when we got home he threw up twice from stress. I took him to a local private groomer who came highly recommended from my vets office and my trainer. I met the owners who were extremely kind and considerate of the cut that I wanted to get done. However, after his visit they told me he needed to come back every four to six weeks to get him more comfortable because he was biting the washer and Puddles was really scared They said his behavior was typical of a 5 month old puppy, but that they wouldn't take him sporadically if he was full grown.

My vet warned me it was important to get LD's accustomed to grooming because if they ever developed a problem with mats a groomer wouldn't touch an older dog not accustomed to grooming. I'm a new dog owner so I'm not sure if this is correct, but I'm playing it safe and am going to take Puddles every 6 weeks, even if it is just for a shampoo. I know it is going to be scary for him for awhile, but I do think it will be for his benefit. With the groomers I chose, I got to meet all the staff that were handling him and I felt comfortable knowing that they would care for him the best they could. I think that is most important that you meet the staff that will be grooming and that YOU feel comfortable with them and the way they are interacting with your pet.

Good luck! I hope it goes well!

[annabelles mom]

Originally Posted by Dextersmommy

I stopped by a semi-local private groomer today and talked to her. She said a year and a half old dog who's never been to the groomer is not getting groomed without coming in for $25 shampoos every two weeks til she says he's ready to be cut. I live 20 miles from her shop on a good day, now that it's flooded, it's 50 miles. She also said there's no specific cut for a labradoodle, and she'd give him a poodle cut. not. She was very snippy and arrogent. not.

OMG - it's amazing that this woman has any business at all with that "high and mighty" attitude, who does she think she is telling people when it's ok for them to have their own dog groomed

I'm sure Dexter will do fine Rita - he's such a sweetie pie, I cannot wait to see his new do - he will probably do better than you, the "nervous mommy"

[Mud]

Gosh, ignorance is bliss. I was clipping my standard poodle Gussy about a month ago (I clip her every 5 weeks) and decided to run the clippers over Hugo at the same time. He was 5 mths old then and he had lots of raggy long bits of hair on his body. I figured, as with poodles, the earlier he gets used to the clippers the better. I clipped his body and between his toes and under his feet. I then trimmed the long whispy bits off his legs with scissors. He immediately looked much better and his coat seems to have thickened up nicely. I trim under his eyes and around his beard every couple of weeks and I do make sure not to poodle my doodle. Nice thing about cutting hair, as with our own, if it turns out rough looking it will soon grow back.

[MaxandMe]

Rita...........Max is a scruffy f1 LD and i was shaking like a leaf (inside) but got him groomed to get rid of tons of undercoat, he came out great!

NOW Peanut is fleece/wool....i no longer worrry, 1/2in cut and off we go

do you need pictures? others have taken in pics of Max to show how to keep say Dexter, Dakota etc Shaggy looking but thin out the coat , cut by hand to shorten up a abit as well

[lmtoth2]

awwh...can't wait to see photos of Dexter's new do He'll do great.

Our Dex is majorly overdue for a cut too.

[ellabee]

Don't be nervous Rita....he'll do OK. He may even enjoy it!

I started taking Dexter early on to the groomers, if for nothing other than a bath and a sanitary cut, to get him used to it. The groomers say he likes to eat the flow of warm air from the blow dryer.

Good luck!!....try not to worry!

[Raleighsmom]

He'll do just fine Rita! Not to worry!...but ya gotta post pics when he's done, ok? [/list]

[sdrudge]

Dex will do fine. You are like the rest of us when our doodles get a new do. You don't know what they are going to look like. And it is your baby. Don't worry.

Rita...Dex will be fine! I took Maya in to get a cut at the end of May. That was her first cut and she was 13 mos old. Maya did fine and it took me about a week to like her cut. Then in mid-June she got cut again (she was still really hot) and she was buzzed. I called her my nekkid doodle. The cut looks great on her. I still get tons of compliments on her and she is a lot cooler!

[Dextersmommy]

I think I'm more nervous about how he'll behave than what the cut will look like. I'm afraid he'll be so bad, they'll stop mid-cut and toss us out Then I'll have a half-nekkid doodle!

I am sure he will be fine! If my crazy monkey can do it your good boy will do great!