What coat care for Doodles and Water dogs is necessary? Water dogs and Doodles are wonderful, fun, sweet, loyal, hardworking, energetic dogs with fantastic coats. Truly, dogs to fall madly in love with. Especially as puppies, they make your heart melt.
To keep a Water Dog or Doodle’s coat nice and long and out of tangles, regular brushing and trimming is a pure necessity.
Care for doodles or water dogs
An advantage of the Lagotto Romagnolo, a Miniature Poodle, and most Doodles, is that they do not shed. That makes it suitable for people who are allergic to dogs. Please note: the Hybrid dogs can shed! Call us for detailed information.
The coat does need maintenance. The coat has a tendency to tangle. In tangles, vermin, etc. can settle. Regular brushing (certainly once every 2 weeks) is therefore a “must”.
It is possible to have the dog shaved once or twice a year. But if you don’t like a bald dog, he will have to go to the groomer about 4 times a year for a haircut. Or you can learn to take care of your dog yourself.
Removal of hair growth in the ears is a concern. Coat care for doodles is an important point after purchasing a puppy.
Care for doodles: when is the coat ready for cutting?
Undergoing a trim takes every dog a lot of energy. A dog that gets regular grooming will have less trouble with this than a dog that is brushed occasionally at home, but only goes to the groomer twice a year.
Coat care for doodles: Because the coat of a Water Dog or Doodle requires a lot of maintenance, it is important to get your dog used to undergoing a trim as soon as possible. The sooner you get your dog used to it, the more you will benefit from it later on.
It is best to let your puppy undergo a so-called puppy habituation at about 15 weeks. During this turn, the puppy learns what it’s like to stand on the table for extended periods of time while someone is messing with their body and fur, what it’s like to take a bath and get a thorough bath.
Is the puppy exposed to the water blower (which is quite a scary first meeting), to lifting and cutting the paws etc. The more the puppy is already used to regular brushing, washing / drying, paws from home lifting, holding his head, teething, etc., the less stressful the first trim will be.
Moreover, it is very important that the puppy learns to remain calm in the hands of someone else, while the owner is not there to hold her and protect her from the evil outside world, in other words: the puppy learns to function independently.
The first real trim can only take place once the coat has grown sufficiently, usually after 5 to 7 months. Then the coat has become so long that it is time to cut out the feet, pluck out the ears and shorten the coat a bit so that it hangs less and gets more shine and body again.
Trim tips
What do you do when your Water Dog or Labradoodle is soaked and dirty, and you would rather not spend hours washing and drying the coat?
Most Water Dogs love water, swimming, running around in dirty puddles and regularly come back from walking with wet dirty paws that when dried leave lots of sand in your house, on the ground, furniture, etc.
And a walk in the pouring rain or a day at the beach can also leave its mark. This is not a pleasant situation for you as an owner, but you also know that if you start to bathe your dog, you will lose 2 hours of your time. Water dogs do not get wet quickly (with a little shaking most coats dry quickly), but when they are really wet, it takes forever for the coat to dry again.
A nasty side effect is that a coat that is entangled when it gets wet reacts like wool in a washing machine: the coat becomes felted. This means that the coat should always be brushed while drying to prevent matting.
Many owners are not yet aware of this joyous fact, with all its problems.
An ideal tool to solve this problem is the water blower.
This is a device that blows air with extreme force (a kind of inverted vacuum cleaner) that, if it has a heat setting, can also be used as a powerful hair dryer. The device blows so powerfully that it blows all the water, dirt, and sand out of the fur (you can literally see this splashing out of the fur).
How to use?
Because the water and dirt literally splash out of the fur, the use of a water blower requires a space that can get wet and dirty: think of outside, the shed/garage, utility room, the bathroom, or other suitable space.
When you return home, if desired, first pat the legs and body with a towel to absorb most of the moisture.
Then you turn on the water blower on the cold setting, starting at the legs and moving upwards. (Set the setting to its lowest setting for the very first time, so that the dog can get used to the blowing force). And blow off the hair root, while moving the hose slightly (so that the hose never continues to blow in one place for too long. This is especially important if you have turned on the heat setting!).
This way, you blow out the entire dog. Note: when blowing out the ears, always keep the ear canal closed and never blow into the eyes and other vulnerable parts of your dog!!! Also don’t forget to blow out the insides of the front and back legs, the bottom of the legs and the tail.
If you feel that your dog has been blown clean for the most part, you can turn on the heat setting and dry your dog in the same way. When your dog is dry enough to your liking, you’re done, and you can let your dog into the house with peace of mind. Easy hair care for doodles and Water Dogs.
