Your cute, fluffy goldendoodle puppy is turning into a long haired, hot goldendoodle puppy… but you keep putting off that first hair cut because you’re not exactly sure how to have your goldendoodle groomed.
The groomer will bathe your goldendoodle, trim her nails, pluck the hair out of her ear canals, and give her a sanitary clip (trim under her tail & under her belly to keep the potty areas clean) each time you bring her in for grooming. How you want her hair styled is completely up to you! The good news is, hair grows back! If you don’t like a particular clip, you can try something completely different the next time. When you take your goldendoodle for her first grooming, be prepared that you’ll drop off a puppy and pick up a dog that looks way too grown up!
Faces, Ears & Topknots
Tails
The style of tail clipping that looks best depends largely on whether you goldendoodle carries her tail like a golden retriever or whether it curves over her back like a poodle.
Feet
You can choose to give your goldendoodle clean feet or round feet. Round feet are more commonly seen on goldendoodles but clean feet track less dirt into the house. You can also ask for “tight feet” (aka cat feet), which is in between clean & round feet.
Body & Legs
For more example pictures, see Goldendoodle Haircuts & Grooming Part 2
Start by trying either an “all over clip” or “lamb clip” on your goldendoodle. In the all over clip, your goldendoodle’s fur is clipped the same length everywhere (excluding the head, tail, ears & feet). An all over clip can be done at any length. Keep in mind that the longer the hair on your goldendoodle’s body & legs, the more frequently she will require brushing to prevent matting. You can also try lamb cut, where the body is one length blended into longer legs. Unless you already know your preferences, try short clipped ears (rather than shaved or fluffy ears) and round feet.
We recommend waiting 6 months before taking your goldendoodle puppy her first full clip down grooming. The wavy, curly adult coat will start replacing the soft, fluffy puppy coat around 5-7 months of age. Waiting to cut the hair until the adult coat makes its debut beneath the layers of puppy fur helps ensure that the adult coat remains soft. Shaving a goldendoodle down before her adult coat starts coming in could damage the adult coat, affecting the texture. There isn’t any hard scientific proof that shaving down a goldendoodle puppy impacts that adult coat quality but many poodle fanciers and groomers swear that doing so will cause the adult coat to be more “terrier-like.” That doesn’t mean that your puppy might not benefit from a puppy clip in the meantime. And waiting 6 months for the first full clip down does not mean you’re off the hook for grooming at home! You should regularly groom your puppy: brushing her hair, cleaning her ears, brushing her teeth, clipping her toenails, and checking her for any anomalies (i.e. ticks, cuts, etc.). What tools do you need for this regular maintenance grooming?
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| Metal Comb | Slicker Brush | Grooming Rake | Dremel |
A slicker brush is handy for fluffing your goldendoodle’s outer coat. A quick run over with a slicker will make your goldendoodle’s coat look soft and puffy. Slickers aren’t great at detangling your goldendoodle’s undercoat though. That’s where the metal comb and grooming rake come into play. A metal comb works best for curly coated goldendoodles while a grooming rake may work well for wavier coated goldendoodles. It’s also important to trim your dog’s nails in between grooming appointments. Either a cordless dremel or nail clippers can be used for this, whichever you prefer.
Your goldendoodle will need to be taken to the groomer regularly for the duration of her life, so regular handling when she’s young will help her become familiar with it as a part of life. You may choose to take you puppy to the groomer for a bath, nail trim & sanitary clip prior to 6 months just to familiarize her with the routine, people, and smells.
When you bathe your goldendoodle at home, it is important to ensure that all of the shampoo is washed out to avoid drying your dog’s skin. It’s also vital to keep your goldendoodle’s ears dry! Since goldendoodles have ears that hang down, they are prone to ear infections if water is left in their ears or if their ears are not cleaned regularly. Your groomer will clean your dog’s ears with each grooming visit, however your dog will benefit from you cleaning her ears in between grooming appointments.
It’s never a bad idea to bring a picture to the groomer. You can even pull this page up on your phone to reference when you drop your goldendoodle off. Once your goldendoodle is all groomed, be sure to post a picture to our Facebook group for other people to use as a reference!