Goldendoodle Service

Well, I did it. With much trepidation, I took Ebony in for her first real haircut. The new tangle comb was great at removing the mats but unfortunately it did nothing to prevent them. It was taking me an hour a day to comb through her beautiful long wavy Goldendoodle hair.  It was so silky smooth and long that it easily matted.  I was nervous, because sorry Poodle lovers, but I have never really liked the way poodles looked. When they are all poufed and primped out they just looked too prissy to me.  I am not one of those spiffed and polished gals, think more of an earth momma so my shaggy companion suited my style.

When I first picked her up, I have to admit my heart sunk a bit. There was no denying that she was a poodle! It could have been much worse. I told the groomer to leave her beard  and not make any poofs on her and he paid attention to my requests. Unfortunately, she tended to matt up worst around her neck and her abdomen so those areas needed to be trimmed the closest. He did a good job blending in the really short neck hair into the longer hair on her face and chest. Well, I figured that this haircut would greatly cut down on the “what kind of dog is that?” question.  Too me, she looked all poodle. I was wrong, we hadn’t been in the grocery store five minutes when someone came up and asked me if she was a Bouvier Des Flandres.

Ebony isn’t looking all that happy with her new haircut either. There is no way that she was going to smile for these pictures! I, on, the other hand was quite pleased when I got a good look at her from the side and I saw some of that loveable goofy, albeit intelligent, shaggy dog. I just think we are more the au naturale kind of girls.

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Ebony is a big ol’ floppy mop of hair these days, and unfortunately has a LOT of mats.  We are frequently stopped in public so people can tell us how beautiful she is and her long wavy black hair is gorgeous. I tend to be on the wavy long haired side myself and I was hoping to be able to keep her Goldendoodle hair long until the weather warms. It wasn’t difficult to stay on top of the mats when I was feeling well, but it has been a real challenge this winter and spring, even with my neighbor’s help.  The mats are the worst around her neck where her collar hits her, and on her chest and belly where the straps on her service vest lie.  I broke down yesterday and scheduled her for a haircut on Monday, which I am really nervous about. I trust the groomer, its just that I just love the shaggy  Goldendoodle girl look and I hate a really formal traditional poodle look. I want to keep as much as the gorgeous hair as I can until the hot weather comes.

I was stroking her neck, as we were standing in a line, and got despondent about another mat that I  found.  I tried some other pet stores in search of something that would help me with these gosh darn mats in her hair. I purchased a Instant Mat & Tangle Remover and I have to say “WOW”. It has a two rows of 1″ bristles in a ‘V’ formation.  I was surprised at how it gently worked out her mats.  In about 10 minutes, I had two large handfuls of mats and hair from using the brush and Ebony was still sitting very patiently while I worked on the mats around her neck.  While grooming her chest, she started to get a bit antsy. It could have been that it was more tender there, her patience was starting to wear thin or my hands were getting fatigued and not as careful.  After about an hour break, we resumed her grooming and were able to get another large handful of mats out. Now if you don’t have a Goldendoodle, you might be thinking three handfuls?!?! That poor dog must be a wreck!  Well none of the mats were big enough to be visible, all were less than an inch in size.  Her hair is 3-6″ long and since she doesn’t really shed, Ebony can fill up a brush when combed, just like her owner!  We still have more to do but I was delighted by the grip on this brush. Usually my hands wear out after a few minutes but I could hold this one much longer. As long as I was careful with the brush, making sure to hold her hair next to skin and start on the far side of the mat and work my way towards my hand next to her skin, she had no discomfort.  I am so pleased that I was able to comb out so many mats instead of just cutting them out.

We will be keeping her grooming appointment on Monday to trim the areas where her vest straps and collar are.  But with the Instant mat and tangle remover, I feel much more confident that I will be able to keep at least some of her hair length.  Let’s hear it for long haired ladies!

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Ebony had her first professional grooming today.  The vet, Dr. Flynn at Crown Hill Vet, was concerned about some ear wax build up. He said that this a common issue for Goldendoodles but is rectified by keeping the hair in front of the ear opening trimmed.  Since the some total of my grooming experience has been claw trimming and baths, he suggested that I have a pro do it the first time.  PetSmart has a puppy grooming special for $9.99 for puppies five months and younger.  They bathed her, cleaned her ears and trimmed the hair in front of the ear, as well as trimming her claws. When I picked her up, she was this incredibly soft and fluffy ball of fur.

Fergus had his bath earlier in the day.   When Ebony got home it was time for Advantage all around for Fergus, Ebony and Bandit, our cat. I use nematodes in the yard and that really cuts down our flea issues.  I usually only have to use a flea control medicine once a year of less. We have been lots of places though and had unfortunately picked up some fleas.  Since Fergus and I are both allergic to them, I wanted to get on top of that problem right away.

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Brushing:  Rickrat wisely recommended brushing Ebony daily.  She is not fond of the brush, especially on the legs but she is getting less fidgeting. A groomer showed me how to use a slicker brush and start at the bottom of her legs and work up. This helps detangle any mats that an active Goldendoodle puppy can acquire.  By the time I am done with her legs and I am brushing her body she is in puppy heaven.  On her ears, she has tight poodle curls and the fur on her legs is quite curly as well.  On her body and face, she has soft wavy fur, more reminiscent of a Golden Retriever puppy.  We will have to see what it is like when she sheds the soft puppy fluff and acquires her adult fur at about 8 months. Right now, I am overjoyed that in two days of brushing her, I STILL don’t have enough fur in her brush to clean it out!

Goldendoodle Ears:I will take her in for a grooming this coming week.  In the meantime, until I can get her ear hair trimmed, I have been gently cleaning the upper inside portion of her ears with a solution of 50% white vinegar and water. I dip a guaze pad into the solution and genty swab the inside of ears. This technique was suggested by Kathryn in her Goldendoodle book and was approved by my vet as a means of preventing the waxy build up that Goldendoodles are at risk for.  I am careful with her ears and don’t go anywhere that a finger wrapped in gauze can’t go, to protect her ears.  In two treatments, the wax seems to be receding.

Rash: One thing I didn’t mention in my vet post was that the vet detected a mild rash around her vulva.  It can be common in female puppies and usually results from her leaning or rubbing against the grass where she just urinated. I am wiping her with diaper wipes after she pees and she gets antibiotic cream on her belly twice a day.  I have tried putting the ointment on right before I feed her so she is much more interested in eating her kibble than licking her belly.

Teeth: Dental care is really important and I want to start her getting used to teeth brushing soon.  It is just a little bit more than I can handle right now. Hopefully, we will add that to our repertoire soon

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Ebony’s first visit to the vet was today.  She appears to be in great health.  The vet, Dr. Michael Flynn at Crown Hill Veterinary Hospital thought I had made a sound service dog choice in Ebony in terms of her intelligence and disposition. Since they have been caring for Fergus’ severe skin allergies for years, they welcomed the fact that I had chosen a dog with hybrid vigor. The only thing amiss on her exam was some discharge in her ears.  They say Goldendoodles are prone to it and the best preventions is careful trimming of the ear hair.  They suggested the first couple of times I take her to a groomer until she is a bit bigger and more use to it, then I should be able to stay on top of it. She also got her second set of vaccines.  Although Starview Kennels include lifetime vaccines for all of their puppies, the cost in time and gasoline far outweighed the cost of the inject ion at the vet while we were there in the office.

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