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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After much saving of pennies and waiting in anticipation, my Goldendoodle’s first service vest arrived late yesterday! Although it is an extra small, it is still a little loose on her. I was worried that it wouldn’t fit for long but I think we have some growing room on this one! I purchased the vest from Sit and Stay.  They seemed to have the cheapest ones there with zippered pockets. 

I also purchased three patches: “Ask to Pet Me, I am Friendly”, “Service Dog”, “In Training”.  Although the patches are designed to fit together, the vest was too small.  I had to put the pet me patch on the back and then the other patches on each side.  They recommend gluing the patches and of course sell the glue.  The patches were not cheap though and I wanted to be able to remove them from this vest and put them on her next one. I used to be a seamstress so I figured no problem.  Well an hour and half later I was strongly reconsidering!  The vest is well made with thick water resistant fabric and hand sewing the patches with MS fingers was a REAL challenge.

She has only worn the vest for a couple of minutes at a time so far but she seems to like it just fine.

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