Grooming Your Doodle at Home

Let's talk grooming and haircuts!

I was hesitant to do a blog post about this because I really don't want anybody to think this advice is coming from a professional groomer (I am not!), however, I know lot's of families are starting to groom their doodles themselves due to the price and frequency of needing haircuts, as well as it's just dang hard to find an appointment availability these days! This post is not a "how-to" on cutting your dog's hair. There are TONS of tutorials on YouTube with super in-depth visual examples on how to do it, and I think that's the easiest way to learn. This post is to give you some tips, resources, feedback on different products we've used, as well as what I've learned and found helpful in my situation.

I've been cutting our dog's hair from home for 3+ years now, and everything I've learned has been from researching, reading, trial and error, and watching tutorials. So without further ado, let's get started!

To get your doodle groomed, you can spend anywhere from $60 to $180+ PER HAIRCUT 😱

If you get that done every 3 months, it sure starts to add up!

For some, the price is totally worth it because it saves you time, energy, and the patience it takes to groom your dog yourself. However, it’s totally possible to do it yourself if you’re feeling the price is too high or you can’t find a groomer with availabilities (or you’re just looking for a new adventure with your pet, haha!).

For the last 2 years we've been using this $70 clipper from Wahl and it did its job for many haircuts. I can’t believe it actually got through our Splash's wooly coat as many times as it did 🙈

Recently though, we found we weren’t very impressed with the results, and knew that with a whole pack of dog's needing haircuts every 3 months, that it was time to move on to something more professional and heavy-duty.

I wouldn't completely write this clipper off for a one-dog household. It worked for us many times, and is fairly basic if you're just starting out. However, my confidence in how long it will work before becoming ineffective is not that high.

Our main priorities when looking for a good clipper for our doodles was:

1). Have 2-speeds, as 2 (or more) speed clippers are more durable and have more juice to give, especially when you're working with a thick and curly coat.

2). Be corded, as again, corded clippers are usually longer lasting and significantly more powerful.

3). Require little maintenance. Cuz let's be honest, no one wants to have to send their clipper in every 2 months to get it fixed.

4). Have lots of horse (or in this case, dog, lol) power.

With that checklist in mind, we found ourselves tied between two popular options:

• The Wahl KM10 corded clipper

• The Andis UltraEdge Super 2-Speed Clipper

I was sooo close to getting the Andis, for the simple reason that most Doodle related grooming search results showcased that brand and model. However, I was hesitant when I saw how many people said the old ones back in the day performed really well, but the newer ones made today were falling to bits.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon the channel FurryFriendsZone on YouTube. I watched most of their videos on blades, guide combs, clippers and groomer's reviews on them side by side and decided to go with the Wahl KM10 because of their reviews and advice.

Fast forward to finding out that with all the manufacturing issues currently, this clipper is SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE. Tons of research later, I discovered Deboer Grooming Supplies online had it in stock, along with all the extra blades and guide combs I desired. I definitely recommend looking into getting it from them if you're having trouble finding it where you normally shop. I got free shipping (which surprisingly wasn't offered everywhere I was looking, despite the product costing so much), and relatively fast packaging and shipping with good tracking information. A win win all 'round.

As for how this clipper works...

I can’t speak to the long-term results or experience of using this clipper, as I am new to it, BUT I am so happy with what I’ve seen thus far. I’ve done 8 haircuts & they are the best looking ones I’ve ever done. The result is so smooth & even, and the amount of time I have to spend doing scissor work has been greatly diminished, which makes me a happy girl 😂🙈🤪

The sound is very quiet & the vibration is low. It isn’t too heavy, and I can’t believe I’m saying I love that it’s corded, but it’s nice not having to charge it and worrying about it losing juice partway through a cut.

I also bought the 8 pack of Wahl Guide Combs because my past experience with grooming has always been with guide combs. It was completely foreign to me to buy different size/length blades and not use guide combs, but I wanted to know how it would work, so I also got a 3F blade. I'll talk more about that later. If you're new to grooming and want to know what lengths are best and how to understand blades and guide combs, check out these two video. I was taking soooo many notes, haha. Very helpful.

First things first, let's go over the basics:

1). ALWAYS brush your dog thoroughly before haircuts. You simply cannot get an even cut without brushing through everything, as well as YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THEIR COAT with the clipper if it's not brushed (unless you cut down to practically their skin). I brushed Roo till she looked like a literal marshmallow, and STILL she wasn't brushed enough. It's crazy. I'd almost go as far as to say you have to brush as long as it takes you to cut. Go through everything thoroughly with a slicker brush (we use the Conair Pro Pet Slicker Brush), and then finish up with a comb, to make sure all the tight curls and knots at the base are smoothed out. Armpits and in between the back legs are usually big "problem areas" for knots.

Here's a basic video on a brushing method that will make sure all the mats and knots are getting addressed.

2). It's not necessary, but bathing your pup before a haircut is definitely advised. The reason behind this is that the matted areas they frequently mouth and groom will get broken up by a good shampoo scrub and so the brush (and clipper) will more easily and evenly be able to get through those area's. A lot of the time, if you didn't give them a bath beforehand, you will notice that after the cut when they start to itch at a particular area, it will disturb the knotted/matted area, and uncut hairs will poke up and look un-groomed.

3). Make sure they're completely dried!

4). Do it as a team. You can of course cut hair by yourself, but there are some area's (like the feet, face, and stomach, as well as if you decide to do any clipper-over-comb work) that are just so much easier to do when you have someone holding the dog and making sure they aren't wiggling around. Getting someone to distract with treats or hold a paw still while you groom it is a huge relief, so definitely see if you can get your boo to be apart of the process ;) haha.

5). Lastly, ALWAYS wear shoes. I can't tell you the amount of hair slivers I had to get out of my feet with needles and flashlights after doing one haircut with just socks on. Save your feet -- wear shoes!

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk guide combs.

I started off the haircut using the 1/2" guide comb on my 10 blade. I was barely 1 minute into the haircut when I discovered that the hair was snagging at the base of the guide comb. It continued to do this, so I said, what the hey! Let's try JUST the 3F blade, no guide combs. (The 3F gives you just about a 1/2" cut, so the result should be relatively the same as when you use the #1 guide comb).

The result was WAY better. I immediately noticed the cut was smoother and more even, and there was no snagging. Though it's pricier to buy individual blades rather than a full guide comb set, I really appreciate how effective it is to just use the blade, and find it saves you time, energy, and your dog is less likely to get pissed at you because the comb snagged and started gobbling hair ;) lol. That's just my perspective based on my experience, but you decide what works for you! I did use a guide comb that was longer than my 3F blade for Trixie's head, as I notice she especially needs a little more hair on top, otherwise she looks like an army brat, haha. That's when the guide comb came in handy for me.

NOTE: When you're not using attachment guide combs and you're just cutting with the blade, you have to keep an eye on the temperature of the blade as you're cutting. I usually find if the clipper has been running for 20 minutes straight, it starts to get too hot, so I detach the blade and put it in the fridge, on the counter top, or if I'm in a hurry, on an icepack that has a tea-towel covering it. You just don't want your blade getting wet or moist, as that can cause rust.

The 3F (1/2") blade may be a shorter length than a lot of owners desire, especially when you like the teddy bear look, HOWEVER, you have to think about a few factors:

1). It's a good length for summertime, as it's not too short, but it keeps your pup cool and easier to brush, wash and keep clean.

2). It not only takes a lot of work to groom your dog yourself, but it also takes a lot of time. Again, it's up to you how often you feel up to doing haircuts, but with how much work/time it takes, this length gives you about 3-4 months before you have to do it again. If you keep the hair pretty long with each haircut, you'll spend a lot more time maintaining it, detangling it, and trimming it regularly, and it's hard to find a dog under 3 years old with enough patience for that.

I like rounded ears and paws, and visible eyes, so those are the main area's I have to do with scissors.

TIP: Always try doing the "difficult" area's first. The things your dog doesn't enjoy or have the patience for should always be addressed at the beginning, when they aren't as restless and tired of being groomed.

I hope this has been insightful and helped you feel more confident in grooming your doodle at home! Like I said above, there are so many tutorials on how to groom and you'll probably learn something helpful from them all, however, this one is our favourite. It's quite long, however it is very insightful and teaches you some beautiful techniques (I DROOOOOL). You don't have to follow this exact hair length or style, but it shows you the technique and overall method of how you can groom your doodle :)

Have fun!!

The Rocky Legend Doodles Team

*None of this post or the products/brands mentioned are sponsored. Recommended because we use and love them!*