Tips on Grooming your Labradoodle to find that sweet spot!

In this article you will learn some tips on grooming your labradoodle. 

Grooming a Labradoodle effectively depends heavily on their specific coat type (fleece, wool, or hair). Fleece and wool coats are low-to-non-shedding, which means the hair is not going to shed out as much as the hair coat which will naturally keep a pup looking good without much grooming. 

Let me help you find the sweet spot in your labradoodles grooming routine in order to manage a pleasant experience for both you and your pup. 

Defining the coat texture for your labradoodle.

First off the puppy coat is going to be a fluffier or more fine consistency. For puppies I do recommend grooming with a large toothed comb, never a brush because their skin is more sensitive and a large tooth comb is going to find the mats easier.

When you consider the wool coat of a poodle there are some similarities with the labradoodle coats but I find that we don’t have the dense wooly coats on our pups as the poodles do. Which is one of the reasons we started raising the mini labradoodles is because of their ease of keeping them groomed and of course their gentle affectionate nature. 

Every labradoodle coat is different

It is a common thing to hear that you should comb your pup daily. I don’t agree that this is necessary. It is totally up to the environment and activities you are doing with your pup and your labradoodles coat texture. 

I often find that combing them daily can lead them to avoid you because of the harsh effects of the comb or brush you are using. Instead develop a routine where you are gently hand patting your pup with a conditioning solution daily and maybe combing if you feel there are mats. Usually this is going to be under the arms and on the sides more than on the top of the shoulders. 

Our routine here is in the morning we wipe the crusty’s off their eyes, and then go out to play. After a good play time we will come in and I will check them over for any bugs, dirty paws and check ears. I don’t always clean their ears but when I do it usually requires a Qtip and gentle cleaning solution. I like to just keep gentle wipes on hand for a quick and easy clean up. 

After the end of the day, I will squirt some conditioner onto my hand and wipe them down, that’s it. And for the weekly grooming I will do a foot bath and scrub underneath and do the comb through. And gently add some conditioner.

During the summer time when the bugs are more of a problem I am keeping them a bit cleaner with a wipe down more often. But for a full bath I don’t like to do this more often than every 2 weeks. But this all depends on their environment also. If they are too dirty to get cleaned in a foot bath it is a full bath indeed. I do suggest a gentle soap that doesn’t dry out the skin for the perfect grooming for a labradoodle.
 Look for products that have aloe vera and coconut oil that will not dry the coat. 

Personally I have used an emu oil soap but that is increasingly hard to find.  Years ago I would use a whiting shampoo on my bulldogs, but found this is highly drying to their coats. If you do feel that there is staining due to either tear stains or grass, just use a gentle soap and let it soak for a bit. One of my go to products is the goats milk soap bars. I have often recommended good ole baby oil but with so many issues with chemicals I have stopped using this and use a high quality coconut oil and water spritz for in between full body shampoos. This also works for a leave on conditioner after a bath and groom. 

What is the perfect look? – Is it the most common professional groom for your labradoodle or not??

Often professional groomers finish a grooming session with a blowout look. Often called the Teddy Bear Look

I do not like to do this on my dogs, this is extremely drying to their coats and of course is going to give them the fuzzy teddy bear look a lot of people like. What is wrong with a natural air dry?  We learned this first hand with our bulldogs years ago. The heat on their skin causes irritation and then you have hot spots. Which are not fun to deal with! 

When I have young pups and it’s the middle of winter, I do use a heat lamp but only on pups due to them getting chilled and that could lead to developing a cold. But for a 3 to 4 month old puppy they are fine with a towel dry and letting them air dry while running around a bit. They love a good rumble in the towel, just don’t let them outdoors while still wet or you will be repeating a bath, because remember they are a dog and they love to feel the earth between their toes, or the mud on their back. 

Note: You do not want them indoors next to an air conditioning vent either after a bath. You will see signs of them chilled so watch them closely after their bath to make sure they are warm and snug 

Choosing the best products for grooming your labradoodle

I don’t have any specific recommendations on particular products. I have used the top of the line products and also some natural solutions made by yours truly. Just do your best with researching and if you do feel the product is not working as well as you hoped or irritating their skin then try another. 

Finding that sweet spot with your Mini Labradoodle Puppy or any other breed of puppy is all about the enjoyment of your time. If you go into this with the confidence that you and the pup are in for a treatment that soothes your nerves along with the satisfaction that you are developing a ritual that is pleasing for your pup, then you have found the Sweet Spot!