We are always happy to do as much as you need for your pup, but generally the more you do at home, the less we need to do (and charge) while your pup is in our care.

There is a lot of varying information circulating about the maintenance required for doodles and long haircuts. So to provide the best service possible and prepare our clients for successful grooming appointment we wanted to provide some information. Doodles and dogs with long coats require the most maintenance in terms of grooming of all the breeds – both at home and by your groomer. We see most doodle owners every 3-12 weeks depending on how much work clients do at home and how long of a coat is maintained. See above chart for how often your pup should come in and how much work should be done at home.

Almost every doodle owner wants a long, shaggy hairstyle (which we absolutely LOVE) but it’s a very high maintenance look that most people struggle to manage. It’s time consuming at home and requires frequent appointments at the groomers. High quality tools for home and lengthy/frequent grooming appointments result in this look being a very expensive overall cost. The best way to keep costs as low as possible is to shave your doodle very short. The longer the coat, the more work required at home and the more expensive the grooming appointments.  We are happy to help you maintain your dog's coat however you prefer but we want you to know what is involved.

Mats: 

- Long coats very quickly tangle and get matted 

– mats hurt! imagine what would happen to a human with long tangled hair. If not brushed out right away, it is a nightmare to brush out even a tiny spot. Imagine tangles on every inch of your body getting tighter and tighter then trying to brush it all out 

- mats can also can cause serious health issues. Matting prevents airflow to the dog’s skin which traps moisture and can cause bacterial infections, hot spots, and itchy skin. 

- When your dog comes in for an appointment we take a look at the amount of tangles/ mats and have to decide if we can humanely brush it out or have to shave it off. We are able to best assess the situation after the bath is complete and we are beginning the blow dry stage. This is when we will usually pause to call or text you with an update and ask how you would prefer we proceed (ex. would you prefer we shave it all off, spend some time brushing out what we can or send pup home to be brushed out by you over many days). We usually do not do more then 20-30 minutes of brushing and that is also dependent on the dog allowing us to do the work. 

- We charge by the minute for every service we provide with dematting at a $2/minute rate. A general estimate for timing required to brush out tangles or the odd mat is 5-10 minutes per section of the dog (ie. face, ears, one leg, tail, head, body).

- Shaving a matted dog is also costly as it tends to be a slow process as well. Dogs also absolutely hate having mats touched, brushed, and shaved so it’s often a very unpleasant experience for dogs at the very least, and also a dangerous process as they tend to thrash and flail around trying to get away from the clippers. 

- If your dog has dangerous behaviour for grooming (thrashing, alligator rolling, biting,..) we will require you to bring pup in on a regular grooming schedule (6-8 weeks) or we will likely refuse service - routine improves behaviour for almost every case. If routine isn't enough to improve your dog's situation and allow for safe appointments we will require you to bring your dog in on anxiety medication. If we are dealing with beahvioural issues with your dog, a long coat will not be an option and your dog will need to be maintained with a short, simple haircut.

- With a long haircut, we use a guard comb. This cannot be done unless every inch of the dog is combed out with no tangles. We have many people ask us to just go shorter where it’s tangled/matted and longer everywhere else. This is sometimes possible but usually it’s a very time consuming process (and expensive) and does not provide a nice finish. It’s usually better to just do the haircut length that is manageable based on the time you can put in at home and the money you can spend on a professional. 

Our policies for tangles and mats 

- We only do what the dog allows us to do (if the dog starts to thrash, cry or bite we stop immediately) 

- We only brush out what our bodies can handle (this is usually 20-30 minutes depending on severity of mats/tangles)

- We charge $2/minute for brushing tangles/ mats out 

- If mats and tangles are a recurring issue with your dog we reserve the right to refuse brushing it out and a shorter haircut will be necessary if this is the case (we will confirm if you prefer we shave or send the dog home for you to brush out) 

Puppies: 

We are hearing from a lot of clients that their breeders are telling them not to shave their dog until 10 months of age. If you would like to avoid shaving we are happy to accommodate but your pup should still come in as often as possible while young and impressionable. This allows puppy to get used to the salon space and process. A puppy coming in for the first time at 10 months is almost always tangled / matted which means shaving very short and a very negative first experience with grooming. Pup has likely not been away from mom and dad much, never been brushed/handled by anyone other then their owners, never heard or smelled the salon space (the noise of the dryers, other dogs barking, clippers vibrating, scissors around their face and paws, sensation of being high up on a grooming table table),… this is a recipe for a lifetime of difficult grooming appointments. Further, this limits our ability to do a cute haircut on your dog, increases the cost of your appointments, and increases chances of us not being able to work with your dog at all.  For owners who want to wait to do their pup’s first haircut until they are much older, the best thing to do is book bath and tidy appointments as often as possible. Ideally right away and every 4-6 weeks. This sets your dog up for a lifetime of happy and relaxed grooming appointments. We thoroughly sanitize every surface a puppy touches to ensure a safe appointment. Best time of day for puppies however, is 8 am as that’s a quiet time of day and the salon is at it’s absolutely cleanest. 

How to achieve a long coat on your dog: 

- brush and comb every inch regularly at home (long coats need to be brushed absolutely everywhere daily just like you would for your own hair) 

- start professional grooming as early as possible and maintain a regular routine (4-6 weeks for long coats, 4-8 weeks for shorter coats) of bath and tidies until you are ready to start adding in haircuts (puppies need to get comfortable with this process while they are young)

- bathing: don’t bathe your dog between grooms unless you can dry, brush, and comb pup through completely (otherwise hair will likely dry into matts) 

- for a grooming routine guide please refer to our “coat maintenance” chart above. Some coat types are more forgiving than others so feel free to ask for our opinion on appointment frequency when you are in our salon 

- if you have trouble brushing at home, adding in bath and tidies between full grooms can help a lot

- feel free to book a brushing and combing lesson with us so you can get one on one instructions and feedback with the tools you use at home (usually 15 minutes and $20 plus HST) 

- we recommend a detangling spray, slicker brush, and comb for most long coats but please feel free to ask for tool recommendations. Chris Christensen is the brand we use in our salon.

We LOVE long fluffy coats on dogs but it is a lot of professional grooming and a lot of work for pet parents at home too. We are always happy to do a shorter haircut if a long coat is too difficult to maintain. Let us know what you need and we are happy to help!