Goldendoodles are a true blessing from heaven made by joining two amazing dog breeds, the Poodle and the Golden Retriever.
Our crossbreed puppies of the day are curly, cute-looking teddy bears! And they’re not supposed to become a shaved Goldendoodle. EVER.
Yes, one of the parents is a Poodle. And yes, they can be shaved down all the way.
But no, our Doodles aren’t supposed to be shaved down just for the sake of fun. Shaving brings along many potential problems you’d want to avoid.
So, why do people even opt to have a shaved Goldendoodle? Why should any pup lose its wonderful coat? Is it to stress the hypoallergenic feature even more? Is it for fashion purposes?
Today we’re going to find out what’s making people so crazy about the shaved Goldendoodle.
Do you have your clippers ready?
Goldendoodle Coat Styles And Colors
Goldendoodles are one of the most requested designer dogs these days.
Breeders have managed to develop 13 incredible coat colors and many other coat patterns and styles.
The following colors are:
- chocolate (brown)
- apricot
- red
- cream
- champagne
- black
- black and white
- grey
- blue
- silver
- silver beige
- tan
- white
As for the coat patterns, we have:
- sable
- abstract
- parti
- merle
- tuxedo
- phantom
- brindle
All of these coat colors and patterns are equally mesmerizing. All Goldendoodles (micro, teacup, toy, miniature, small standard or medium, and large standard) can fashion any of these styles.
Also, any of these color combinations is possible in many Goldendoodle generations ( f1, f1b, f1bb, f2, f2b, f2bb, f3, and multigen).
Read Also: Is The Straight Hair Goldendoodle A Real Dog Breed?
Are Goldendoodles Supposed To Be Shaved?
The biggest question regarding this subject is whether Goldendoodles are supposed to be shaved or not.
Like the parent dog, the Poodle, some dog breeds are often shaved completely or on certain areas.
Does this mean the crossbreed of a Poodle and a Golden Retriever could and should be shaved down?
Absolutely not! Goldendoodles have a double coat, meaning their hairs are very fine, long, and protective from heat and cold. In fact, during the summer months, the fine long hairs and undercoat will shed to keep the dog cooler.
Only the top hairs will stay to protect the dog from the sun. If you shave down a Goldendoodle, the under hairs will grow faster than the rest of the coat, and the texture will be forever changed.
This is the point where you should drop the idea of shaving the Goldendoodle. But, if you still don’t understand why, keep on reading to find more reasons NOT TO.
Why Is Shaving Goldendoodles So Popular?
Since many problems originate from shaving a Goldendoodle, the only question hanging in the air is: Why is it even popular?
So, why shave a dog when it brings along so many consequences?
The main reason to justify shaving a Goldendoodle is that many other dog breeds, including the parent poodle, are shaved.
This doesn’t mean shaving a Poodle and Golden Retriever mix should be allowed too.
Unless your Goldendoodle is 90% Poodle for some strange reason, it shouldn’t be shaved. A Doodle’s coat is not as thick as a purebred Poodle. You’ll do more damage than good. Shaving doesn’t affect the overall health status or increases the dog’s lifespan.
Is Shaving A Goldendoodle Ever Justified?
Every dog needs a visit to the groomer now and then, even our Goldendoodles. Grooming sessions are necessary to keep the dog’s health A-okay and, of course, to have amazing hairstyles too!
Unfortunately, many owners don’t see the importance of regular grooming. No one says you need to see a professional groomer every time.
Dog grooming can easily be learned at home. A dog’s hair isn’t so problematic when you do regular combing and trimming.
What is problematic is the lack of care and forgetting how important it is to brush the coat.
If not groomed on a schedule, the Goldendoodle’s coat can become troublesome because heavy matting may occur.
Once it reaches this point, there’s really no turning back. The coat will never be as silky and shiny as it was before.
Still, there are severe matting cases when shaving is the only option that won’t cause any more pain or harm to a dog.
Matted hair presents a condition in which a dog’s hair has so many knots that de-tangling isn’t possible. These matted patches resemble a steel wool pad.
But, this isn’t the end of the troubles. The topcoat layer, the bottom layer, and any loose hair can become completely entangled together, making one big mess.
What’s even worse, fleas and many parasites can snoop around and find their way under the coat as it’s warm and moist to live in.
Matted hair isn’t completely unfixable. Depending on how bad the matting is, the detangling can take hours and hours.
Still, this isn’t the best option as the dog will be in pain from the hair-pulling. Here’s when all plans go down the drain. If the situation gets so bad, the only way out is shaving.
How Do You Prevent Coat Matting?
Maintaining a regular brushing schedule is the only way to prevent matting.
After you give your Goldendoodle a bath, use plenty of conditioners to help with the detangling. Next, use a brush to help with blow-drying. Blow-drying should always be done in the cold.
Goldendoodles require daily brushing. If you have a nice slicker brush or some other type, brushing should be a stroll in the park. Plus, it’s always nice to spend some more time with your Goldendoodle!
Taking your pup for a bit of Goldendoodle grooming (not to Petsmart) should be done every four to six weeks. Or, better yet, learn some tricks to do the brushing, clipping, and trimming on your own.
Regular bathing is good for every living creature. Well, that’s just false. Regular bathing, every week or so, will only damage the coat and your dog’s skin. The water causes tangles to become more pronounced and even less likely to be untangled.
This is exactly why brushing before taking a bath and using conditioner afterward is crucial.
Taking Care Of A Goldendoodle Puppy Who Needs A Shave
Shaving doesn’t represent the end of your problems for your Goldendoodle.
The biggest problem is your dog being subjected to climate conditions. For example, a shaved Goldendoodle is prone to sunburns during the summer since it doesn’t have coat protection. The winter brings issues with the cold and frostbite.
The logical solution to these issues is to keep the Goldendoodle away from direct sun in summer and somewhere warm and cozy during the winter.
Physical issues aren’t the only thing that will leave a mark on the Goldendoodle. Anxiety crises might be triggered too!
These pooches love their Goldendoodle haircuts, and they’re very self-aware. Seeing that their hair is missing might make them feel incomplete.
You can overcome this crisis by staying calm and giving the dog extra attention and cuddles.
Growing The Hair Back: How Long Does It Take?
The Goldendoodle has long hair that can reach up to 8 inches in length. Their puppy coat won’t be as long as an adult dog.
Their puppy coat sheds when the pup reaches the ten to twelve-month milestone. It could take two months and up to a year to grow a full-length coat.
The hair growth process can be even longer if your Goldendoodle has curly or wavy hair.
All About The Fluff: Proper Grooming Techniques For Your Goldendoodle Puppy
Bathing a dog should be considered an Olympic sport. All that water around you, you and your dog both wet from head to toe, fighting over who will win and leave unharmed. Bathing truly does take mental preparation.
To ensure the best conditions for you and your dog, try buying a big, comfortable tub. Make sure it has a non-slip surface and is spacious enough for the dog to move around and for you to move and maneuver with the hose.
We have some tips for you to help you with the next bath:
• Use a gentle dog shampoo and a fine-tooth comb to go through the pup’s coat and lather shampoo everywhere.
• Be gentle, no harsh movements, so you don’t pull your dog’s hair or irritate the skin.
• Sneak in a few massage movements while you lather the back, neck, legs, or belly.
• Use the showerhead and warm water to get deep into the fur and rinse all the shampoo, so the skin doesn’t become irritated and itchy.
• Rinse the shampoo away from the dog’s face and go from the back of the head and move downward.
Drying is the next step following a bath. It takes nearly two hours for a Goldendoodle’s fur to dry. Make sure the room is nice and warm and always preheated before you start the grooming session. The coat has to be dried completely in cold weather!
The Fabulous Fluff: Grooming & Hairstyling A Goldendoodle
Each grooming treatment should be a complete package of brushing, cleaning ears and eyes, brushing teeth, clipping nails, and checking for ticks, cuts, bites, and other parasites.
Clipping and styling the hair should be done with a sharp, clean, and maintained blade. The cut should be clean. For frequent grooming sessions investing in a good pair of canine scissors would be your best bet!
Still, professional scissors can be a bit on the pricey side, so any good ones from the sewing section could do the trick too.
Now that you’ve got the equipment, let’s change that hairstyle! Even Goldendoodles have different hairstyles and names for them.
When it comes to the face, the most popular style is an upside-down V shape at the front of their face from their forehead and down the nose. Also on the list are the bearded notch, full face, beard face, donut mustache, etc.
Some Goldendoodles have their bangs cut, so nothing pokes them in the eyes or causes infections. The same goes for the mouth too!
The whole point of grooming the face is to keep it clean and tidy.
Shaving the body is a bit more complicated. When you shave, always leave 1,5 to 2 inches of the coat. Matted hair under the armpits should be removed carefully.
Paws are a tricky part where you have to make sure the dog is calm, and your hand is steady. The styling of the paws depends on if you’re more of a clean-feet dog owner or if you prefer puffy balls instead.
Grooming under the tail is trickier than you might think. This is where fur can become matted and dirty because of the dog’s anatomy.
Tails can be styled in a variety of different ways, ranging from feathered, non-feathered, clipped, and full feathered.
First Time At The Groomer’s
It’s never too early to start with grooming.
However, the first visit to a professional groomer should be around five to six months of age. This is the time the adult coats are growing.
This is the opportunity for the groomer to cut appropriate sections to allow the next set of fur to grow soft and curly.
Does A Shaved Goldendoodle Have Any Benefits?
The summer months are the time of the year for endless play and long hours spent outside. Meaning, it’s hot, and your dog might get hot from all that action. A shaved Goldendoodle might be a salvation from the heat.
Also, because it’s got a shaved coat, there’s no place for dirt, bugs, and leaves to hide. The second biggest benefit to shaving a Goldendoodle during the summer is you can spot ticks easier on a short coat.
These nasty pests are a nightmare to find and remove.
Still, shaving doesn’t mean the dog’s protected from everything. Sunburns are a major worry, and no dog should be under the direct sun when it’s the hottest time of the day.
Avoid periods from 11 to 5 PM to avoid heatstroke and possible sunburns.
Proper Shaving: How To Do The Shaving The Right Way
A Goldendoodle doesn’t require extensive grooming. However, it would be nice to know how to groom your dog properly. If you’re that keen on shaving down the coat, you might as well do it the right way.
Here’s how you can do a full grooming treatment on your own. Doodle owners are absolutely capable of learning how to groom their Goldendoodles.
The first step always starts with a bath. Use no tears shampoo for sensitive skin even though your dog might not have sensitive skin. Better to use gentle products than something that might trigger skin irritations.
A 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner is also a great solution!
Still, avoid getting the shampoo in the eyes. Lather and rinse, don’t repeat.
If your doodle has recently had a bath, you can skip the first step because overbathing can be harmful. Bathing once a month should be absolutely fine.
Moving on…
Attach the dog to the table, that is, attach the collar to the stand so they can’t run away. It’s best to use an elevated table, so you don’t have to bend over so much.
Make the dog sit on the table and have all your equipment on hand.
Pro tip: although the Goldendoodle has a heart of gold, some of them might still try to bite you to defend themselves from the uncomfortable situation that grooming is. Have the dog wear a muzzle if you don’t trust them.
Grooming is another situation where positive reinforcement training helps. A treat here and there, a pat on the head, some nice, loving words will help the pup to feel relaxed.
Step number four is where you move on to the business of clipping the fur. Put on the right blade for your hair clippers.
The best are those that leave 1 and 1/4 inches of hair. Shorter blades are used for matted hair, so unless the dog is seriously matted, skip those.
Once the Doodle is sitting down, start by shaving the back and work our way down. It’s of utmost importance to get most of the coat off while the dog is sitting down.
Standing up means it’s belly shaving time. You repeat the process of shaving all the way until you even out the hair on all sides.
Smaller blades are also used when shaving the paws. Usually, groomers use a size 5 or a size 7.
Around and underneath the paws are always difficult to handle as this is where most matted hair hides, and it’s hard to reach in everyday brushing.
Squirming around and showing signs of discomfort is absolutely normal during feet shaving. Once again, positive reinforcement to the rescue!
Use the shears to trim down the hair around and under the paws.
Cut around and inside the ears. Start by cutting underneath, then shave the inside. The ears are the most sensitive area of a Goldendoodle, so be extra careful with them.
Shaving the face area means you’ll have to use a large blade, possibly a size 9. You’ll need to go in a downward pattern and make sure you don’t cut the dog’s ear by accident. We all know how floppy those ears can be.
Clipping the nails is the final stage of the grooming process. What you do here is find a nail tip with no blood vessel running through it.
Use a manual clipper and never clip the nail too short, or it will bleed. If it does bleed by any chance, use a powder to stop it.
Lastly…
The dog should be dried now, naturally or blow-dried. Then brush it, comb, and seal with a kiss!
To Sum Up…
Photo from: @missmoondesigns
Shaving a Poodle, one of the parent breeds of a Goldendoodle, is fine.
Shaving a Goldendoodle is not.
No matter how fun, cool, or trendy a saved Goldendoodle might look like, it always has many consequences. Whether it’s freezing or overheating, it’s still dangerous for your Doodle.
Skin conditions are a serious situation you don’t want your dog to have.
We do understand shaving down the coat might help with heat issues. But there are other ways to keep your pooch cool during the summer.
Fill up a kiddy pool, throw on some shades, and chill out with your pup.
After all, you do have a Goldendoodle, not a Shave-a-doodle!
