Puppy Grooming

Grooming your Australian Labradoodle puppy main goals are to keep them sanitary, and to maintain the desensitization to grooming before they are fully vaccinated to go to the groomer. The grooming of your puppy is broke down into three. major sections of the body: eyes, feet, sanitary. The maintenance trimming of your puppy should take about 10 minutes once a week until old enough to go to the groomer. 

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Eyes: Clear eyes make for a cute puppy face, but is easier for them to see and healthy clean eyes with no tear stains. As photographed above keep pups inner eye area clear of hair. As a pup we trim this hair once a week. We do so by holding the muzzle gently and using curved scissors trim the hair at the stop of the muzzle to the tear duct corner of the head.  View Video one below.

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wipe any eye boogers your dog gets from the corner of their eyes.

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Paws: Lets see the toe beans! Remember your ALD doesn't shed all over your house BUT if you don't trim those cute feet they turn into little mops around your house. So we take a pair of electric clippers and shave any hair covering the paw pads and between the creases of their webbed feet. You can also use your clippers or rounded scissors and trim any hair on the top of their feet that start to look like grinch slippers. Although sometimes cute, in PNW winter when it rains 24/7 the cleaner the paws the cleaner the house.

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Nails: Your puppy has had their nails drimmled twice a week since 3 days old. They are used to the vibration on their feet. After 8 weeks till 4 to 5 months they do majority of their growing and eating all that food and quality vitamins makes for strong nails that need trimmed. Your puppy toes are the same color as the coordinating toe bean. So it is easier to see new growth on lighter colored paws. If you drimmel a small amount of nail each week there is less chance of hitting the wick. Below is photos and a video to doing nails.

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Sanitary trim: Cap happens sooo keep it from being scooted into your carpet or favorite rug by keeping their bums trim. We take the electric trimmers and trim a half inch in each direction from their bottom, trim a bit of the underside base of the tail. 

 

Male Sanitary: flip your boy to his belly make sure the hair coming off the tip of his penis is trim and tidy if left too long while young and not fully cleaning themselves can lead to a uti. Trim the first inch or two of belly hair from in front of the penis to prevent urine on his belly. If this is shaved only needs done about every two or so weeks. Once old enough to go to the groomer every 6-8 weeks you shouldn't have to keep trimming this area the groomer will do it.

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Female Sanitary: girls need the hair on the end of their vulva kept trim and inner hair at base of thighs kept short to prevent urine smell or uti. This hair is softer and more fine as pups and if not kept tidy can easily mat. Once old enough to go to the groomer every 6-8 weeks you shouldn't have to keep trimming this area groomer should be doing so.

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Brushing: You should fully brush out your dog twice a week and BEFORE every bath. Start with their slick brush they came home with. Brush gently to the skin the entire body, each leg, under belly ( don't forget all 4 armpits), tail, and head (get behind those ears and collar area). Then follow back over with your metal comb to the skin from your grooming kit. If the comb stops, snags or pulls it means you have a knot you need to gently line brush that area to the skin and try again. 

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Bathing: Bath time is just needed from time to time with pups. Make sure to fully brush them before hand. We strongly recommend Marshmallo doodle grooming shampoo line (link below) or magic cowboy or the Best shot care line for all your hair products or simple Mane and Tail works wonders. Silicone free products work best for curly or wavy coats. While bathing your pup make sure to not soak the head trapping water in the ears... that is an ear infection waiting to happen. After bath towel dry and BLOW DRY YOUR ALD. Labradoodles always need blow dried or their hair will mat. After blow drying do a quit brush through and your done!

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Ears: Nice to hair you?! Your ALD isn't your great grandpa, but they will give him a run for his money on ear hair. In your puppy swag bag is the ear hair powder every 6 to 10 weeks just depending on your dog has a new full head of ear hair. Snuggle up on the couch with your dog, ear powder, a few paper towels, and a damp wash cloth. Put the ear powder in put in like how much cheese you actually want at the Olive Garden not what makes you not feel cheese shamed ( good amount of powder).. wait 90 to 120 seconds... then gently pull the hair out. Pull all the hair from the ear canal. Then make sure all the ear powder is out by wiping it clean with the damp cloth until no white powder is seen.  This is basically dog Nare leaving it on will cause skin irritant. Wipe ears out for the next three days because all the wax backed up in the pores is released. 

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