Newly clipped dog - absolutely hates the rain or wet...

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MagicMelon

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We had our labradoodle professionally clipped a couple of weeks ago as she'd got really scruffy and it was getting hellish to groom her. The clipper took a lot more off than I was expecting (I almost cried when I saw her!). She is now absolutely awful in the rain / wet :( We do agility with her and at training last night the ground was wet - she refused to run on it, just kept licking the wet off her legs! Then she ran for cover under the trees every time we let her go when it started to drizzle, even though she had a waterproof Rambo rug on! It was a total disaster. With anyone experienced with clipped dogs, will she actually get used to feeling rain / wet on her now she has less fluff? Or will we have to let her coat grow back in again? Not sure if we should be mean and get her out walking about the soaking wet fields in the peeing rain to get her used to it or not... :( We already have to literally push her out the door to go outside to pee as it is! Before she was never bothered by the weather.
 
The temperature has just dropped here and it is probably even colder where you are. Just put a coat (or two!) on her and keep her moving without asking her to do anything special until she is more relaxed about her nakedness. Try and be upbeat about the situation and do not be too sympathetic. The poor girl has had a shock! You may well have to learn to clip her yourself to avoid this. Some of my young foster hounds will only go out for toiletting in bad weather if I put a coat on them and go out with them, but out they go and they soon accept this is what we do.
 
How sad, poor dog, what was the groomer thinking of?! I have a friend with a standard poodle that is NOT a show dog. She specifies exactly how much coat to take off to keep her tidy, there is no need to clip close.
On a brighter note she will grow back quite quickly. Do let us know when she is cheery again, meanwhile rug her up and towel her dry.
 
Before you all start jumping on the bandwagon berating the groomer - you might just rein that one in a little bit. Maybe, just maybe that dog couldn't have been clipped any longer ??? Clipper blades do not clip thru knots and matts - they can only clip UNDER so it's possible that the groomer tried a longer blade and couldn't get thru it. If it was hellish for the owner to groom, when they have all the time in the world, and the dog is relaxed at home - how do you expect a groomer to cope any better without abusing the dog?!

I'm not surprised that the dog felt weird after having a fleece removed. But blame yourself for leaving the coat too long to be groomed, not the groomer.
 
As the owner of a longhaired dog (with an undercoat, I'm not clipping him) who spends most of his time outdoors, a stitch in time saves nine. Five minutes every day or even a couple of times a week running your hands and then a brush over the dog, helps take out dead hair, identify lumps, bumps, cuts and bugs hidden by all the hair, and improves your bond. A squirt of Show Sheen while they're wet can also helps. Saves a big traumatic job for the dog, groomer and owner.

Whilst it can't be nice to loose a thick woolly coat, she's a mix of two water loving breeds and if you're intending to compete with her, you may want to create a positive association with being wet, getting her feet wet etc....mine go out in all weathers and I try to make it a positive thing, cause it might rain on competition day and if we waited for it to be dry to go on a walk, we could ve waiting a long time!
 
PucciNPoni - I have not blamed the groomer, I simply said I was very surprised by how she turned out when I'd asked her for a certain length and when my partner picked her up she didn't say anything about having to cut shorter. Her coat was a mess, I wont lie and I totally know thats our fault, after her last pro clip she hated it so I had bought my own clippers to try and do it little and often and very gently to get her used to it but my clippers wouldn't go through her coat. She's also not easy to brush which again I've been trying to do a little every day with lots of treats etc. but it was hard to do long enough to get on top of it hence why I ended up getting her pro clipped. From now on I'll keep her clipped myself and CorvusCorax, show sheen is a very good idea so I'll be trying that. She has a funny coat, a mix of fluff and wire.

Thing is she never minded being wet before, she would always run about in the sea if we took her there etc. its only since having her clipped she's gone weird. I guess she'll just get used to it after a while.
 
She will get used to it - but if your clippers are struggling then it will be pulling at her skin as you clip. Personally I would keep going to a professional. It's not the groomer's fault it ended up short.

I understand your pain about the coat type - labdoo coat is a NIGHTMARE for many people. I have had many new ones come to me in absolutely disgraceful states - very often when they're juvenile as the coat is changing texture.

I agree your groomer should have discussed with you at length before and after the dog was groomed - should have offered to give you some alternatives (ie discussed grooming schedule, routine and techniques for you to try at home). However, depending on how expensive or cheap they are, they may just not have included that in their "over all care package". I often lose out on pricing because I'm dear, but then people come back because they recognise the value for money. So perhaps rethink your grooming routine at home, and find another groomer who might take the time to chat to you about how to manage this tricky coat.
 
PucciNPoni said:
Before you all start jumping on the bandwagon berating the groomer - you might just rein that one in a little bit. Maybe, just maybe that dog couldn't have been clipped any longer ??? Clipper blades do not clip thru knots and matts - they can only clip UNDER so it's possible that the groomer tried a longer blade and couldn't get thru it. If it was hellish for the owner to groom, when they have all the time in the world, and the dog is relaxed at home - how do you expect a groomer to cope any better without abusing the dog?!

I'm not surprised that the dog felt weird after having a fleece removed. But blame yourself for leaving the coat too long to be groomed, not the groomer.
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Totally agree with this. I am a dog groomer and have to deal with this situation more and more. I blame the breeders of these designer breeds as they do not tell potential buyers that the puppy will have to be professionally groomed about every 8 weeks for the rest of the dogs life. A lot of the time the breeders don't know themselves and have no idea exactly what they are selling. Us poor groomers just pick up the pieces.
 
Coated breeds are difficult to manage without routine - the routine of brushing and combing at home (and thorough coat inspection not just for the sake of beauty, but also overall health of the dog). Then there's the routine of regular (and by regular I don't mean once a year or once every three - four months - I mean 6-8 weeks or more frequent if necessary) professional grooming. Groomers are not out to make a killing on their work - many barely break even. They generally are very passionate about their work (or at least the scores of groomers that I know).

Without this routine I speak of, the dog doesn't feel comfortable with the process. It becomes something to avoid. However dogs which learn that it's a bonding session will find comfort in the process and enjoy it. My dogs get done pretty often. One poodle gets bathed and FFT done ever 2 weeks or so during competition season. Maybe just every six weeks outside of that. During the on season he enjoys it. During the off season he's less enamoured.

The puppy gets bathed and trimmed every week. If I let it go beyond that week she's uncomfortable because her very long coat is becoming tangled. Once a week and it's a quicker process and she'll stand happily or lay down and fall asleep.

We all get busy with our lives and find that it's a hassle to do the grooming and put it off til it becomes a chore. But teaching a dog about grooming is as important as it is to teach them to walk on a lead, to sit, to stay and so on.
 
I'm really sorry to hijack, but what brush (es) would the groomers on here recommend for a labradoodle coat? I admit to being rather bewildered by the huge variety available and am never sure I'm using the best type.

OP I hope your doodle gets over it fast! I always clip mine quite short and they got used to their nakedness v quickly the first time.
 
Broodle said:
I'm really sorry to hijack, but what brush (es) would the groomers on here recommend for a labradoodle coat? I admit to being rather bewildered by the huge variety available and am never sure I'm using the best type.

OP I hope your doodle gets over it fast! I always clip mine quite short and they got used to their nakedness v quickly the first time.
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You need a good slicker brush and a medium/wide toothed metal comb. You need to be able to get the comb through the dogs coat from root to tip without any tangles, just like your own hair. Many people can do this along the dogs back but fail to do a thorough job ALL over the dogs body. The best course of action is to take it to a professional groomer Every six/eight weeks without fail, rain or shine, summer and winter.

Hope this helps.
 
california dreaming said:
You need a good slicker brush and a medium/wide toothed metal comb. You need to be able to get the comb through the dogs coat from root to tip without any tangles, just like your own hair. Many people can do this along the dogs back but fail to do a thorough job ALL over the dogs body. The best course of action is to take it to a professional groomer Every six/eight weeks without fail, rain or shine, summer and winter.

Hope this helps.
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Thanks so much for your reply. I use a slicker brush, but not a comb. I'll pick one up and be more diligent :)
 
I have a cockerpoo non shedding type coat and we brush him every day and my mum cuts his coat with scissors just to keep it short.
 
california dreaming said:
You need a good slicker brush and a medium/wide toothed metal comb. You need to be able to get the comb through the dogs coat from root to tip without any tangles, just like your own hair. Many people can do this along the dogs back but fail to do a thorough job ALL over the dogs body. The best course of action is to take it to a professional groomer Every six/eight weeks without fail, rain or shine, summer and winter.

Hope this helps.
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yup, that's what I would have said too. You could also aid your efforts if you want with a detangling spray, but I wouldn't go mad with it because it can cause more problems if you overuse it. But a little goes a long way and can help.
 
PucciNPoni said:
yup, that's what I would have said too. You could also aid your efforts if you want with a detangling spray, but I wouldn't go mad with it because it can cause more problems if you overuse it. But a little goes a long way and can help.
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Super - thanks very much for the tips :)
 
Ever since we had a Briard I've had short-hair dogs! Every morning she'd be up on the work bench for a brush, one useful thing we had (that I'm sure can't be great for their coat) was a metal comb with blades rather than just prongs, so you could comb through then slice up any tangles you came across.
 
puppystitch said:
Ever since we had a Briard I've had short-hair dogs! Every morning she'd be up on the work bench for a brush, one useful thing we had (that I'm sure can't be great for their coat) was a metal comb with blades rather than just prongs, so you could comb through then slice up any tangles you came across.
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Ah, yes a dematting tool. They don't do the coat a whole lot of favors, and can be used with some practice. I never sell them to my clients because I've had a few people injure their dogs (or themselves) with these things.
 
PucciNPoni said:
Ah, yes a dematting tool. They don't do the coat a whole lot of favors, and can be used with some practice. I never sell them to my clients because I've had a few people injure their dogs (or themselves) with these things.
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I'm not surprised, it was pretty evil. We found it useful for tangles in sensitive areas though as it didn't pull too much. Lucy was a saint but her coat was a real nightmare sometimes, even though she was groomed daily. Never thought of using show sheen - is it ok even if they lick it?
 
You don't use enough to soak the coat, but I've never had anyone complain about a sick pet after using such a product.

Okay, the only catch with using any conditioners or silicone based products is that if you use it daily and don't wash the coat enough in between, the product will build up on the hair shaft. When this happens it gets rather gunky (the technical term here) and makes it more prone to matting than it would be if the coat was just kept clean.

However, it's great for stubborn tangles - my method on my show poodle is to spray the knot and then tease apart with my fingers. Then brush and comb the rest of the way. My pup will sleep thru the process.

Like I said, coat management is a big commitment and many people don't appreciate just how much when they take on a hairy dog.
 
I put SS on when the dog is wet or if he is going to be getting wet/muddy.
I did buy one of those bladed things but it looks like an implement of torture and I hope I will never let his coat get so bad as I have to use it again.
 
With the bladed matt breakers, they are pretty lethal but can blunt pretty fast if used on a dirty coat, and then it's dragging through the coat which is painful. You'd be far better working at it with a brush and comb with short/sharp strokes (yet being careful to not burn the skin, but effectively getting down to skin level.)
 
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