How do you groom a Mini Goldendoodle?

What kind of coat does a Goldendoodle have?

Straight, wavy or curly, with or without the doodle beard and eyebrows. The Goldendoodle has no official coat, so the clues come from the parents, whose coats differ a great deal.

A Golden Retriever has a thick, water-repellent coat over a good undercoat, with an outer coat that lies close to the body and may be straight or wavy, and it's meant to be left natural, apart from tidy feet. A Poodle's hair is curly, naturally harsh and dense all over.

Most coat types come down to three things, furnishings, hair length and curl, and a Golden has a long coat with neither furnishings nor curl. Our F1B Goldendoodle explainer follows the furnishings down the generations, which leaves curl.

Why is one Goldendoodle curly and another wavy?

Much of it comes down to one curl gene. A dog with one copy of the curl form grows a wavy coat, a dog with two grows a curly coat, and a dog with none grows a straight one. Poodles almost all carry two copies, and Goldens usually carry none.

So a first-generation puppy from a Golden and a Poodle would carry a single copy and grow a wavy coat. Our Mini Goldendoodles are F1Bs, from a Goldendoodle mama and a Miniature Poodle papa. A papa with two copies passes a curl copy to every puppy, and a mama with one copy passes hers to about half, so on those odds an F1B litter is a mix of wavy and curly coats.

The odds are a guide and not a promise. A few curly dogs carry no known curl gene at all, so other genes play a part, and the mama's and papa's own coats are the best preview of a puppy's.

Why does a curly or wavy coat mat?

Because it's a long coat, and long hair tangles. A coat has to be long before it can curl, and a Poodle's hair would grow on and on if nobody cut it. Long coats are the ones most prone to matting.

A mat begins as a small tangle, often where the coat rubs, such as where the front legs meet the chest. Left alone it can become a solid lump that pulls painfully at the skin. A curly coat brushed only on the surface mats near the roots and has to be shaved off.

A regular groom heads that off. A professional works the mats out before the bath and then trims or clips the coat, and most pet owners choose a shorter trim, which spares them the daily brushing a full coat demands. Shedding and allergies have their own section in the Mini Goldendoodle guide.

What haircuts can a groomer give a Goldendoodle?

Any trim you and your groomer agree on, because there's no official doodle cut. A Golden's coat isn't meant to be shaved or clipped, while Poodles have set show clips. The simplest of them, the sporting clip, shaves the face, feet, throat and base of the tail, leaves a scissored cap on the head and a pompon on the tail, and trims the body and legs to the dog's shape, never longer than an inch.

Salon names are looser. The teddy bear cut you may have seen on doodles has no fixed meaning, so one salon's version can look quite different from the next. Ask for lengths and shapes rather than a name, meaning how long on the body and legs, how much comes off around the eyes and ears, and how the feet and tail should look.

Leave some coat on. A double-coated dog like a Golden shouldn't be shaved, since the undercoat helps keep it cool as well as warm, and a single-coated dog like a Poodle should keep at least an inch of hair against sunburn and bug bites. A doodle can take after either parent, so talk to your groomer before any summer shave down.

How often should a Mini Goldendoodle see a groomer?

Every four to six weeks is a good starting point, for a bath, a trim and the nails, and that suits both a Poodle-type coat and a Golden-type coat. A short puppy cut can stretch the time between visits, and since most shops need appointments made ahead, book the next one before you leave.

Between visits, brush right down to the skin. Use a slicker brush, with short wire pins angled to slip through the coat, with a light hand, and a comb for longer hair. Give extra time to the spot where the front legs meet the chest. Check the ears weekly, since floppy, hairy ears are prone to infection, and dry them after a swim. Clip the nails monthly and trim the hair between the foot pads for grip on slick floors.

When should a Goldendoodle puppy have its first groom?

Around 16 weeks, once the puppy shots are done, since by then most puppies have had their vaccines and can safely go to public places. Your vet will tell you when your own puppy's shots are finished.

Our puppies go home at 9 weeks, which leaves weeks at home to get a puppy used to grooming first. Brush a puppy from the start with a soft brush, in short sessions of a few strokes with a treat, stopping while it's still fun. Handle the feet and nails and reward your puppy for it, and for a dog that will need clipping, let an electric toothbrush hum across the coat so the sound and buzz feel normal.

For a groomer, ask friends or your vet, and look for a groomer used to puppies. Ask us anything along the way, too. The lifespan and price guide for Goldendoodles covers the rest of the budget, and our F1B Goldendoodle puppies are on the breed page.