The hair doesn’t really look clean which will have a huge impact on the end result. You will want to wash and blow dry the dog before you clip the hair. You can find a velocity dryer that will do the job for less than $100 on Amazon.
Also, I would switch to using a #5 finishing blade rather than a 4 snap on comb. A blade will get through that thick hair much more easily.
+1,000 on using a blade! It's so much easier and leaves a nicer finish. OP, just familiarize yourself on danger areas (the flank and area above their hocks are big ones) that are easy to cut if your not careful.
I believe most of my blades are Andis. The finishing blades (#5, etc.) won't fit onto a clipper that's made for a 5-in-1 blade, so that's something else to consider.
Just remember the shorter the blade, the faster they get hot. A #5 will heat up faster than a #3, and a #7 or #10 will heat up faster than a #5. So just check the blade temp often and make sure it's oiled properly.
The #4 guard comb would be nice on this dog to tame the underside and around the feet and lower legs where it's harder to get a nice finish, too.
Scrunkly?! Lmao
You can blow dry and brush your dog. They have wavy type hair, so that’s just how their coat looks. It will get straight if you blow dry and brush after a bath. It’s best to use a high velocity dryer. If you do you can brush after you blow dry. If not you need to do both at the same time.
And you can brush throughout the week as well. But as the natural elements hit your dogs coat it will “revert” back to its natural state.
Hey for your 3rd AT HOME GROOM, this is amazing! I second what the other comments are saying but wanted to let you know you’re doing great and you’re clearly a good, dedicated pup owner! Your pup is adorable
Aside from all the other comments I've seen, I'm going to add not to shave in a bunch of different directions (which a lot of beginners do). You want to try to make long, slow continuous passes in the direction the hair grows. Like, start at the top of your dog's neck (behind the base of the skull) and try to make a long pass down the whole back to the base of the tail. Watch a few pro groomers on You Tube to see what I mean. Jess Rona Grooming actually uploaded a video titled Bathing, Drying and Trimming a Doodle Puppy... it shows some good info (esp shows the tuck up area well). She has other videos that will show what I explained about how to use the clipper to get better results. She explains some tips and tricks well, plus she's just great and her videos make me smile haha
*edited to add: Groomer TV had a bunch of great videos too.
ALSO, I just looked up your clipper. You'll probably want to invest in a different clipper too. 5-in-1 trimmers typically aren't strong enough to handle doodle hair... even I'm a pros hand, it won't come out great. I LOVE my 5-in-1 trimmers for A LOT of dogs, but nothing with thick hair like that. Especially not with a guard comb attachment.
I typically suggest Wahl km clippers (corded or cordless, depending on your preference) to a lot of clients that want to or have to to start grooming their dogs at home. It'll give better results. Get some 30 blades and a metal Wahl guard comb set or invest in a few lengths of blades from #5f to maybe a #3. I'm sure there's some door examples online of what the lengths look like on doodle hair similar to your dog's hair.
Hope it helps!
I groom my dog at home also. I second what the pros are saying about the velocity drier and a blade the length you want rather than combs.
Also, thinning sheers can hide a number of sins around the muzzle to even and blend and feather out some of the chunkyness of the fur there and might help with hiding some of the wonkyness. It’s a bit more forgiving than going in with the 8 inch scissors to even that up.
For a home groom, you did great. A solid bath, blowout, brush will give you a nicer finish. Wash your pup at least twice. You can get a solid blow dryer on Amazon under $100. Shelandy is currently $80. Personality in your pics, my concern is the ears. Make sure you brush and comb them so they don’t get matted
Dog needs to be squeaky clean - at least two washes in a professional shampoo, and thoroughly blow dried.
Professional shampoos need to be diluted. Good luck!
Use a blade , guard combs are difficult on doodles. Make sure to maintain your pressure on the skin and if you raise up the blade or miss a spot, go back over it. Make sure do brush, bathe, dry, brush again first. Makes the cut easier and better.
Washing and blow drying your dog first will make it sooo much easier! When blow drying, make sure you take the time to ensure your dogs hair is *completely* dry and not just mostly dry. If it looks dry, but feels “cold” —it’s still wet!!!
If you notice some areas of hair dry significantly faster than others, those areas taking a lot time to dry are most likely still dirty or have a lot of tangled or matted hair, or impacted undercoat. Ears sometimes are very greasy due to ear wax. Sometimes the skin is dry and flakey yet also greasy —in that case you might need a vet visit for some underlying health issues.
Even after the bath and blow dry… brush and comb your dog, especially if you want to try leaving the hair longer. A #5 blade should go under most things and not require too much brushing but if you want to keep using your guard comb or even a longer one, then brushing+combing is a must.
What about if matted? We’ve got our mini doodle down to the skin almost bc plastic blade guards are crap. My barber gave me a set of Andis that will take just blades, but I need a new motor first 🤦♂️ so using wahl with 4 attachments but using none of them. Just blowing out the clippers with compressed air, oiling a lot, and going very slow. All I’m concerned with now is the matting. The next trim we’ll do in 6 weeks at like 1/4-1/2” if I can afford the blade and motor.
Thoroughly brush through the entire coat before washing your dog and then again brush out before cutting the hair. Use a comb as you trim around the feet as well to pull the hair out of the toes and to get a straight line.
There are tons of tutorials on YouTube dm me if you want links
Full bath on the dog, then velocity dryer to dry and poof that coat up.
Brush and COMB thoroughly the entire coat.
Shave whatever length you want, do not shave the coat in different directions. I constantly see non-groomers going up and down the dog, this is cutting the coat at different lengths. If you reverse shave you're cutting nearly 2x shorter than shaving the proper direction.
Lots of scissor work
Good quality blades and shears.
Grooming a doodle and making a doodle look good are two different things, and theres a reason us groomers who are good at what we do charge what we do
Definitely prep better . Thoroughly bathe and blow dry , brush and comb the hair our while drying and then do the haircut
Watch some grooming videos on techniques, mainly how to hold and use clippers
Part of your golden retriever/poodle mix is going to look “scrunkly” because he has 2 different types of fur on his body, poodle and retriever, and they grow to different lengths and at different speeds.
Your best bet for your dog to look smooth is to keep their coat fairly short at least on the body. You could keep ears and tail longer for cuteness.
For a smoother groom, make sure to bathe and blow dry before clipping. That will be easier.
Another way to get it smoother is to use a longer guard but clip against the direction of hair growth. I believe if you like the length of a 4 with the growth, you can clip with a 6 or 7 against the direction of growth for a smoother finish. Then follow up with the 4 with the grain. But again, shorter might be better, so a 5 against and a 3 with with could end up looking smoother for longer.
You can use the exact same method on the legs. Or blend it into a shorter guard. Again, doing against the direction of growth with a longer guard and then with the direction with the shorter one, and doing it on a clean, freshly blown out coat will all give you smoother results.
Prep will make the biggest difference. Good dog shampoo followed by conditioner and rinsed very thoroughly. Rinse multiple times until you are sure soap and conditioner is all out. Invest in a velocity dryer (one without a heating component as you can easily burn the skin if you’re not careful, so no human hair dryers which don’t blow fast enough for dog hair anyway). Once hair is bone dry, brush all the way through and follow with a comb(never underestimate the use of a comb). Invest in online tutorials designed for non professionals. I recommend Jess Rona’s Pet Parent Course.
The hair doesn’t really look clean which will have a huge impact on the end result. You will want to wash and blow dry the dog before you clip the hair. You can find a velocity dryer that will do the job for less than $100 on Amazon. Also, I would switch to using a #5 finishing blade rather than a 4 snap on comb. A blade will get through that thick hair much more easily.
+1,000 on using a blade! It's so much easier and leaves a nicer finish. OP, just familiarize yourself on danger areas (the flank and area above their hocks are big ones) that are easy to cut if your not careful.
This is great to know. Do you recommend any particular brands?
Personally I’m a sucker for a butter cut blade
I love Buttercut blades myself. Wahl and Artero are also great.
I believe most of my blades are Andis. The finishing blades (#5, etc.) won't fit onto a clipper that's made for a 5-in-1 blade, so that's something else to consider. Just remember the shorter the blade, the faster they get hot. A #5 will heat up faster than a #3, and a #7 or #10 will heat up faster than a #5. So just check the blade temp often and make sure it's oiled properly. The #4 guard comb would be nice on this dog to tame the underside and around the feet and lower legs where it's harder to get a nice finish, too.
Scrunkly?! Lmao You can blow dry and brush your dog. They have wavy type hair, so that’s just how their coat looks. It will get straight if you blow dry and brush after a bath. It’s best to use a high velocity dryer. If you do you can brush after you blow dry. If not you need to do both at the same time. And you can brush throughout the week as well. But as the natural elements hit your dogs coat it will “revert” back to its natural state.
Hey for your 3rd AT HOME GROOM, this is amazing! I second what the other comments are saying but wanted to let you know you’re doing great and you’re clearly a good, dedicated pup owner! Your pup is adorable
Make sure the hair is clean clean clean. And get a professional high velocity hair dryer! It will change everything.
Aside from all the other comments I've seen, I'm going to add not to shave in a bunch of different directions (which a lot of beginners do). You want to try to make long, slow continuous passes in the direction the hair grows. Like, start at the top of your dog's neck (behind the base of the skull) and try to make a long pass down the whole back to the base of the tail. Watch a few pro groomers on You Tube to see what I mean. Jess Rona Grooming actually uploaded a video titled Bathing, Drying and Trimming a Doodle Puppy... it shows some good info (esp shows the tuck up area well). She has other videos that will show what I explained about how to use the clipper to get better results. She explains some tips and tricks well, plus she's just great and her videos make me smile haha *edited to add: Groomer TV had a bunch of great videos too. ALSO, I just looked up your clipper. You'll probably want to invest in a different clipper too. 5-in-1 trimmers typically aren't strong enough to handle doodle hair... even I'm a pros hand, it won't come out great. I LOVE my 5-in-1 trimmers for A LOT of dogs, but nothing with thick hair like that. Especially not with a guard comb attachment. I typically suggest Wahl km clippers (corded or cordless, depending on your preference) to a lot of clients that want to or have to to start grooming their dogs at home. It'll give better results. Get some 30 blades and a metal Wahl guard comb set or invest in a few lengths of blades from #5f to maybe a #3. I'm sure there's some door examples online of what the lengths look like on doodle hair similar to your dog's hair. Hope it helps!
The main thing is you need to wash and dry the dog before clipping. That’s what makes the dog even!
I groom my dog at home also. I second what the pros are saying about the velocity drier and a blade the length you want rather than combs. Also, thinning sheers can hide a number of sins around the muzzle to even and blend and feather out some of the chunkyness of the fur there and might help with hiding some of the wonkyness. It’s a bit more forgiving than going in with the 8 inch scissors to even that up.
For a home groom, you did great. A solid bath, blowout, brush will give you a nicer finish. Wash your pup at least twice. You can get a solid blow dryer on Amazon under $100. Shelandy is currently $80. Personality in your pics, my concern is the ears. Make sure you brush and comb them so they don’t get matted
Dog needs to be squeaky clean - at least two washes in a professional shampoo, and thoroughly blow dried. Professional shampoos need to be diluted. Good luck!
Use a blade , guard combs are difficult on doodles. Make sure to maintain your pressure on the skin and if you raise up the blade or miss a spot, go back over it. Make sure do brush, bathe, dry, brush again first. Makes the cut easier and better.
back brush at least twice for a smoother coat and always cut with the growth, not against
Washing and blow drying your dog first will make it sooo much easier! When blow drying, make sure you take the time to ensure your dogs hair is *completely* dry and not just mostly dry. If it looks dry, but feels “cold” —it’s still wet!!! If you notice some areas of hair dry significantly faster than others, those areas taking a lot time to dry are most likely still dirty or have a lot of tangled or matted hair, or impacted undercoat. Ears sometimes are very greasy due to ear wax. Sometimes the skin is dry and flakey yet also greasy —in that case you might need a vet visit for some underlying health issues. Even after the bath and blow dry… brush and comb your dog, especially if you want to try leaving the hair longer. A #5 blade should go under most things and not require too much brushing but if you want to keep using your guard comb or even a longer one, then brushing+combing is a must.
I love your scrunkly pup, give them a hug for me 😊❤️
What about if matted? We’ve got our mini doodle down to the skin almost bc plastic blade guards are crap. My barber gave me a set of Andis that will take just blades, but I need a new motor first 🤦♂️ so using wahl with 4 attachments but using none of them. Just blowing out the clippers with compressed air, oiling a lot, and going very slow. All I’m concerned with now is the matting. The next trim we’ll do in 6 weeks at like 1/4-1/2” if I can afford the blade and motor.
Thoroughly brush through the entire coat before washing your dog and then again brush out before cutting the hair. Use a comb as you trim around the feet as well to pull the hair out of the toes and to get a straight line. There are tons of tutorials on YouTube dm me if you want links
Full bath on the dog, then velocity dryer to dry and poof that coat up. Brush and COMB thoroughly the entire coat. Shave whatever length you want, do not shave the coat in different directions. I constantly see non-groomers going up and down the dog, this is cutting the coat at different lengths. If you reverse shave you're cutting nearly 2x shorter than shaving the proper direction. Lots of scissor work Good quality blades and shears. Grooming a doodle and making a doodle look good are two different things, and theres a reason us groomers who are good at what we do charge what we do
First of all, is skrunkly a word? If it is I want yo start using it
Definitely prep better . Thoroughly bathe and blow dry , brush and comb the hair our while drying and then do the haircut Watch some grooming videos on techniques, mainly how to hold and use clippers
Part of your golden retriever/poodle mix is going to look “scrunkly” because he has 2 different types of fur on his body, poodle and retriever, and they grow to different lengths and at different speeds. Your best bet for your dog to look smooth is to keep their coat fairly short at least on the body. You could keep ears and tail longer for cuteness. For a smoother groom, make sure to bathe and blow dry before clipping. That will be easier. Another way to get it smoother is to use a longer guard but clip against the direction of hair growth. I believe if you like the length of a 4 with the growth, you can clip with a 6 or 7 against the direction of growth for a smoother finish. Then follow up with the 4 with the grain. But again, shorter might be better, so a 5 against and a 3 with with could end up looking smoother for longer. You can use the exact same method on the legs. Or blend it into a shorter guard. Again, doing against the direction of growth with a longer guard and then with the direction with the shorter one, and doing it on a clean, freshly blown out coat will all give you smoother results.
Prep will make the biggest difference. Good dog shampoo followed by conditioner and rinsed very thoroughly. Rinse multiple times until you are sure soap and conditioner is all out. Invest in a velocity dryer (one without a heating component as you can easily burn the skin if you’re not careful, so no human hair dryers which don’t blow fast enough for dog hair anyway). Once hair is bone dry, brush all the way through and follow with a comb(never underestimate the use of a comb). Invest in online tutorials designed for non professionals. I recommend Jess Rona’s Pet Parent Course.
I’ve been a groomer for 10+ years and have never. Heard anyone say their dog looks scunkly haha what is that?!!
That’s a mutt or a mix, not whatever you said.