6 grooming techniques to keep your black curly Labradoodle tangle free
Every Doodle coat is different and every coat color and coat structure has its own specific method of maintenance. So having discussed the white curly coat last week, I will talk about the black curly fleece and wool coats in this blog. Because they also have their own grooming manuals and they are also what I call “high maintenance” Doodle coats.
Doodles that are born with a beautiful, shiny, jet black coat usually do not remain jet black. Over time, most black coats become grayish or brownish or wiry white hairs adorn the black surface. This often happens before the coat change or within the first three years and the color development is highly dependent on the genes of the parents and ancestors. The abnormal coat color that can be seen after a few months in the predominantly black coat, is often of a different, softer coat structure and more porous than the smoother, black hair. Also, many black curly fleece and wool coats develop a lighter colored, fluffy, soft undercoat. This underlayer retains a lot of dust and dirt, recognizable by the gray, dull cast over the coat and is therefore very sensitive to tangles. Especially in humid seasons you are more likely to encounter mats.
How to prevent your black Doodle from getting tangles?
How can you prevent this?
1. When you bath your Doodle, do it as efficiently and effectively as possible.
This may sound like an open target, but bathing a dog properly isa serious task. Especially if that dog has a thick, woolly coat. It is not without reason that aspiring groomers are often only allowed to bath and dry in the grooming salon first: washing a coat properly is more difficult than you might think. Most owners do not realize this, but an incorrectly washed coat can cause many problems for your Doodle.
Therefore, use this guideline:
Use special dog shampoo (preferably as organic as possible and NEVER USE baby shampoo!) and lather the coat well, while firmly massaging the coat and skin with your fingertips. This way you can be sure that the foam penetrates well into the coat and cleans the coat thoroughly. Continue massaging the coat in the same way, rinsing out the foam to ensure no shampoo residue is left in the coat (which can cause irritation and skin problems). Do not stop until you are SURE that the coat is completely foam-free! Not quite sure? Then rinse the coat again!
2. Always use a pet dryer to dry the coat
When woolly, porous hair gets wet and air dries, it acts like a wool sweater that you put in the washing machine: the wool sticks together and develops into felt in no time, or in the case of your Doodle: mats! Therefore, it is essential to separate the coat while drying it. You can do this by brushing the coat while drying it with a special hand-held dog hairdryer (NEVER use one meant for humans!), but that is far too labor-intensive and impractical. By using a pet dryer you kill two birds with one stone and you will be done much faster. The warm air blows the hair dry and the blowing force separates the hair, so you’re done immediately and it’s easier to keep the coat tangle-free.
3. Use the pet dryer ALSO to blow dirt, dust, sand and moisture from your Doodle’s coat
The pet dryer (also called Doodle blaster) is not only a great tool for drying the coat after bathing. It helps you keep the coat clean and tangle-free from day to day. By blowing out the black coat regularly, you prevent dust and dirt from accumulating and developing into tangles and mats.
4. Use the right dog brush
The thicker and woollier the coat, the stiffer the brush bed must be to reach the skin through the coat. The more needles the brush has, the more grip in the coat and the more grip, the more effectively you are able to brush your Doodle. Most Doodle owners use the wrong brush. Simply because the wrong brush is recommended or given to them by breeders, or sold yo them by pet store owners which puts you 1-0 behind from the get go. With the wrong brush it may seem like you are brushing effectively, but in fact you are doing nothing more than brushing over the tangles, dust and dirt. And then you hear people saying “the coat seemed to become matted overnight!” With the right brush you don’t have to brush every day. In fact, brushing EVERY DAY isn’t even good for your Doodle’s skin and coat and causes the coat to become EVEN thicker and more prone to tangling! In the dog grooming world this is called “the overbrushing effect” and almost nobody knows about it. In fact there’s a lot more most Doodle owners don’t know and I will get to that point later on.
5. Thin the coat regularly
You cannot simply brush out the woolly underlayer in the coat, because the coat does not shed that quickly; it DOES shed however! Thick, dense hair is more likely to tangle than loose, fluffy hair. By thinning the coat regularly you keep the hair airy, loose and clean and tangles at bay.
6. Trim the coat to a nice, practical intermediate length
The longer the coat, the more dust and dirt it retains and the more likely it is to tangle. Because black, woolly coats are often thicker and firmer, a shorter cut is a good looking and practical look for your Doodle. Choose a practical intermediate length that makes your Doodle look more muscular, younger and more playful at the same time. Hello transformation! Most black curly fleece and wool coats can handle this and it looks very nice. It is very important that you “maintain” this length properly by regularly (every 8 weeks at the latest) trimming the coat to the same length.
Use these six grooming techniques side by side and success is assured!
BUT … a lot goes wrong when people try to put these basic techniques into practice. Nowadays you can do a Labradoodle grooming course almost anywhere (at least you can here in the Netherlands), but you can hardly learn the 3 basic techniques you need to easily make and keep your Doodle’s coat tangle-free yourself. These techniques are still quite unknown or not used properly. As a result, far too many Doodles still end up in grooming salons covered with mats OR their owners just have them shaved down to be “practical” (I will share my unique thoughts on that another time). The coat simply grows over most owners’ heads and that is such a shame and above all completely UNNECESSARY! Because it can all be quite simple IF you would only posess the right knowledge/insights, skills and tools!
That’s why I’m going to do something very special! And I hope you’ll join us! Because I want to organize an online trial in which I teach a group of 50 owners the 3 basic techniques that will help you get and keep your Doodle tangle-free once and for all in a natural, stress-free and painless way. WITHOUT shaving, without nasty looking scissor cuts AND WITHOUT IT COSTING YOU A FORTUNE! In fact, it is the lowest priced, but most effective DIY Doodle grooming training you will find. And you can participate in your own time and the comfort of your own home!
I am going to do keep it a surprise for now, what exactly we are going to do and HOW we are going to do it (there will be more posts on this during the week), but I’m super excited and I really think this is a game changer! So if you want to get rid of those tangles once and for all and this blog has aroused your interest: please register below and I will email you the details. Please ALSO share this message with other Doodle owners if you think they can/will benefit from it too! The sooner we get 50 owners, the sooner we can start this unique trial 🙂
Hope you will join me!
Lots of Doodle love,
Wanda & Joy
