How to get your Labradoodle through the summer holdidays WITHOUT tangles or mats?

It’s summer again, and the holiday season has started (at least in the central part of the country). Sitting in the garden at home when the weather is nice is nice, but going on vacation is even better, because you can get away from everything for a while! I don’t know about you, but I really need a vacation to give my creative mind a break. To not have to do anything (which I’m already bad at 😉 and to feel free in my actions, thoughts and being. For you, it’s probably not any different. If you’re taking your Doodle on vacation, be sure to pack the right brush and thinning scissors, as many Doodles tend to get tangled more easily in warmer weather due to sweating. Not treating these tangles can cause them to develop into mats, which can be difficult for owners to deal with. It’s important to note that using a clipper to shave a Doodle’s coat is not a good solution, as they need their coat for protection and shaving can be stressful for them, especially for a HSP (highly sensitive) Doodle. In the end, proper grooming is vital for your Doodle’s health and well-being, even during vacation time.

Sweating means tangles

I am already noticing that many Doodles get tangled faster, because when it’s hot they sweat all over their body. And that moisture causes tangles right up to their skin. Tangles that, if not recognized and treated, quickly develop into mats. And that is something that puts many owners into a frenzy. So it’s a good idea,  when you take your Doodle with you on holiday, to not only pack the pet dryer, but ALSO the right brush and thinning shears, because if you forget these essential grooming items, there is a good chance that your Doodle will become matted during the holiday. There’s a reason why dog groomers are extra busy after the summer holidays. During the holidays, most owners have other things on their mind than optimal coat care. And as logical as that is, your Doodle’s coat will continue to grow even during the holidays. And maybe even extra hard, because the influence of sunlight can influence the hair growth cycle.

And if you have your Doodle nearby and the right grooming tools on hand when you are on holiday, you might be able to keep the coat in check. But if you leave your Doodle in the care of someone else for a few weeks, then you just have to hope that it goes well in terms of coat care. Because you may know how to brush efficiently and prevent tangles (and painlessly remove them if necessary), the person you temporarily entrust the care of your dog to doesn’t know that. And you can’t expect that from them either, because a Doodle needs special care and it’s hard to give every temporary sitter a crash course in basic coat care.

How can you prevent your Doodle from becoming completely matted during the holidays?

If you take your Doodle with you on holiday, there is a good chance that it will want to cool off in the water, or go digging in the garden. In other words that he will get nice and wet and dirty (dogs will be dogs after all ;-). If you leave your Doodle at home to stay at a temporary guest house, you can easily assume that he will do the same and if he is staying at a kennel or boarding house, you can add playing with other dogs to the long list of ways for your Doodle to get tangled. In short: you have no idea how you will find your Doodle when you return home! So caution is advised.

Do not clip short

There are owners who choose to have their Doodle clipped short before going on vacation. After all, that seems like a quick and easy solution and many owners use this logic and approach as their way of grooming anyway. Anyone who has been following me for a while knows that I am not in favor of clipping the coat short. First, because every dog ​​needs its coat for protection (against insects, the elements, skin damage, and protecting the skin from bad bacteria and toxins). If you remove that fur, you literally and figuratively expose the skin to all kinds of dangers and you prevent the immune system from protecting your dog against diseases. If dogs with a coat suited for trimming were supposed to have a short coat, they would have been born as short coated Terriërs or Labrador Retrievers or such, wouldn’t they? At least not with long, soft, plush hair.

HSP Doodles

Added to this is the fact that Doodles are sensitive dogs (and I even label them “highly sensitive”) and highly sensitive creatures require a different form and level of care than other animals. Now I find it difficult to determine to what extent Doodles are more HSP than other dogs, because in principle all dogs are of course much more sensitive than we are (as long as we are not aware of our own sensitivity), but in my experience especially Doodles show their HSP properties most of the time, partly because they are so sensitive to stimuli. And this is another essential reason why shaving is not an appropriate solution for many Doodles; the sound and feel of clippers are simply too much too handle for many Doodles. They can even sustain trauma. Not only from shaving, may I remind you, they can also become traumatized from every mistake you can make as an owner while trimming. Once a Doodle feels threatened or unsafe and has lost its trust, there is no way to deal with him anymore and you will need to start rebuildinging that trust from scratch. Because a high sensitivity to stimuli is often associated with a high degree of insecurity and/or fear of the outside world. And if the carefully built up sense of trust is betrayed, you can start all over again. 

This is a plea AGAINST improvising fur care for your Doodle yourself, for example on the basis of the many YouTube videos of fellow Doodle Do-It-Yourselfers.

Because precisely because Doodles are so HSP, I am a big advocate of learning how to trim them yourself, in a natural, fluffy way. An HSP Doodle is not happy with the hectic atmosphere in most grooming salons, or with a stranger touching his body. It is best to just trim it in its own home, in its own time, at its own pace, by its own owner… PROVIDED that it is done in a good way. 

This is a plea AGAINST improvising fur care yourself at Doodles, for example on the basis of the many YouTube videos of fellow Doodle Do-It-Yourselfers.

Because precisely because Doodles are so HSP, I am a big advocate of learning how to trim yourself. An HSP Doodle is not happy with the hectic atmosphere in most grooming salons, or with a stranger touching his body. It is best to just trim it in its own home, in its own time, at its own pace, by its own owner… PROVIDED that it is done in a good way.

Temporary offer to get your Doodle through the holidays tangle-free

Because for most of us the holidays are just around the corner and after reading this blog you may be wondering “what should I do with my Doodle?” I have made a special holiday offer.

Here in the Netherlands I am going to transition from teaching owners to DIY groom and trim their Doodles in a natural fluffy way (from optimal coat care basically) to focussing on  HSP Doodles (and their owners) and what they need OTHER than what the current society is set up for, namely Doodle coat care integrated with Doodle healing.

I don’t know if you have noticed, but so many Doodles are walking around with health problems and / or mental problems (which are two sides of the same coin) for which they are then given chemical medication or special unnatural food…both only aimed at removing symptoms, in stead of healing the root cause, making the body sicker internally … with all its consequences.

I want to help owners with the right knowledge of natural resources to help their Doodle themselves in a holistic way. Many HSP owners already feel that their Doodle needs more than standard care and I want to offer them that as a mirror for their own well-being.

Anyway, this means that I will need to work on a new offer, integrating the DIY grooming and trimming with special knowledge on Doodle naturopathy. More over it means developing an offer for remote energy duo or group healing sessions (for Doodles and their owners, because most of the time the illness of your Doodle reflects the dis-ease in your own body and mind)

While I am putting all of that together, I want to lower the threshold for you learning to DIY groom and trim your Doodle in a fluffy way, buy offering you a 50% DISCOUNT on my online Total DIY Doodle Grooming course. A special temporary summer holiday deal that will expire on 1st August. Go check it out HERE! 

In this way I hope to help you to EASILY get your Doodle (Water Dog or Oodle) tangle-free through the summer, saving you and your Doodle a lot of stress and discomfort (so you can truly enjoy your holiday)

So happy holiday and lots of DIY grooming joy!

Greetings,
Wanda & Joy