Hi All,

My husband and I have two spoodles who are absolutly adorable and loving. They have their winter coats at the moment so look as fluffy as ever.

They are our first dogs and we were wondering when we need to clip them? At the end of winter? or do we need to clip them at all?

We live in Australia so summer gets up to about 35 degrees which I am assuming would be really uncomfortable for them with their wooly coats. But they are so cuddly at the moment.

Has anyone else got spoodles and how often do you clip them? Here is a pic of our girls!

Thanks in advance.
fforster01

Vetgroomer should be around soon, who will probably be one of the members probably to give you good advice for this. We have a long coat Akita, and rather than clipping, we use a cooling vest through summer and when he is working on hotter days.

that's a good one thanks for sharing..

Yes, they're probably going to need clipping, and the time to start is now. Because of the type of coat these dogs have, it will be prone to matting, and will require a great deal of upkeep.

Now, clipping doesn't mean you have to shave them down to their undies. If you keep them brushed, it could just be a matter of doing a sanitary clip, so stool doesn't get caught in the hair, and clipping or scissoring the hair from between their foot pads, and tidying their face and ears. The coat on their bodies can be done in a longer, fluffy clip.

How often you have them groomed depends on several factors, including how much undercoat they have and how often you brush them at home. I would discuss it with the groomer you decide to use, and go from there. But, from the looks of them, I'd say every 4-6 weeks would be reasonable.

Thanks vetgroomer. We brush them every second day at the moment and check for ticks at the same time so we have had no problems with matting so far.

Also we do a sanitary clip as you suggested about every 2 weeks and trim the hair inbetween their footpads, around the eyes and around their private areas.

But I will definitely start looking for a good groomer to discuss their coats.

Thanks for all the advice.

fforster01

It sounds like you're off to a good start. Make sure the groomer you choose understands exactly what you want, and is willing to do it. There are groomers out there who only seem to know one clip; shave 'em down. You don't want that, I'm sure. Ask for referrals and/or pictures of clips they've done in the past.

Cute dogs, by the way. I wish you lived where I do. I'd love to give them a great style!

[rayter]

My dog gets a decent haircut every 6 weeks or an "all off" every 3 months.