THE AUSSIEDOODLE COAT
Doodles in general are so pupular (see what I did there?) because of their low-shed coats. But “low-shed” does not mean low maintenance. It also doesn’t mean 100% hypoallergenic (but it is much better than other coats – our two highly allergic friends come over to our house with no problems).
The Three Types of Aussiedoodle Coats
Aussiedoodles tend to have one of three types of coats:
Curly – Tight Poodle Curls
This is the best coat type in terms of shedding, the tight curls keep hair in place and not all over your home and clothes. These dogs will look a little more like a poodle.
Fleece – Wavy, Shaggy, Plush, and Soft
In my opinion this is the best coat for an Aussiedoodle. It has a cute crimp and is very soft. It doesn’t shed much, and when it does it results in little hair tumbleweeds rather than hair stuck to clothes, furniture, etc.
Straight – Like the Straight Australian Shepherd Coat
While very soft and beautiful, this coat is the worst in terms of shedding. These dogs will look more like an Australian Shepherd.
Now this doesn’t mean all Aussiedoodles fall strictly into these categories, it is a spectrum. Some dogs may have a coat that is not quite wavy but not quite straight.
The trick is – how do you know which coat your puppy will have? You don’t. You pick your puppy and cross your fingers he or she ends up with the coat you want.
GROOMING AUSSIEDOODLES
You will be warned that Aussiedoodle coats require a lot of maintenance and grooming. And they will be totally right. Before deciding to get an Aussiedoodle – or any doodle for that matter – be prepared to spend a lot of time and money on grooming. How much is a lot of money? It depends on your location and other factors, but in Seattle having our dogs groomed professionally ends up around $100 each – before tip. This grooming typically includes:
- Wash & Dry
- Haircut – Body, Face, & “Sanitary” (To be blunt, “sanitary” means around the buttholes and groin areas.)
- Ear Cleaning
- Nail Trim
Sometimes they throw in a bandana for some reason. How often they get haircuts varies, but they will need baths, brushing, nail trims, and ear cleaning regularly. There is also teeth brushing, often an add-on available at the groomer.
Now, just because the groomer is a pro doesn’t mean your dog won’t come back looking awful. In fact most of my groomer experiences resulted in awful haircuts, including this one:
Yeah. I was horrified. He looked like Albert Einstein if Albert Einstein was a dog. To be fair, my instructions to the groomer may have been a little unclear so I have some fault in this as well.
Grooming Your Doodle Yourself
After about a year of paying top dollar to get sometimes cringe-worthy haircuts, you may decide to just start doing it yourself. At-home grooming of doodles is not for the faint of heart, so make sure you’re dedicated to the endeavor before investing in all of the tools (there are a lot of tools).
I use a combination of professional and at-home grooming. I have yet to perfect the Aussiedoodle Haircut, but I am getting better. There is a huge variety of tools on the market and I’m sure lots of them are great, but here’s what I use and like:
Poodle Pet Dematting Fur Rake Comb is the absolute BEST de-matting tool I’ve tried. It looks a little scary and kinda ugly but it’s only $14.99 (as of 7/24/21) and it works miracles on my aussiedoodle’s matted coats. They put up with it better than a lot of the other grooming tools I’ve tried, too. The sharp edges cuts right through matted fur and after a session of grooming they are completely matt-free and soft. If you have a doodle you NEED this tool. Seriously.
I currently use the Andis UltraEdge AGC Super 2-Speed Detachable Blade Clipper to cut their hair. It has a cord, which means it won’t die on me part-way through the cut, but it does heat up after a small period of time to the point of it being too hot to use near my dog’s skin without discomfort, so I have to turn it off and wait for it to cool down. That’s really its only negative. I initially purchased the Otstar Dog Clippers set, and they worked okay, but took a long time to get through the coat and the plastic guide combs included were no match for thick doodle fur – teeth broke off of them pretty quickly. After I bought my fancier shaver this one became for people – I use it to cut my husband’s hair!
True Blue Easy Comb De-Tangling Spray – Smells good and works great!
Caldwell’s Long and Short Haired Cat and Dog Grooming Scissors – You really only need two pairs of scissors, and you could get away with just one, but I love the pair of “feathering” scissors. I use the round edged standard scissors for when I need to cut a lot of hair off, but then I use the feathering scissors on their faces and heads – it makes the fur look much more natural instead of big chops taken out.
For bathing I use two different products. Buddy Wash (I usually buy the Green Tea & Bergamot one but the company sells other scents as well) is the one I’ve been using the longest. I love how it smells (and have seriously considered using it on my own hair for that reason!) and it lathers up really well.
Recently, however, I’ve been using Zodiac Oatmeal Flea & Tick Dog & Puppy Conditioning Shampoo. My dogs don’t have fleas – but sometimes the dogs I foster do. So I bought this to give them a good scrub and get rid of any fleas they may have. Now I use it on my own dogs pretty frequently – it does an amazing job of keeping them smelling fresh and clean longer than the Buddy Wash. The scent isn’t as amazing, but it sure lasts.
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