By Louise Allingham For Daily Mail Australia
03:32 20 Jun 2023, updated 04:14 20 Jun 2023
- Some groomers have banned Doodle breeds
- Groomer Emily Myatt takes Oodles but they often come in matted
Owners of one very popular dog breed are being refused service by groomers thanks to their poorly-maintained, hard-to-manage fur.
Doodle or Oodle breed owners have been branded ‘repeat offenders’ by groomers for bringing their pets in with matted coats.
Animal Magic Pet Grooming owner Emily Myatt said of the two or three Oodles she sees every day, ’80 per cent’ arrive ‘excessively knotted’ which can make grooming a painful experience for the pups.
Doodles and Oodles been number one on the list of Australia’s most popular dog breeds time and time again but groomers are finding people are not maintaining their needs between appointments.
Emily offered her top tips for owners of dogs with high-maintenance hair and dispelled the myth that Oodles are hypoallergenic or don’t shed.
While Emily and her staff are well-equipped to deal with Oodle grooms, there are some in the industry who have put a blanket ban on the breeds.
US groomer Anais Hayden who is known for her quirky and colourful grooming style, has a note on her website that she does not take on Doodle mixed-breed dogs.
‘I know that doodles are here to stay, so I’ve decided that with the mini doodles, I’ll only accept them as long as they stay on a monthly schedule,’ she wrote in an online post.
‘If the clients can’t afford in–between, monthly coat maintenance appointments, then they are to follow through at home. If they don’t abide by that, they can no longer be my clients.’
The Gold Coast groomer said Doodles make up more than half of the dogs she sees every day, specifically Cavoodles.
Emily has worked with Oodle breeders to best learn how to maintain the cross-breed’s challenging fur and even taught seminars to educate owners.
‘Most other breeds have got a long long history of maintenance requirements therefore it’s not hard to source the how-to-look-after for those particular dogs,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘With the Oodle, there’s not very clear guidelines and because their coat types vary so much it can be quite challenging for a new owner to know what to do.’
While Emily has some customers who regularly maintain their Oodles’ fur to keep it in good condition she said she has had to have many ‘difficult conversations’ with others.
‘If they’re a dog that isn’t going to the groomers frequently or the owners haven’t learned what’s required in maintenance, they typically they come in quite matted,’ she said.
‘We have a difficult conversation with the owner who doesn’t understand the consequences and the dog will need to be shaved really really short.’
The groomer said there is ‘no clipper blade’ that can cut through knots and tangles and they need to shave under each mat.
‘They’re close to the skin, you have to take them down as short as the blade will go,’ she explained.
‘People think they can bring in a matted dog and we can just take half the coat off but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.’
Emily also dismissed the common misconception that Doodles don’t shed or have hypoallergenic coats.
‘That is not true. You’re essentially crossing a poodle which has a non-shed or low-shed coat with every other thing on the planet,’ she explained.
‘What’s happening is you’re getting an intertwining of two sometimes three different coat types which poses its own challenges. They don’t completely non-shed, that’s a bit of a myth.’
However Oodle owners need not despair as Emily said there are ways to keep your furry friend’s coat looking tangle-free starting with a regular ‘brush and a comb’.
‘It’s same as humans, if you have a short hair cut, you can probably go a few days without dong much at all but if you’ve got longer hair than you need to brush and comb it almost every day,’ she said.
‘Really a brush and a comb and a proper thorough brush all the way to the skin is essential.’
Emily added the longer the dog’s hair the more maintenance is required and said the ‘rule of thumb’ is that fur longer than one inch should be brushed everyday.
Doodles with longer hair should ideally visit the groomer every four to five weeks however pooches with shorter coats may be able to stretch their appointments out to every eight weeks.
She also said not to leave harnesses or jumpers on your dog for too long as they can cause ‘friction knots’.
‘Particularly this time of the year, people are putting jumpers on their dogs, even though their dogs have got plenty of fur. It’s cute for fashion but it’s not really necessary,’ she said.
Emily recommends using a de-tangling or conditioning spray on your dog’s hair as it can make brushing out knots much easier.
She also suggests opting for a high-quality dog shampoo and avoiding poor-quality, cheap or human-intended products.