Labradoodle Coats

Our Multi-generation Labradoodles are extremely low shedding. I would expect your black labradoodle to be able to leap up onto your white couch, and you wont see lots of black hairs, although there may be a muddy footprint or two. We aim to breed dogs who will fit perfectly into your families, and not leave hair over your bed, couch, trousers or all over the house. All mammals shed a little hair, even humans, however we breed carefully so our pups are extremely low shedding. With three quarters of dogs in Australia being allowed inside, along with health, temperament and conformation, it is an important part of breeding very family friendly dogs.

Puppy Coats

All puppies have a really soft fur which serves to keep them warm when they are only little. Puppy coats within a litter differ, and they will also differ in some ways to their adult coats, which eventually replace it.  Even pups which are very low or non shedding will have a puppy coat which will be replaced by their adult coat. The adult coats are usually thicker and fuller than puppy coats, but sometimes not quite as soft in the feel. 

However, during the initial 6 or so months of your puppy's life, the puppy coat will naturally shed out. The skin should continue to look healthy while this happens. This occurs with all dog breeds, even poodles.

What To Do?

Regular brushing during this young stage of the dogs life, will help remove the puppy coat, and also has lots of other benefits:

Bonding with your dog. They love being brushed, and will learn to sit quietly and enjoy the interaction.

Preventing Matting

It is important that your dog never gets matted. These can be very uncomfortable and difficult to remove and brush out. Regular brushing prevents this. 

Good chance to remove ear hairs and check for ear health.

Prevent the puppy coat from going all over your house, as much will come out in the brush.

How often do you need to clip your dog?

Groomers suggest not to clip the body of the dog until it is about 6 months of age. It is believed that clipping the coat short before the adult coat has grown will result in a more tightly curled adult coat.

You can ask for a hygiene clip - a light trim around pup’s bottom, ears and eyes before hand.

With regards to frequency of clipping, we do ours about 5 x a year. How often you clip will depend upon how short you wish to keep your dog’s coat, how much grooming you want to do between clips, and the lifestyle of your dog.

What to look for in a groomer

Groomers vary widely in what they will offer in terms of price, style, and especially quality of jobs such as plucking ears and clipping toe nails.

Some groomers just do a short, simple clip, others will spend hours over a scissor cut or getting a breed clip just perfect.

Other things to do at grooming time

Make sure that your dog’s ears are plucked completely (you should be able to see the start of the canal and not have any hair left) ears checked for cleanliness and health, and toe nails trimmed when your dog is clipped. These are just as important as a good clip. Read our section on Ear Care.