I recently received an e-mail (actually a few e-mails) from someone who has written a book on how to groom your Doodle. The book is called From Scruffy to Lovely, and is written and sold by a Doodle-owner from the Netherlands (which has a good-sized Doodle community - one of our own pups went there as a breeder almost four years ago!)
I haven't checked out the book myself yet - because it hasn't been published yet! - but here is a bit of info from their website (slightly edited):
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Have you ever thought about learning
to groom your own Doodle professionally?
It's the perfect way to relax, spend quality time with your Doodle and improve your relationship.
On top of that you save a lot of money on grooming costs, you get to be creative and most of all: you get to decide how you want your Doodle to look, keep it groomed the way you love (and fell in love with when you first saw it) AND you take the responsibility for the well being of your Doodle in to your own hands.
Learning how to do it professionally is a party! After starting my grooming workshop business for Doodle owners in the Netherlands three years ago, I received so many enthusiastic reactions from the Doodle and Waterdog community worldwide that I decided to take my business online, teaching Doodle and Poodle mix owners all over the world how to groom their Doodle themselves, in a natural fluffy way.
Happy grooming!
Love, Wanda & Joy
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The website is www.fromscruffytolovely.com. It indicates that the book is expected to come out in December 2014 / January 2015, so right now they're looking for pre-orders, but they do offer a free e-preview you can download for a taste of what's in the book. I've downloaded the preview and hope to post a review of the preview soon. The cost is $45.00 (likely US$ since it's a Dutch website) and they offer free shipping world-wide, which is probably worth about $10 for shipping to Canada.
The website also has a blog component (which, when I checked, seemed to have only 2 posts, but I'm sure more will come).
At our home, we started grooming our own Doodles about a year ago. I found paying $70 per dog for two dogs every three months or so to be a bit much, so (with some advice from Galena's dad, Martin, who has been grooming Galena and Frisou themselves for some time) I purchased the clippers off Amazon.
It's actually my kids who are doing the grooming, because "she's my dog, Mommy!" and they tell me I can't do a good job, though I've never even really tried because they always seize the clippers out of my hands every time I get them out! The kids tend to do the job in "bits and pieces" - do the clipping one day, and the brushing to remove mats a few days later. And I do have to admit that the result is not as professional-looking as when the actual professionals do it, but it's pretty good, and frankly I find that, if the dog is quite matted, the "pros' often just shave the dog down and don't spend the time to take out mats so as to leave the coat a bit longer,. So all in all I'm satisfied with what the kids do. (Even if I sometimes have to get out the matting tool and do a bit extra work myself once they say they're done, just to get the coat to a point I consider "finished.") I pay them $15-$20 per dog, which is pocket money for them and a lot cheaper than $70 per dog to the pros!
So I' might end up buying a copy of the book to consult and see if they have tips and tricks to suggest to make the job easier and even better-looking. (If I can get the kids to read it, mind...)
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